Source: Pacific News Service

http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=e43dd05ea65de1118fd1549207ece59d

On December 31, 2003 the Pacific News Service reported, "Hmong immigrants are celebrating the New Year, honoring traditions that have survived their people's worldwide dispersal due to a 'secret war' in Southeast Asia. Between Dec. 26 and Jan. 1 every year, the Hmong community celebrates the New Year in the heart of California's Central Valley. Although there are other Hmong celebrations in other parts of the country, the festivities in Fresno have become the largest in the world. An estimated 40,000 people attend the event organized by this Southeast Asian community. Many come from other states, and according to organizers, some people travel from places as far away as Thailand and Argentina... Western influences in Hmong culture can already be perceived in music. At the New Year's celebration, traditional Hmong music mingled with pop and rap tunes. Clothing styles are also changing. But these changes don't alter the deep traditional current that characterizes this community."