Current Event: Hmong New Year Celebration in Stockton

Last Saturday, I attended the Hmong New Year Celebration with my sister and friends. I am not Hmong and had never seen a Hmong Celebration so this celebration was quite new and different for me. Sadly for me, I did not like the food that were present at the celebration since the food was either large amount of barbecued meat or fried something. Also, the vendor sellers mostly only spoke Hmong, which caused me to have difficulty to communicate with them. However, there were some really nice performances by various performers, such as ethnic dances and singing, and some interesting vendor shops that had very nice hand-crafted artwork.

At the celebration, everyone came in groups, specifically with their family members. For example, my friend went with almost his entire family (parents and all 10 siblings). Additionally, everyone at the celebration dressed up really nicely, as shown in my pictures. The girls/ladies all wore traditional Hmong outfit with bright colors that appeared sparkly. The boys/men mostly wore suits, button-down shirt, and suit pants.

If Confucius were alive today in Stockton, I think he would go to this celebration even though he cannot speak Hmong language.I think he would had found it interesting to examine the interactions of the people present. Additionally, there are Confucian concept of "li" and "family relationship" present at this very interesting and lively celebration. 

Two sisters