i totally drank the asian american awarness kool aid.

am i incorrect saying that this is the LUNAR new year? it is P.C. to say it's the lunar new year because it's not just the chinese who celebrate the year that is determined by the lunar calendar. vietnamese, korean, japanese, thai, and other ethnic groups celebrate the lunar new year too. in fact, the vietnamese zodiac is different from the chinese one so it would be more accurate to call Tet the lunar new year.

it's funny how i came about calling tet the lunar new year. growing up, my parents and i would talk about tet and one day when i was a little girl, i talked about the "chinese new year" in english and my parents put it to a stop right there. they said to me, "we are not chinese. we call tet, tet. it's not the chinese new year. it's tet and that's what everyone should call it." that's how i came about to call it the lunar new year -- it was my compromise of calling it something that is more pc and doesn't require a translation.

well actually it does require a translation. when i talk to those who aren't in tune with asian cultures and i refer to the lunar new year, they really didn't know what i was talking about.

it really is an american culture thing i think. it's been known for so long as the chinese new year because the chinese are the asian majority in the states (well i suppose in all the world if you want to look at it that way) and they were also the first to introduce the lunar new year at a large scale to the western world. naturally, the lunar new year would be associated with the chinese culture. and of course it would make sense for those of you who are of chinese heritage to call it the chinese new year. go figure.

so as long as i implant my seed with at least one person a year, i think i've done my part in bringing awareness to the diversity of an aspect of asian cultures that share a common bond.

but in the end, it's all about family and food no matter what you call it. i ate so much this past weekend. OHHH WEEEEE!!! what a great weekend. hope you all brought in the new year fantastically like i did too!!!

Currently Listening Once Again By John Legend see related