Month: January 2019

In Japan, New Year, known as shogatsu, is the biggest holiday. Filled with various traditions, New Year’s is a religious holiday celebrated with friends, family, and food. Prior to the New Year, nengajo, postcards similar to Christmas cards in America, are sent to friends and family to update them about family news and include designs related to the year’s Chinese zodiac. On New Year’s Eve, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times, each representing one of the 108 human sins and desires in Buddhist belief. Believing that ringing the bell will diminish sins from the previous year, Japanese go with their families and partners to temples or shrines to ring bells, purchase omamori (lucky charms), and omikuji (paper fortunes). It is also customary to watch...

by Charmie Vang The Hmong New Year’s celebration in November or December (depending on the location) is one of the most revered festivals organized each year by the Hmong people. For instance, the 2018-2019 Colorado/Denver Hmong New Year’s occurred during Fall Break this year while the Fresno Hmong New Year will be held in late December. The Hmong New Year’s festival began as a commemoration to give thanks to ancestors and spirits after the harvest season, but now extends as a cultural tradition for all people to come together to enjoy Hmong food, fashion design, and entertainment including singing and dance competitions. One of the most popular activities during the Hmong New Year celebration is a ball tossing game called pov pob where young adults form two separate lines ...

by Sunny Chiu Hong Kong is a mixture of many cultures influenced by Western and Chinese traditions. As a result, the new year is celebrated twice in this country. The Western New Year Eve (NYE) on January 1st and the Chinese New Year (CNY) which comes between the 1st day and the 15th day of the first lunar month. NYE in Hong Kong provides entertainment for everyone. Popular shopping malls are crowded with locals and tourists as stores offer crazy discounts. Temples are filled with people lighting incense sticks, making wishing, and practicing a ritual called Kau Cim that indicates your fortune.  The Central, Causeway Bay, and Tsim Sha Tsui regions have parties, concerts, and restaurant destinations while Mong Kok, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin, and Kwun Tong districts have more...

Created as a Facebook group in September 2018, “Subtle Asian Traits” has over one million members and is filled with memes about being a second-generation Asian in a variety of countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom. The shared experience of having immigrant parents is the uniting factor for many in the group, with memes about needing pinyin, romanized mandarin words, as opposed to characters. Similar memes play on the shame and guilt felt from the inability to speak Chinese fluently. Various food-related memes are also prevalent, with tag yourself memes with different kinds of dim sum dishes, boba flavors, or Asian spices. Memes about parents filling any free time with piano, Kumon, and SAT test prep are scattered about. And finally, jokes abou...