holiday

I’m thinking of my brother today on Memorial Day.

Let’s begin this section by revisiting our inquiry on the relevancy of the Lao New Year festival in the twenty-first century through a community development perspective. In order to answer this, i would like us to also revisit the three values of Lao New Year, 1) Community, 2) merit-making, and 3) filial piety. How are these values relevant to the Lao American community in the twenty-first century? There are more questions here than answers and this section hopes to begin a conversation among elders, emerging community leaders and members of the Lao American community.

As we approach Lao New Year, I wanted to take this opportunity to not only highlight traditional practices associated with the celebration, but also begin a conversation on the relevancy of centuries-old traditions in twenty-first century Lao American communities. As we begin this conversation, there are three things I will focus on: 1) an overview of the three-day celebration including myths associated with the Nang Sangkhan, 2) Lao New Year as practiced by Lao Americans through archival research and personal anecdotes, and lastly, 3) relevancy of the myths and practices in the twenty-first century through a community development perspective.