 "Photo: Photos by Seng Vang/Illustration by Trevor Amsberry")
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When thinking of the New Year, party hats, glittery glasses and the toot and rattle of noisemakers come to mind. But for the Hmong people, the New Year symbolizes something different.
The Hmong culture, predominately found in China, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Burma, France, Australia and the U.S., celebrated its fifth-annual New Year in Chico last weekend at Marsh Junior High School.
The jingle of the silver coins beaded on bright colored costumes, the echo of the music, the sound of laughter from hundreds of people socializing, reminiscing and meeting new friends, the smell of Hmong food and the captivating cultural performances set this New Year apart from others.
Chico is one of the first cities to begin the celebration. In California, Hmong New Year festivals are celebrated from north to south, said Bao Vue, president of Chico State's Hmong Student Association.
Fresno has the largest festivities and is known as the international Hmong New Year, where people come from out of state and country to celebrate, Vue said.
"The celebration depends on the size of the city here in the U.S.," she said. "Smaller cities usually have it on the weekends. And bigger cities, like Fresno and Sacramento, have it for a week or two."
The New Year "is a time of rest from harvest and work, a time for Hmong people to start new lives, new beginnings and to socialize," Vue said.
The Hmong people were mainly farmers who worked hard year round, seven days a week, she said. The festival is held at the end of the harvest season, usually December, so everyone can celebrate and take a break from life.
One of the main purposes of the New Year was to go out, meet new people and find a spouse since families worked hard and didn't have a chance to meet people from other villages, Vue said.
The Butte County Hmong Association organized the event and requested that Vue and Chico State's Hmong Student Association perform a play to kick off the festivities Saturday, she said.
The play, "Now & Then: When Two Worlds Collide," involved acting, dancing, music, fashion shows and various performances.
During the performance, the audience took a trip in a time machine back to the traditional time of Hmong people when top spinning, ball tossing, farming, Hmong qeej, which is a bamboo and wooden mouth organ, traditional dances and customary fashion of the men and women were predominant.
The audience also experienced the Hmong-American culture that exists today. A contemporary fashion show with hip-hop and rock music played as men and women strutted on the catwalk. Basketball, football and some break dancing was also performed to show how the culture has evolved.
Many Hmong traditions still exist and are active in today's New Year, said senior Mary Lee, member of the Hmong Student Association.
The most popular is ball toss, an icebreaker used when trying to meet a person of the opposite sex, she said. A man and woman throw the ball back and forth while talking and getting to know each other.
Usually a traditional poetic folk song is recited during ball toss to show interest in the other person, Lee said.
"You don't directly tell the opposite sex what you want, but you say what you like about them," she said. "It is basically saying, 'Oh I think you are cute, and after the New Year, you can come back. If we love each other, then we can marry.'"
But few Hmong people nowadays know how to recite the poetic folk song, she said. Lee only knows one person close to her age who knows it.
"It is something we are losing, and it's sad that younger people are not into it," Lee said. "It is the clashing of cultures."
The Hmong people welcome anyone to come and learn about their culture. They are proud of who they are and how cross-cultured they have become.
If people really want to know the culture, they should go to Hmong New Year, Lee said.
Danielle Salvato can be reached at dsalvato@theorion.com Photographer Seng Vang can be reached at svang@theorion.com
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