Photo by Lucy Moua.
A disclaimer: Cee Xiong contributed to this story article in her personal capacity. The story ideas expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the views of the performers at Hmong New Year festival.
Hmong people in Anchorage, Alaska celebrated the Hmong New Year in Delaney Park Strip downtown on August 24-25. Many people gathered to celebrate with friends and family — embracing their culture and traditional values by wearing Hmong traditional clothing.
A little history about the Hmong people is that we originated in China and were around 2700 B.C. until the 19th century, following the conflicts with the Han Dynasty that caused Hmong people to migrate to Southeast Asian countries,including Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar. In the mid-20th century, the Vietnam War began spreading into Northeastern Laos, where the Hmong people lived.
Gen. Vang Pao, was a Hmong leader and a legendary hero who marshaled a CIA mercenary army to fight in the secret war against the communists in Laos. Between 1975-1997, approximately 138,000 Hmong people escaped by crossing the hazardous Mekong River to refugee camps in Thailand, while some refugees arrived in the United States with the help of American troops.
As a Hmong person, seeing everyone dressed in Hmong clothing filled me with great joy because it shows that Hmong people care about who they are and are here to celebrate it. Not only watching soccer and performances, I had also performed at the Hmong New Year by singing a song written by Josh Vue, “Ib Hnub.”
It was my first time performing at Hmong New Year stage. I had never performed on previous events, but this year went well on stage. I have met a few backstage performers and the music producers, who were great and were really kind.
Some of the attendees' favorite activities during the festival were watching people “Pov Pob” — a Hmong New Year tradition in which performers toss a decorated cloth ball — playing soccer, tasting the food and watching the performances.
While there, I received a few people's opinions about their experience at Hmong New Year. Gaoshi said she liked seeing her people embracing the culture and tasting the food, while Sheng said she loved watching the performances by artists Johnny Lo and festival dancers Ntxhais Ntuj Nag, Ntxhais Ntuj Ci, Ntxhais Tshaj Lij and many other performers.
A proper celebration of Hmong New Year has been anticipated for the last two years, as the community was unable to receive enough sponsors to open the Hmong New Year event.
Many festival attendees enjoyed the New Year while watching soccer, exciting performances and people dressed in colorful fashion.
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