Being the first in the family to move to the USA from Changchun, China was not easy for my aunt. Just one year older than my mother, she arrived in 1998 for graduate school. For everybody in my family who came to the United States, bringing anything besides necessities was considered a luxury. Made of real silk, this jacket (along with a version in red), was the only traditional item my aunt was able to bring over. My aunt’s friend had given her the jackets as a goodbye present and as a connection to China for when she settled in the USA. Three years later, my mother followed my aunt’s footsteps and migrated to the USA. Being that my mother and aunt are very close, the jackets were given to my mother. Every Chinese New Year, my aunt, who lives 20 minutes away, comes over to our house to celebrate the annual holiday. The two of them wear the jackets every year while we all take the day off to cook, decorate, and watch the Chinese New Year Gala live as it goes on in China. When it’s not being worn, it hangs in my mother’s closet until the next new year celebration. Although I don’t see the two jackets very often, they serve as a reminder of how friendship, family, and culture helped my mother start a new life in the United States. 
#Changchun #China #Attire #Clothing #Chinese-New-Year #Jacket 

– CC

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