Asian Americans push for New Year's holiday

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  1. #1

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    Asian Americans push for New Year's holiday

    A story that might be of interest:

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...012800926.html


  2. #2

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    "The Italian Americans have Columbus Day, the Irish have St. Patrick's Day and African Americans have Martin Luther King Jr. Day," said Lau, 60, a manager at the Environmental Protection Agency who lives in Columbia. "But the Asian American community has nothing. It's like we're not real Americans."
    OK, as much as I like to take pride in being a Chinese American, and as much as I'd like to take a holiday (typing this out at my workstation now), this statement is quite possibly the most idiotic I've seen. Since when have you needed a holiday to be an American??? I mean, if we're going to follow this line of reasoning, then none of the Caucasians in America (except maybe the Irish ) are Americans either!

    All for having a Lunar New Year holiday in the US. All against stupid explanations about why.

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    he he he... i like it...

    maybe they should have a holiday for every nationality and religious belief? work would never happen

    it is amusing, really. what if other major groups of people from other nationalities started demanding their days off too... do indians get dewali or any other festival days off anywhere outside india? nup. they also make up a large proportion of immigrants to countries like US..

    i guess if you live in a different country you gotta live by their customs...

    that said, how many westerners in HK whine if they have to work Christmas Day?

    Last edited by dropdedfwed; 31-01-2006 at 09:50 AM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dropdedfwed:
    ......
    that said, how many westerners in HK whine if they have to work Christmas Day?
    You'd be surprised (agree with the rest of your post, BTW)!

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    are you saying they do or don't?

    i didn't word my post well, but the guys i know in HK (and the rest of the world) really whine if they need to work a "holiday", even if they have no family to celebrate it with...

    so what i meant was, we can't really criticise too much, cos if we all were given the option of having our holidays celebrated in a foreign land, we'd take it too.. we likely wouldn't rally for it, but if someone did it for us we'd be happy


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    So you meant 'how many westerners in HK would whine if they didn't have to work Christmas Day?". That's different of course. None barring those who might miss their hourly or daily pay.


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    Personally, I don't expect businesses or government to pay for more holidays. But the Maryland county mentioned in the article is not considering that:

    <<Their arguments persuaded Montgomery County Council President George L. Leventhal (D-At Large) to introduce a measure to make the Asian Lunar New Year -- and 22 other holidays, including the Jewish Purim and Muslim Eid ul-Adha -- a "day of commemoration." The legislation won't establish paid holidays or close county facilities, but it will signal to county supervisors that Asians may want to take a personal leave day on the New Year.>>

    Basically, it would be inclusive of many cultures that have contributed to America.

    At my U.S. company, we have two "float days," so people can take them off for birthdays or whatever they consider important, perhaps Chinese New Year's, Martin Luther King Day, Hanukkah, etc. When I was a kid, my parents would close shop and keep us home from school to celebrate Chinese New Year's.

    Despite the characterization of "if you live in different country you gotta live by their customs," America is a mix of immigrants who call the country home. Asian Americans aren't visiting or only working here for a few years. We're here to stay. We've contributed to the country for centuries, will continue to do so, and will continue to help shape American customs. In any country, customs evolve. At the elementary - high schools I attended, we had cultural days for various ethnic groups -- such as Chinese culture day, Filipino culture day, etc. That's been a custom at those schools for more than 20 years -- an example of changing customs and celebration of each others' cultures.


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    We all know fighting for Chinese New Year's Holiday in the States is more than fighting for just another holiday. America is a country born out of numerous struggles and fight, and the people living in it are still fighting for their rights. If American Chinese aren't united in fighting their own rights, who will? Not just Chinese, but every other ethnic group.


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    Sounds alright in principle, why can't they give Chinese their New Years Day off? So long as they don't mind working Christmas as it means nothing to them, it all works out in the end right?


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    "African Americans have Martin Luther King Jr. Day"
    That is an insult to say that it is for African Americans. He is a hero to all Americans, regardless of race or skin colour.

    "Irish have St. Patrick's Day "
    It is not an official holiday.

    "Italian Americans have Columbus Day"
    There are Italian American communities that take Columbus day seriously, but again, it is a national holiday and has little to do with Italian Americans.

    How do people find the time to take up such pointless efforts!


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