Hmong New Year

Our ward activity for this month was a Hmong (pronounced “Mong”) New Year. It was so awesome! We learned about Hmong traditions, history, clothing, and music. We also got to eat Hmong food. It was awesome. I think everyone was stuffed! I would say that about ¼ of our ward is Hmong, so it was cool to learn about their culture. Hmong people are nomadic and they are from around the Laos/Thailand/Vietnam mountains. Many Hmong people live in the USA now. This is because during the Vietnam War, they helped the CIA against the Vietcong. After this, they were being killed because of their affiliation with the USA, so the United States helped them to move here in order to be safe. Large Hmong communities live in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, with smaller communities in other states. I’m so grateful for their help to us. I know many sacrifices were made, and many lives were lost because of it.