RICHLY DRESSED. A previous Hmong New Year celebration in Eau Claire. New Year clothing is often adorned with coins for good fortune.

In Eau Claire, on every second weekend of November, the Hmong community invites friends and family to celebrate the Hmong New Year – an annual celebration of the completion of a year’s harvest and welcoming of a new year.

The literal translation of Noj Pebcaug or Noj Tshiab Pebcaug is Eat 30 or Eat New 30. Back in Laos, the Hmong would take around 30 days off to travel to different villages to celebrate with family and friends.

When I was a young girl, I remembered waking up excited to celebrate the Hmong New Year. My mom would sew Hmong clothing by hand for us. It was really the only time my six sisters and one brother would be able to wear our Hmong clothes during the year.

I always felt so whole when I could wear our celebratory clothes. These clothes were a part of me, and this one weekend was one where I could wear my Hmong clothing with pride out in public.

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The clinking of the coins on Hmong outfits sang their song as people walked, gathering to celebrate the Hmong New Year. My sisters and I looked for our cousins and friends, free to walk, go ball toss, watch performers sing and dance, eat delicious Hmong food, and buy Hmong-made clothing, jewelry, or artifacts.

TRUE VUE

EAU CLAIRE AREA HMONG MUTUAL ASSISTANCE ASSOCIATION

My mother would help my sisters and me dress, wrapping brightly colored sashes around our waists, tying embroidered sashes with coins to our hips. The final step was the headpiece. My mother would wrap the cloth around my head, reminding me of the importance of learning this technique. It might disappear, she says, if we don’t pass down this tradition. 

The clinking of the coins on Hmong outfits sang their song as people walked, gathering to celebrate the Hmong New Year. My sisters and I looked for our cousins and friends, free to walk, go ball toss, watch performers sing and dance, eat delicious Hmong food, and buy Hmong-made clothing, jewelry, or artifacts. They were a treat – many of these items were never available at local stores, and we had to wait a full year to buy them at the Hmong New Year celebration. We would laugh and play until it was time to go home.

Before the Hmong Heritage Month and the Hmong-Lao Veterans Day, the Hmong New Year was the only time the Hmong celebrated their heritage and culture in Eau Claire. Through the collaboration of the Hmong clans in Eau Claire – the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association, Hmong performers and vendors, along with the support from different sponsors – the Eau Claire Hmong New Year is made possible.

Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, it was decided to postpone the Hmong New Year celebration once again, as the safety of our community is still a top priority.

Though there is not a specific space to celebrate the Hmong New Year at large for the community, it will still be celebrated throughout the homes of Hmong people this year.

Our celebration will be a little different this year, just as how other holidays are being celebrated differently during this pandemic. These memories, traditions, and celebrations are so important to hold onto and must live on.

True Vue is executive director of the Eau Claire Area Hmong Mutual Assistance Association.