On Lunar New Year, hard-boiled eggs are dyed red and carefully
placed in traditional macramé necklaces. The eggs symbolize the
blessing of one’s good fortune for the coming new year. All
around Sacramento, ceremonial feasts bring people together, where
bright red blessings are distributed and hang near the hearts of
the participants.
The Iu Mien (yoo-myen) have celebrated about 50 such new years in
America. They are an indigenous tribe from Southern China that
numbers about 30,000 in the United States, with about 15,000
living in Sacramento County alone. Unlike the more familiar Hmong
(muhng) tribe, which has 293,000 members in the country, the Iu
Mien are not counted in the 2020 US Census, so statistics remain
estimated.
Since the 17th century, the Iu Mien (sometimes referred to as the
Mien) have been nomadic, traveling from…
