2018-2019

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 watc...

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 mor...

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 abo...

by Yizheng Wang People sometimes doubt if Chinese people celebrate Christmas as only approximately one percent of Chinese are Christians. The enthusiasm mostly comes from the youth. Often they exchange Christmas gifts and hold Christmas parties to celebrate the so-called “Western Festival.” Christmas in Mandarin is “Sheng Dan Jie” (圣诞节) which could be translated into “the birth of the saint holiday.” Despite all the celebrations from the young, Chinese people don’t really know much about the  Christmas traditions. Ironically, most Christmas trees or accessories are made in China, few people buy them to decorate their own homes. However, there are many Christmas trees and decorations in office buildings in Central Business District  or even some of the government official buil...

 by Sunny Chiu Can you name the country that loves Christmas the most? It’s the Philippines! With an over 80% Roman Catholic population in the Philippines, they celebrate Christmas for three months with a mixture of western and native Filipino traditions. Christmas songs start playing on the radio and decorations appear in the malls and homes overnight. Parols, unique five-pointed star lanterns made from colorful papers on bamboo sticks, are placed throughout homes, schools, and offices. There are nine-day series of early masses, known as Simbang Gabi, and street-wide Christmas carolers singing “Christmas In Our Hearts” and “Pasko Na Naman.” On Christmas Eve, the main event is the Filipino tradition of Noche Buena, a grand family dinner filled with Filipino food and the exchanging...

 by Charmie Vang In Vietnam, the end of the year marks the beginning of numerous festivals and celebrations including Christmas and Christmas Eve. It is a time of massive revelry comprised of family suppers and gatherings. Although only a small percentage of Vietnamese practice Christianity and Catholicism, people enjoy gathering in Ho Chi Minh City’s center to spend time at cafes while viewing the striking display of Christmas lights and decorations. Some people also go to Midnight Mass services to watch Nativity plays as there are several churches that were built as an extension of the French Empire. Furthermore, Christmas entails a warm, hearty dinner which is prepared by the family as a practice of the Yuletide spirit of giving and sharing. French Empire’s influence also intro...

by Risa Seu Christmas in Japan is a little different to from Christmas in other countries. Since less than 2% of the population in Japan identify as Christian, there was a big void to fill in for the tradition of Christmas. The biggest difference is that fried chicken, especially Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), is synonymous with Christmas dinner. A extremely successful marketing campaign by KFC in 1974 rang “クリスマスにはケンタッキー” (read: Kurisumasu ni wa Kentakki; meaning: Kentucky for Christmas) with Colonel Sanders dressed up as Santa Claus. This helped create the tradition of eating KFC on Christmas. Now, people order fried chicken up to 2 months in advance and wait in extremely long lines to ensure they get KFC on Christmas! Other than KFC, Christmas cakes that are beautifully decorated are...

Other religious festivals in India are much larger than Christmas, mostly due to the small Christian population (about 2.3%). Mumbai is home to one of the largest Indian Christian communities, where many are Roman Catholics. Christmas is closely tied to religion, making midnight mass very important, followed by a feast mostly of various curries, and then an exchange of gifts. In Goa, where about a quarter of the population is Christian, there are some more customs that the west is more familiar with, such as caroling, nativity scenes, Christmas cake and local sweets. Giant star paper lanterns are hung on Christmas Eve, followed by a meal with dishes such as roast turkey or chicken. In Southwest India, roughly 22% of the population is made up of Catholics and Christians. Fasting from the 1...

Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, occurred on November 7th this year. November 5-9th was International Education Week, “an opportunity to celebrate the benefits of international education and exchange worldwide”; it was celebrated during the 3rd week of 3rd block here at CC. One of the main events during the week held on campus was Diwali, celebrated at CC on the 9t with musical and dance performances, food, and dancing. SASA (Students for Awareness of South Asia) put on a fun event for all to enjoy and learn. The event included a Balinese music and dance performance, followed by three Hindu dance performances, Indian food, and more dancing! If you didn’t make it this year make sure to go next year and get your tickets early.