Some communities are preparing for Thanksgiving, the Hmong community celebrated its New Year on Nov. 14 at the Satellite Student Union.
Traditionally celebrated at the end of harvest season in November or December, the Hmong New Year is a time when the community comes together to celebrate new beginnings.
Wearing traditional colorful Hmong clothing, students, faculty and staff and community members attended with smiles, food was eaten and dances were performed.
“We love to celebrate and educate,” says Dr. Shimel Her Saychou, a Hmong New Year planning committee member and adviser to the Hmong Student Association. “We want to start with the history of the Hmong new year and continue with the following years educating not just our future hmong generation but everyone on campus.”
The event started half an hour late, at 6 p.m., and finished an hour late at 9 p.m. This did not diminish the enthusiasm of the event, far from it, excitement and joy was in the air.
“We had a huge community turnout,” Saychou said.
There were so many people that there weren’t enough seats for everyone, some having to stand in the back. Plans for next year’s Hmong New year are already in the works. “We are looking around for a bigger space. We joke about the Save Mart Center,” Saychou said laughing.
The celebration opened with traditional Hmong dances by various dance clubs and groups.
Kalue Yang, Miss Hmong California first runner-up 2023, gave a beautiful singing performance and spoke about her journey as a Hmong student at Fresno State. She graduated with her undergraduate degree last year and is pursuing a master’s degree this year.
Fresno State President Saúl Jiménez-Sandoval gave a speech praising the strength and the openness of the Hmong community before being awarded a gift by the Fresno State Hmong New Year Committee.
“This is the second year that our president has fully invested into the Hmong New Year,” Saychou said.
A student video about the history of the Hmong New Year created by the Hmong Student Association was played during the celebration.
“The movie is about how the Hmong New Year became a thing,” said Muajmeej Xiong, a Fresno State senior biology student and vice-president of the Hmong Student Association. The video follows an ancient Hmong legend of curses, heroes and witches, ending in a blessing celebrating the new year. “Every new year, Hmong people celebrate a new year [with] new crops growing and where we gather together as Hmong people to meet each other to share our stories, our foods, and our culture to be united.”
There was an announcement made about the new Fresno State Hmong Digital Repository, a partnership between the Fresno State Library and Hmongstory Legacy, which is a digital archive and repository focused on preserving Hmong stories and culture.
The event ended with a performance by internationally-known Hmong singer Cha Mee Xiong.
“It’s really good to see the Hmong community coming out and supporting the Fresno State students,” Xiong said.
A new year with new beginnings has started. If you want to learn more about the Hmong community, visit the Hmong Student Association.
