Lunar New Year!
Hi everyone!
We've like to wish everyone a Happy Lunar New Year to anyone who is celebrating the Year Of The Ox.
Due the pandemic, we were not able to go the temple or spend time in Little Saigon to celebrate the new year like we usually do.
Although this Lunar New Year look different, we were still so grateful to have celebrated with our close family with some amazing Vietnamese food and of course, red pockets.
We celebrated by wearing Áo dài, the traditional Vietnamese garment. We chose the red and gold colors because these are the most festive colors to wear during Lunar New Year!
This year we had three generations dress up in Áo dài. You can see our mom, our third sister (yes, we have another one!), and our niece.
While this time brings so much joy for most of the Asian American community, it has also been so disheartening and devastating to see the recent rise in racist, xenophobic attacks against the Asian community. Anti-Asian hate crimes have risen by 1,900% in the United States. This number is alarming and heartbreaking.
Those being attacked even include elderly Asian members of our community. These violent, xenophobic behavior can be seen and started anywhere, including online.
We have taken some time to educate ourselves on how we can help our community. We've included some references below!
Spread Awareness on Social Media - Let’s use our platform to speak up! Not sure what to say? Repost/Retweet posts. We see hateful speech every day. Reporting or speaking up against racist behavior can not only help stop things from escalating, but helps show support for the Asian American community.
Report crimes against the AAPI community.
Donate to organizations - See below for some suggestions!
Donate To Asian Pacific Fund Buy
Donate To Welcome To Chinatown Buy
Donate To Oakland Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce Buy
Donate To Save Our Chinatowns Buy
Donate To Southeast Asian Community Alliance Buy
Support Asian businesses. It has been an incredibly difficult year for the restaurant industry, but Chinese restaurants have suffered greatly. Dine out or pick up if you can! If you like beauty services, support your local salon! Many beauty salons are Asian owned, and purchasing a service and leaving a good review helps!
Check in on your Asian American friends that are feeling the sadness of what's happening to the Asian community. Let them know that you are there for them and that you are thinking about them, it goes a long way.
We can always come together and make a difference.
Love,
Elin & AnhThu