In Connecticut, the Asian American and Pacific Islander community is vast and varied, with more than 170,000 AAPI people in the state.

And with a diversity of AAPI cultures, there is also a diversity of New Year traditions and celebrations that span across months. We’re just days away from the Laotian New Year and Thai New Year, as well as a Khmer New Year event hosted by the Cambodian Buddhist Society of Connecticut in Bristol.

This hour, we’ll discuss the diversity of Lunar New Year celebrations where we live, and unpack some of the debate around terminology.

GUESTS:

• Quan Tran: Co-chair, Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut; Senior Lecturer on Race, Ethnicity and Migration, Yale University

• Sounthaly Thammavong: Board Member, Asian Pacific American Coalition of Connecticut

• Mike Keo: Senior Communication Officer, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving; Founder, #IAMNOTAVIRUS

Connecticut Public intern Sajina Shrestha contributed to this report.