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A banner welcoming everyone to celebrate Lao New Year at Lao Wat Buddhist temple of North Philadelphia.<\/p><\/div>\n
Lao New Year is celebrated as a three-day-long festival from April 13-15 (it can vary and may occur April 14-16 according to some calendars). The 13th is the last day of the old year, the 14th is the “day of no day”, and the 15th marks the start of the new year. Catzie Vilayphonh, creative director of LaosintheHouse.com<\/a> (a collaborative arts project that brings together the collective stories of Lao-Americans) puts it\u00a0simply, \u201cOn the first day, we clean everything, on the second we don\u2019t do anything and on the third, we celebrate!\u201d<\/p>\n I asked Catzie to give me some insight into her new year experience, especially the foods eaten.<\/p>\n Unlike the Chinese, Laotians don\u2019t celebrate with a lavish reunion dinner at home. Instead, families head to the closest Lao Buddhist temple (called a wat<\/em>) to pray and seek\u00a0blessings, to take part in cultural activities, and of course, to eat lots of good food.\u00a0Here, they also follow an\u00a0important\u00a0tradition: splashing water on each other. \u201cIt\u2019s a cleansing ritual signifying starting anew,” explains Catzie.<\/p>\n Catzie points out that because of schedules, and perhaps competing wats<\/em>, Lao New Year is celebrated almost every weekend in April.<\/p>\n Girls dressed in traditional Laotian costumes line\u00a0the parade during new year festivities<\/p><\/div>\n There aren\u2019t any symbolic foods or traditions that usher in wealth and good luck, nor are there sound-alike ingredients for gold and long life. A practical people, Laotians eat everyday foods to ring in the new year. \u201cThere\u2019s no one thing that we must eat,\u201d says Catzie. \u201cWe\u2019ll just eat everything that we like.\u201d<\/p>\n As a teenager, Catzie, who was born in a Thai refugee camp and\u00a0raised in Philadelphia, went along to the temple for one reason\u2014the street food vendors who thronged the temple grounds.<\/p>\n Street vendors busy shredding papaya to make salad for the masses who visit the temple during Lao New Year<\/p><\/div>\n She describes some of her favorites:<\/p>\n Lemongrass sausage being boiled in a huge pot before being skewered and grilled<\/p><\/div>\n A special tool makes easy work of shredding green papaya<\/p><\/div>\n For those of us who are accustomed to gathering at mom and dad\u2019s for Thanksgiving or Lunar New Year dinner, it might seem\u00a0odd not to\u00a0celebrate\u00a0this important cultural celebration with a large family meal.<\/p>\n But eating together\u00a0as a family is just as special any time of the year, not just during the holidays.<\/p>\n Catzie recalls annual visits to a cattle ranch as a little girl with her extended family\u2014uncles, aunts and cousins–to pick a cow. The cow was slaughtered and butchered onsite and everyone brought home a share of the animal.<\/p>\n \u201cThat first meal was the best part. We had to eat certain parts (of the cow) right away and we had a big family meal (usually raw laab<\/em><\/a>),”\u00a0she reminisces. “Everyone took turns working and we all had a part to play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSitting down with the family all together and sharing the meal. That\u2019s truly, authentically Lao.\u201d<\/p>\n Photo credits:\u00a0<\/strong>Fawn Grant<\/strong> ~~~<\/p>\n Sheng\u2019s Papaya Salad<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Recipe excerpted with permission from\u00a0Cooking from the Heart–The Hmong Kitchen in America <\/em>(University of Minnesota Press, 2009).<\/p>\n Photo credit: Robin Lietz<\/p><\/div>\n The country of Laos<\/a> comprises\u00a0three main ethnic groups\u2014Lao (60 percent), Khmou (11 percent) and Hmong (6 percent). Papaya salad is a dish that\u2019s prepared\u00a0by all but this particular version comes from Sheng Yang who is Hmong. In Lao, it’s called thum bak hoong<\/em>, and in Hmong, see taub ntoos qaub<\/em>. This papaya salad is probably rather different\u00a0from what you’ve had at a Thai restaurant\u2014it\u2019s earthier and more complex than its Thai counterpart thanks to fermented shrimp and crab pastes; it also lacks the usual accoutrements\u00a0like crushed peanuts, garlic, snake beans, etc. Leave out the funky pastes if you prefer, and by all means add peanuts if you\u2019d like.<\/p>\n Makes: 6 servings<\/p>\n 4 cups shredded green papaya or 4 medium sized carrots![\"\"](\"http:\/\/gluttonsluts.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/04\/dance1.jpg?w=584&h=388\")
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\nPictures taken at Lao Wat Buddhist temple of North Philadelphia, 2012<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Photo](\"https:\/\/apa.si.edu\/picklesandtea\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/14\/2014\/04\/green_papaya_salad.gif\")
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\n2 to 4 garlic cloves (depending on your taste)
\n1 to 3 Thai chili peppers (depending on desired heat)
\n1 to 2 tablespoons fish sauce
\n\u00bd tablespoon shrimp paste<\/a> (optional)
\n\u00bd tablespoon crab paste<\/a> (optional)
\n1 tablespoon sugar
\n1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
\nJuice and some pulp of 1 lime
\n6 cherry tomatoes
\n3 cups shredded cabbage (optional)<\/p>\n