Hmong New Year at East High School
Never too late to celebrate
Never too late to celebrate
By Laura Salinger
Although the Hmong New Year performance at East High School didn’t go down quite
as planned this year, the end result was worth the wait.
After many hours of hard work, Hmong students were disheartened to learn that school
was cancelled (due to snow) on the day of their scheduled performance in December. Nearly
two months later, these students got a second chance to take the stage at East High School’s
Margaret William’s Theater in a series of performances attended by fellow students, parents,
and the community. Featuring traditional Hmong clothing, ball tossing, music, and acting,
the performance Hmong students showcased the Hmong culture with flair.
“This is our third annual program,” ESL teacher and event organizer May Choua Thao
said. “The idea of putting a Hmong New Year in place came from that idea of wanting to
showcase our culture and history to the whole school.”
This year, the spotlight was on Hmong courtship rituals. “Every year, I write a play
incorporating the chosen theme. This year’s theme was ‘Courtship during the New Year
Celebration,” Choua Thao added.
Traditionally the Hmong New Year is celebrated in November and December.
Historically, the event (which coincides with the end of the harvest season) was created to
give thanks to ancestors and spirits, as well as to signify the welcome of new beginnings.
Festivities include traditional clothing and food, music, and dance. A big component of the
celebration is courtship rituals.
“We wanted to illustrate the different instruments and courtship rituals that the Hmong
use,” East High School counselor Joe Nigh says.
Pov pob, or ball tossing, is a common courtship ritual for adolescents and East students
took to the stage in colorful outfits to showcase this and other activities that make the Hmong
New Year unique.
For event organizers, the Hmong New Year performance is important as a way to
showcase this sometimes-misunderstood culture. For East High School counselor Joe Nigh, it
is a way to highlight that “we are not just the bland homogenized society that mainstream
culture so often portrays.”
Although the Hmong New Year performance at East High School didn’t go down quite
as planned this year, the end result was worth the wait.
After many hours of hard work, Hmong students were disheartened to learn that school
was cancelled (due to snow) on the day of their scheduled performance in December. Nearly
two months later, these students got a second chance to take the stage at East High School’s
Margaret William’s Theater in a series of performances attended by fellow students, parents,
and the community. Featuring traditional Hmong clothing, ball tossing, music, and acting,
the performance Hmong students showcased the Hmong culture with flair.
“This is our third annual program,” ESL teacher and event organizer May Choua Thao
said. “The idea of putting a Hmong New Year in place came from that idea of wanting to
showcase our culture and history to the whole school.”
This year, the spotlight was on Hmong courtship rituals. “Every year, I write a play
incorporating the chosen theme. This year’s theme was ‘Courtship during the New Year
Celebration,” Choua Thao added.
Traditionally the Hmong New Year is celebrated in November and December.
Historically, the event (which coincides with the end of the harvest season) was created to
give thanks to ancestors and spirits, as well as to signify the welcome of new beginnings.
Festivities include traditional clothing and food, music, and dance. A big component of the
celebration is courtship rituals.
“We wanted to illustrate the different instruments and courtship rituals that the Hmong
use,” East High School counselor Joe Nigh says.
Pov pob, or ball tossing, is a common courtship ritual for adolescents and East students
took to the stage in colorful outfits to showcase this and other activities that make the Hmong
New Year unique.
For event organizers, the Hmong New Year performance is important as a way to
showcase this sometimes-misunderstood culture. For East High School counselor Joe Nigh, it
is a way to highlight that “we are not just the bland homogenized society that mainstream
culture so often portrays.”
“ So often, it is just about mainstream culture,” Nigh said. “I think this performance is so important, so that Hmong students
can share their culture.”
Yet, the performance, Nigh asserts, is just as important as an effort to better connect Hmong students to their own culture.
Nowadays, many Hmong youth are second and third generation and have grown up in the States. The tension between
familial expectations (or the traditional Hmong way of life) and mainstream society is a topic that resonates strongly in a
population that has moved from new immigrant status to one longer entrenched in U.S. society.
East High School has taken many steps to ensure that Hmong students move from the fringes to becoming involved players
in their high school community, simultaneously embracing their culture while also being accepted. Borrowing from
curriculum already in place at East, Spanish for Spanish speakers, Choua Thao and a colleague decided to create a similar
class for Hmong students.
can share their culture.”
Yet, the performance, Nigh asserts, is just as important as an effort to better connect Hmong students to their own culture.
Nowadays, many Hmong youth are second and third generation and have grown up in the States. The tension between
familial expectations (or the traditional Hmong way of life) and mainstream society is a topic that resonates strongly in a
population that has moved from new immigrant status to one longer entrenched in U.S. society.
East High School has taken many steps to ensure that Hmong students move from the fringes to becoming involved players
in their high school community, simultaneously embracing their culture while also being accepted. Borrowing from
curriculum already in place at East, Spanish for Spanish speakers, Choua Thao and a colleague decided to create a similar
class for Hmong students.
“A colleague of mine, Choua Her, and I started to put in place a Hmong curriculum in the summer of 2006,”
Choua Thao says. “We originally had two Hmong classes and our purposes were to teach Hmong literacy, history,
and culture to our Hmong students. We wanted to promote the Hmong spoken and written language to our
students and instill pride in them because they agreed that their voices were not heard in the mainstream and
they were sometimes misunderstood by their peers.”
Out of this new curriculum sprung the idea for an annual event that really tests the knowledge of Hmong
students when it comes to Hmong literacy.
“To promote Hmong literacy, last year we organized a Hmong Spelling Bee competition which had a good
turn-out,” Choua Thao says. “Currently, Choua and I are working on the second annual Hmong Spelling Bee
which is tentatively scheduled for April 18.”
With these, and other efforts, East High School is helping Hmong students find their niche at schools, while
also instilling a sense of pride about their culture. To quote Joe Nigh, who wants a “bland, homogenized
mainstream culture” anyway?
Choua Thao says. “We originally had two Hmong classes and our purposes were to teach Hmong literacy, history,
and culture to our Hmong students. We wanted to promote the Hmong spoken and written language to our
students and instill pride in them because they agreed that their voices were not heard in the mainstream and
they were sometimes misunderstood by their peers.”
Out of this new curriculum sprung the idea for an annual event that really tests the knowledge of Hmong
students when it comes to Hmong literacy.
“To promote Hmong literacy, last year we organized a Hmong Spelling Bee competition which had a good
turn-out,” Choua Thao says. “Currently, Choua and I are working on the second annual Hmong Spelling Bee
which is tentatively scheduled for April 18.”
With these, and other efforts, East High School is helping Hmong students find their niche at schools, while
also instilling a sense of pride about their culture. To quote Joe Nigh, who wants a “bland, homogenized
mainstream culture” anyway?
