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Dear Reader,

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Well, well, well…we’re 1½ months into 2024 and I’m already 5 months behind. How does this happen???

I hope your “new year” has been off to a good start! I’ve already gone through two new years (solar and lunisolar), in fact there’s been so much going on (and I’m behind on all of it), so this newsletter will be more of a news roundup!

Lunar/Lunisolar/Asian New Year???...Diversity within Diaspora

[Photo captions: my grey-and-white tabby cat, Earl Grey, sniffing my new year treat (taro cake) and being forced to pose with a lai see envelope. I'm a mean cat mommy! 😂)

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February 10 was what I used to call Chinese New Year, is now referred to as Lunar New Year, and is technically a Lunisolar new year.

Yet none of those terms reflect the actual names and intentions behind the countries and cultures that celebrate them!

I learned a lot about “my” holiday this year as I looked for the most inclusive way to wish Asian people around the world a happy __ new year, and unsurprisingly, the Westernized term “Lunar New Year” covers too much and not enough. Just as “Asian” has been used by non-Asians and diasporan Asians alike, but is not how the “Asians” refer to themselves - the same goes with Lunar New Year.

What I learned is that China and Chinese diaspora across Asian countries celebrate their Spring Festival which includes the new year day that is based on the lunisolar calendar (not a pure lunar calendar, which is what Muslims and Hindus follow for their significant dates).

Other countries like Vietnam, Korea, and Tibet also follow the lunisolar calendar and celebrate Tết, 음력 설날 / Eumnyeok Seollal, and Losar, respectively. They fall on the same day as China’s lunisolar new year, but they’re not observing China’s Spring Festival holiday. It’s their own tradition and own holiday.

Asian countries with Chinese communities (e.g. Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and more), may not have their own festival that coincides with the lunisolar new year; but because of the large Chinese population, they observe the “Chinese” new year.

I’ve included some of the various new year greetings from different nations and languages below. Is yours listed here? (If not please share with me!) How many others can you identify?

So you see, it’s complicated. If you’re confused you’re not alone; I spent many days on this and I’m pretty sure I’ve still got it wrong. The rough summary I just provided is exactly that (rough and summarized). I encourage you to:

a) Talk to people of Asian descent directly to learn more about their individual culture and family customs (if they are willing to share), so you can respect their true ethnicity rather than a collective “Asian” identity assigned by foreigners; and

b) Do your own reading and research. The links I shared above can help you get started.

Trauma within Diaspora

Through a trauma-informed lens, my new friend Sen Zhan and I found many commonalities in our conflicted feelings around heritage holidays. When you’re in a racialized diasporan population forced to conform to Western ways, it’s hard to love your ethnicity and enjoy your culture.

If you resonate with these sentiments and want to hear more, we shared some stories (and our favourite Spring Festival foods!) in this LinkedIn / Instagram Live.

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Supporting Diaspora: Lunar New Year Coaching Discounts

Because I do celebrate the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, and because I carry trauma from it, I'm offering new year "gifts" to anyone who'd like my trauma-informed coaching. With this I hope to make coaching accessible to more folks who don't get support from their employers. These offers are open to everyone, not just Asians or people celebrating Lunar New Year. If you know anyone who wants coaching but isn't privileged with employer subsidies, please forward this to them!

For more details, click the graphics below, or book an Attunement Call to chat with me directly.

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Trauma and Neurodiversity in the Workplace

In case you missed it, Sydney Elaine Butler, HR & DEIA Consultant and Neurodiversity Specialist, did a two-part LinkedIn Live with me on 1) Working While Traumatized and 2) Working While Neurodivergent.

These were both in high-demand based on the number of people joining and engaging in the comments (feel free to rewatch using the links above, and add your own comments!)

Some key takeaways for us were:

• Many people have experienced toxicity/othering/shame at work
• This ranged from not being allowed to go to the bathroom (yes, seriously; no, not just at Amazon), to their neurodiversity/individual needs being rejected
• A lot of people have mental illnesses, disabilities, trauma, and/or neurodiversity (they can all overlap), but are afraid to disclose them at work
• There’s very few accessible, affordable resources to support employees in navigating their issues

To address the last takeaway, I’m hosting employment lawyer and fellow advocate Juliana Saxberg to answer FAQs about legal accommodation standards in Canada. It’s free and open to anyone, please register in advance to join us LIVE on February 21, 2024 at 9:00 am PST | 11:00 am CST | 12:00 pm EST | 1:00 pm Atlantic.

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Are You Your Valentine?

Last but not least, for this Valentine’s Day I wrote an article about self-love and its relationship to money and trauma.

We hear “self-care” and “scarcity mindset” used a lot these days, but we don’t often hear about the intergenerational trauma and systemic racism intersecting them. I started writing a short paragraph about it for this newsletter, and it blew up into a full article. If you’re interested in reading it, just click the graphic below.

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And on a Lighter Note...

Phew. I see now why I’m tired 😊 I need some sleep as self-care, I think!

If you made it this far, thanks so much for sticking with me! I hope to send newsletters more regularly this year, so perhaps the next one won’t be so long. We’ll see!

Was the info in this newsletter helpful? Any follow up questions, or topics you’d like to see in future issues?

I always love hearing from you Reader, please reply to this email if you have any comments or suggestions.

And to end on a lighter note, this Instagram video explains Lunar/lunisolar/Asian new year in a comedic way.

Thanks for being part of the Changing Lenses community Reader!

Wishing you wellness,

Rosie

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