Insights From a Superhero's Mom

No, I really am not confused nor am I trying to confuse you. This really is a post on the New Year. I know some of you are wondering why I am not writing a post on Thanksgiving or on Christmas when those holidays precede the New Year. That’s because the Hmong New Year celebration in Texas is this weekend, November 27 and 28. This is our family’s first Hmong New Year celebration in Texas, so we are truly looking forward to it. I can’t tell you much about this New Year celebration yet, as it hasn’t happened. However, I can talk a little about a Hmong New Year celebration in general.

Traditionally, the Hmong New Year, or Peb Caug, is celebrated on December 30; thus giving it the name peb caug which means thirty.  Back in Laos, the New Year festival lasted two weeks and was a celebration of the last harvest of the year.  The New Year is also the only Hmong festival that is celebrated during the same time each year.  My parents and other elders tell me that the New Year celebrations in Laos were grand and included many activities from folk singing to even bull-fighting.

Nowadays, we don’t quite do bull-fighting anymore, but we do still have some unique activities that may not be seen elsewhere. In many traditional Hmong households, the celebrations can start as early as a week to the night before the actual community celebration with a cleansing of household spirits. Money and incense are also offered to the ancestors at this time.

Brightly-colored traditional clothing are worn on the actual day of the celebration, and a special ball-tossing game is played. Balls can be hand-sewn, or for busy families such as ours, tennis balls make a great alternative! The rules for this game are quite simple. Toss the ball between two people (usually a man and a woman or a boy and a girl as this originated as a couple’s game). Whoever drops the ball must sing a traditional folk song (called a kwv txhiaj ), or for those who can’t sing a folk song like me, give something to the other person (such as a bracelet, necklace, or hat). The game continues until one player admits defeat, runs out of songs to sing, or runs out of items to give away. Usually, items are returned at the end of the game, unless a couple decides otherwise.

Another traditional game that is played during the Hmong New Year is kab taub or katow. This game is a combination between soccer and volleyball and is also much like hackey-sack. A ball made of woven reeds is used, and players are split into two teams. Like volleyball, a net is placed in the middle. Players must use their feet or head only to kick or hit the ball over the net. Points are scored when the opposing team drops the ball or allows it to go out of bounds. Of course, this game is weather-permitting, since some U.S. Cities do encounter snow by the time the New Year celebration is held. Other weather-permitting games at the New Year can include volleyball, soccer, football, basketball, and tub lub, a wooden top-spinning competition. In this last game, competitors build their own wooden tops ahead of time. Then the tops are spun, and the distance traveled by each is measured. The winner is the person whose top spun out the farthest.

Although these activities are great fun to watch, my favorite activities are still the cultural dances and qeeb (also known as qeng) or reed-pipe playing. The qeng player is both a musician and an acrobat artist as he plays melodically on the qeng while doing various acrobatic stunts. Traditionally, the qeng player will only be seen at New Year celebrations, weddings, and funerals (where his music is said to be the key to sending the spirit of the dead one to the land of the ancestors). Each song has a message, and those who can understand the message will often be seen with tear-filled eyes as songs can be about love, friendship, kinship, or life.

There really is no such thing as traditional new year food, but many favorite dishes saved especially for special occasions may be served. Such dishes may include: five-spice grilled or fried chicken with sticky rice, qhaub poob or rice noodles and red curry soup, lab or spicy beef salad, taub ntoos tuav or spicy papaya salad, and much more. This year in Texas, each family must contribute a favorite dish, so I will be making my special Thai chicken curry.

With all the activities and special events at each Hmong New Year, I am truly looking forward to enjoying time with my family and friends at this Texas Hmong New Year. I also know that this is especially exciting and important to my kids as this is one of the few times that they get to interact with other Hmong families and see their cultural heritage displayed in so many ways. I do hope to take pictures to share with all of you, so until next time, Nyob Zoo Xyoob Tshiab, Happy Hmong New Year!