Karen New Year

 

On January 1, 1938, Karen New Year was observed for the first time. This is the biggest celebration that the Karen people, both nationally and locally throughout the world where they reside, hold once a year. The group leader blows the buffalo horn to summon the Karen New when the Karen people awaken early on the day of the celebration.

For the Karen people, this is a special day, and they begin dressing in brand-new traditional Karen attire. Everyone appears radiant and joyful as they reunite with friends and family they haven't seen in a while. 

The national anthem was played to begin the ceremony, after which the Leader gave a brief overview of Karen history and the Karen New Year. The youth group begins the traditional dance once the leader gives a brief overview of the group's history. There are several kinds of dance, including modern dance, don dance, and bamboo dance. A fashion show is part of the performance, where young Karen people dress in traditional attire and pretend to be the early Karen people. The Karen New Year song is also sung by one of the Karen singers.

 Following the event, everyone in Karen sings a national song and expresses gratitude to the person sitting next to them. then everyone who attended Karen New Year could eat. For all ages, there was Karen cultural cuisine and dessert.

One thing about Karen New Year is that everyone is welcome to celebrate, regardless of their religion. In America, we began to observe the Karen New Year in a different way because everyone had work and personal obligations. We have a hard time finding an occasion to celebrate. But because they love their people and preserve the culture, everyone is ready to celebrate. We make sure not to celebrate after January, even if we don't on January 1. 

These days, since many of our young people only get to see one another once a year, we attempt to add soccer competitions after the Karen New Year. They do, after all, reside in separate states. Every year, we get together to play soccer and other sports with numerous teams. We do it primarily in Minnesota and Texas.

We also extend an invitation to our non-Karen friends. We dress them in traditional Karen attire so they can celebrate the special day with us and learn about Karen New Year. Considering that Karen was unknown to many. We make every effort to keep the details of the Karen people separate.

All the things we did during the Karen, and dressed in our tradition were to show respect and pride to our culture. In Thailand or Myanmar, we speak Karen language during the event. In the United States, we speak Karen and English so everyone will understand the meaning of the Karen New Year.