Chinese New Year Is Really Just Around Teh Corner

`The Hmong New Year is a cultural celebration that occurs annually, in the months of November and December, in areas where large Hmong population exists. In this speech, I am going to share the three main components that make up the celebration of Hmong New Year, such as the culture of the food, tradition clothes, and the activities that are involved.

All family functions were always fun, nothing stands out because they were all unique and great in their own way. In my culture family parties happen all the time. It’s a running joke ‘if a cat dies we will gather the family to celebrate its life’. We come together for anything. It’s always been whose birthday party we would celebrate or any occasion for that matter just to find something to come together for to eat, drink and party.

They wouldn’t get to eat as much food. They wouldn’t be enjoying their precious time with their family. Instead they would be working hard in the fields to earn a sufficient living wage. But Chinese New Year was a time when they felt they were on top. They thought that they were living the high life. They “all looked forward to, the one time when we would be guaranteed wonderful food, was the Chinese New Year.” It was one joyous occasion that helped them to endure their destitute lives.

D. These huge ornaments are called the New Year's display in Japan. E. A tradition for the Japanese people is to visit a shrine or temple during New Year's. F. According to gojapan.about.com, some temples and shrines expect a couple million visitors during New Year's holidays each year.

Amy’s parents are the authoritative figures keeping their Chinese traditions and cultures alive. Rather than appeal to the American tradition even though they invited the Minister’s family, they decided to stay true to who they are, by making a menu according to their traditions. “What terrible disappointment would he feel upon seeing not a roasted turkey and sweet potatoes but Chinese food?” (Tan, 110). Amy describes how her family will stick to their normal chinese menu rather than cook American Christmas eve food.

There is also a tradition called “Noj Pebcaug”. This is where the “Hmong” celebrate the New Year and ask our fore fathers for good luck in the upcoming New Year. The Hmong are not the only ones that have certain traditions that are important. The Jewish culture also has a tradition

(Even the “ex’s” and the people who are not quite in the picture anymore.) As we gather around the table we share things we are thankful for. Whether we are thankful for the sweet banana pudding waiting for us after supper, or whether it is something heart felt, we always come together and share things as a family. But most importantly, we share food. Each separate family brings something they cooked and my aunt sets it out as a buffet line along her kitchen counters and we join hands and say the blessing, and start fixing our plates. Us ladies get to go first. As I make my way around the counter tops each year, I fill my plate with tender turkey and juicy ham, potato casserole, green beans, macaroni and cheese, rolls, corn on the cob, and other things

First, Chinese Americans preserve their ethnic identities through holidays. One of the biggest holidays is the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year is different from the regular New Years in that it relies on the moon cycles instead of the western calendar, so it falls on different days each year. There is a lot of preparation that goes into the Chinese New Year. People start cleaning their houses and decorating them with spring couplets on the twentieth day of the twelfth moon. Spring couplets are short poems written on red scrolls of paper in black. A popular New Years tradition in the United States is the exchanging of red envelopes containing money, which are called hong-bao. Most families spend this holiday celebrating together because this holiday, above others, emphasizes family and family ties.

There are many important traditions that were kept until this day. From generations to generations, the Lunar New Year was kept the same and we did not change anything about it or how we celebrate it. But the Lunar New Year, it is not only celebrated in the Vietnamese culture. It is also celebrated in many other Asian cultures, such as Korea and China. Korea celebrates their New Year on the same day as the American New Year is celebrated. I can tell that the most well known and popular holidays in the Viet culture is the Lunar New Year. Vietnamese culture called Lunar New Year as Têt. “In the Vietnamese old cultural beliefs, families believe that their activities during Têt must involve happiness, joy, and good luck.” Many families would have to prepare themselves ahead of time. Others would tell their children to behave on the day or week to avoid bad luck for the whole entire year. Vietnamese family take this old beliefs very seriously because it helped and motivated us that we have good lucks by our side throughout the year. That is why even before the beginning of Têt, families must prepare by cleaning and even painting their home in anticipation of spring, settle old debts and disputes, and pledge to behave nicely and work hard in the New Year. People also traditionally buy new clothes to usher in the New Year. Family goes visit our ancestors, like going to temple to pray or grave. The night before the New Year, families perform a ritual where incense sticks are burned, inviting the spirits of their ancestors to join them in celebration. “This is also a time to bid farewell to the family's Kitchen God (Ong Tao), who then returns to heaven to report on the family's behavior in the past year to the Jade Emperor.” This old belief will continues to spread throughout the country to new generations and will never be forgotten. During a Korean New Year, family comes together to celebrate. Family does

Asia is such a large continent that being Asian already means you are part of a culturally diverse community. As an Asian American, you are mix of two cultures. We celebrate the lunar new year with huge family gatherings, gift exchanging, and food. Lots of food. Whether it be dumplings, kimchi, mattar paneer, mee goreng, or pho, our native cuisine will always make it to the dinner table. During the lunar new year, my family always prepares a huge hot pot, stuffed with shiitake and enokitake mushrooms, vegan fish balls, tofu, carrots, cabbage, ramen, bean sprouts, beancurd, and many other delicious foods. My grandparents hand us red envelopes and we bow to them to show our respect.

New Years is an exciting holiday in many countries. It marks a new period of time with the pure and pristine beginning for individuals. Every country has a unique cultural celebration and specific traditions depending on where you live. However, there is a big difference between how Asian people and Western people celebrate New Year. The three most noticeable differences are in the preparation, travel and length of the holiday will be last.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been researching the Chinese New Year and I am here today to share what I have found.

Fish also play a large role in the celebrations. The word for fish, “Yu” sounds like the words both for and abundance. The fish is usually served whole, with head and tail, which mean having a good beginning and ending for the coming year. These round dumplings which is called JiaoZi signify family reunion. Its shape look like a bag the has many gold coins inside. This dish is called Lion’s Head Meatball. They are cooked with oversized meatballs and some vegetable soup. The lion represents power and strength in Chinese culture, while the oversized meatballs symbolize family reunion. Duck symbolizes fidelity in chinese culture. Also, sweet and sour pork is popular with families hoping for a lot of grandchildren because the Cantonese word for “sour” sounds like the word for grandchild. Cakes have a special place in Chinese New year celebrations. Chinese people called them NianGow. NianGow is made up of rice flour, wheat starch, water and sugar. Their sweetness symbolizes a rich and sweet life. The family will then end the night with firecrackers.

The ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches are like any other calendar. It is used to count hours, the time of years, and months. “When counting years, people use them with the 12 Chinese Zodiac [signs] . . .” (Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches). The Yellow Emperor also known as Huangdi summand Da Rao Shi to make a calendar. Da Rao Shi created the calendar system. He studied the four seasons and the differences between earth and sky.

Looking back at ancient civilization, fireworks, elaborate performances, or decorations had not been invented or developed. These rituals that are associated with the tradition today were added throughout the years. It was because of time that people started incorporating ideas that were added on along with the festival. Therefore you were lucky and fortunate to spend Chinese New Year with