wow...i should have been there.
 

Neat photos. Good work. I just posted an article entitled, "Hmong celebrate New Year in Thailand with hair-raising cart racing and colorful parades," at my web site, wisconsincentral.net. Your bloggers might find it interesting. It is at;

http://www.wisconsincentral.net/Culture010506.html

Ed Marek
 

sweet!
 

Jeff, Nice capture of the Hmong New Year Celebration in Appleton - WI. It's fantastic to see that this tradition is still taking place all over the world! Thanks for taking the time to attend and post these pictures. Take care!

Lisa: Sacramento, CA.
 

i love it!
 

Thank you for sharing your love for the Hmong people. God loves these people and all people.
 

OH my it's great that you have love for the Hmong people. Few people are like you. May god bless you. Us Hmong people are human beings too and we love to be known by other races. We have a great culture and a great backround. The Hmong new year is when I'm happiest. Thanks for the nice pics. I wish I was there. I only live an hour and a half away. Next year...
 

Thanks for caring for the Hmong people. I really appreciated your caring and loving for OUR people. It's a great pleasure to know and have someone sincere as you to come in to the Hmong community. I highly encourage you to continue the good works because it is a huge impact to the Hmong people. Thanks!

Sia Yang, Menomonie, WI
UW-Stout Student
 

greetings from Merced. God Bless you all.

JoNou
 

Glad to see Hmong activities in Appleton. Please encourage Hmong youth participation in your community activities. They are our future.
Khoua Xiong
President of Spokane Hmong Association (Washington State)
 

Man, I think Hmong culture is really cool! I read in the "marie claire" magazine, April 2005, an article, that Kia Vang wrote about her father who's not a killer, and many people look at hmong people and thay hate them, thinking that they are murderous animals, i think that's a bunch of bullshit!
why these white people are hateful to a group of people who helped americans in the vietnam war. many
hmong people gave their lives for the american soilders in vietnam!
those white people don't know that!
i have some hmong clothing and people see it on me and everyone sees it as being native american
clothing, because i'm a native person, and i know the hmong people
are indigenous people like me and i
see many similarities in their culture, like their clothing, and their shamanism, and i love it! it's so cool, i pray for these people, that many white people will
treat them as equals. if anyone has anything to say about what i said, I am female, age 30.
please e-mail me ochibcha@aol.com
thanx have a nice day!
CHIBCHA
 

This is a good put together photos and writing about the Hmong New Year. A Hmong man like me cannot even do a good job like this. I am sure all Hmong readers love to read this site. You did an excellent job, my dearest American friend.

I want to share this personal story to this American friend. I am 42 years old now. When I was about 9-10 years old, I remembered an American helicoptor pilot came to our village in Samnuen, Laos. My dad and the rest of the men in the village got together and talked about how to take care of this American man. They agreeded that each family had to donate a chicken to make food for the American friend because he was from a country like heaven. We (kids) followed him every where he went. He looked so strang but nice at the same time. The village treated him and respected him like a king. I have not seen any Hmong person who would not like this man. You know, I was never imagined that I would have a chance to see a heavenly country like this America. Thanks god that we poor Hmong people got to know American service men during the war and had always kept the strong relationship with the Americans until these days. I know that our people did a good job for American men during the war, but in return, America has provided freedom, opportunity, other legal, social and political assistance to the Hmong world wide. There isn't any country in the whole world that will listen to and help the Hmong like the U.S. Thanks, again.
 

i would like to highly thank you for your great work in working with the hmong people and discovering who we really are. it is our pleasure to have someone like you to want and contrubute to the culture. you have touched our hearts with your great work and that we thank you.
 

wow i would like to say that at least some people in the.... UNITED STATES still care about us hmong people.... i would like to thank all of the people for...understanding how much the we hmong people have been through... also thank you for respecting all of the hmong people all around the world....
 

wow this is very amazing and i love how people are putting pictures up for are hmong culture it's great and do u know it takes like half in a hour to put on and u have to wear it the whole day welll yea this is a great thing u are doing keep it up
 

To "Chibcha," thank you so much for seeing what you do in the Hmong people. It's difficult for the Hmong to try and state their opinion on the Chai Vang case, without having others think that we're just trying to support our race. I'm pretty sure many would agree with me that Chai Vang is not a "hero," but rather one individual whose actions should not have involved the judgement of the entire Hmong community.
About the photos, I'M IN ONE OF JEFF'S PHOTOS! ^^ I'm glad you were at the Appleton Hmong New Year. I hope you enjoyed it, and please do return for plenty more celebrations. Thank you for your great interest in the Hmong culture. I would have to say that many Hmongs are fond of curious strangers like you. ^^ Best wishes!
 

Thank you for putting out these beautiful pictures from a beautiful culture for the rest of the world to see how hmong celebrates their new year.
 

Thanks for the pix. I moved away in 2001 after 22 yrs and still know most of the people in the pix. Thank you for giving me a chance to see what I missed.
 

This event is so much bigger then the Hmong New Year down here in South Carolina. I would of love being there in Wisconsin for the New Year. Thanks for your support for the Hmong people and your photos are very well taken.
 

These are nice photos. You should come to the St. Paul River Centre New Year. It's a blast here too. Every year we have thousands of people from different states here. We celebrate this occasion every November and another one at the Metrodome in December. Hope to see you this year.
 

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I love the photos! I was there at the new year too. The dance competitions were awesome!
 

i love these hmong pictures and seeing my hmong people man..ahaha..
 

I think that the problem with the white peoples understanding of the Hmong has to do with one simple word, "understanding". The majority of the Laotions in America are not Hmong. Therefore the understanding of the Hmong comes from a group of people that don't like or even hate the Hmong people.
I have recently taken an interest in the Hmong people because my father, who is a vietnam vet, has married a laotion woman who has repetedly expressed her dislike towards the Hmong people. Her father was chinese and mother laotion and obviously comes from a communist sec of laotion people that dislike the Hmong people.
Here is where I get confused. How can we, as americans, welcome a group of people into our country, who obviously stand for everything we fought against. Yet we shun the people who helped us in the vietnam war, the Hmong? Understanding?
 

I have been trying to find some books on the Hmong people, if anyone has any recommendations I would appreciate it.
 

The spirit catches you and you fall down. Author Anne Fadiman. Excellent book very informative.
 

Jeff thanks for showing the Hmong culture to people to tell them that we hmong people exist in this
world. There is not alot of us hmong people in Sioux city IA but we thank you really much and I like the pictures of hmong people and i thank you again.
 

I was prompted to learn about the Hmong people after seeing "Gran Torino." I think the movie has made an awareness of the Hmong people. I had never heard of the group until that movie and was prompted to do some research. I hope the movie inspires others to do the same! Your website and photos are very nice. Thank you!
 

Very nice culture. I love the pictures. Thank you!
 

Being that the Hmong people fought with/for the USA against the communists in Southeast Asia, I feel that we as a nation are obligated to take them in. I feel that we as a nation owe it to them to give them a new life in this country.
 

Oh my goodness, I am in these photos! I was so young back then. Thank you so much for taking these photos, they mean a lot to me.