In our Hmong culture when the daughter gets married, she is gifted Hmong clothes as well as the clothes she will be wearing when she passes. In Hmong culture we have a certain type of clothing we must wear. These are gifted/given to us by our parents.  I just thought they were wedding gifts but upon talking more with my mom, she told me they are gifts representing love and respect. This has been a tradition passed on from generation to generation. The wedding gifts from my parents show that I come from a respectable family and are not to be looked down on. Once the wedding is over, the husband’s side of the family will go through the wedding gifts and document what was given by the daughter’s parents. This also represents the parents helping their daughter start out her new life. Some of these clothes are hand sewn by my mom and some have been purchased. I have two big suitcases full of Hmong clothes from when I was little to a grown adult. Even now my mom still buys me Hmong clothes if she comes across something she likes. Recently I have become very attached to Hmong clothes. I have been looking through them and it brings back some memories. When my three daughters were smaller, I was able to dress them in my old adolescent Hmong clothes, but now they have grown and are wearing my adult Hmong clothes. During the Hmong New Year, we get to pull out all our Hmong clothes and show them off. Some wear older styles while some wear newer modern styles. There are many colors and a variety of patterns. Some are simple and some have so many money coins attached that they jingle






 

– Melanie Xiong

Relationship:  Child of im/migrant Child of im/migrant