May is a special month for the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community in the United States. It is the month when AAPI Heritage Month is celebrated to honor the contributions, achievements, and culture and their community. In addition, Heritage Month, Asian American Heritage Week is celebrated in the U.S.
1. Understanding AAPI Heritage Month
Asian American And Pacific Islander Heritage Month was first celebrated in 1990 to recognize the contributions and achievements of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. Since then, it has grown to include the heritage, cultures, and communities, and asian descent, including those of Japanese, Chinese, Korean, and India, among others. Both occasions are an opportunity to appreciate and recognize the Asian and Pacific Islander’s community's contribution to American culture and history. On May 4, 1979, President Jimmy Carter initiated an annual celebration honoring the contributions of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans Proclamation 4650. This tribute acknowledges all that this vibrant community has achieved and continues to do for our country.
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2. Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month
There are many ways to celebrate Asian American Heritage Month. One of the best ways to honor the occasion is to learn more about the AAPI community's history, culture, and traditions.
3. Recognizing the contributions of the AAPI community
Another way to honor AAPI Heritage Month is to recognize the contributions of the AAPI community. You can recognize the AAPI community's contributions to American culture and history by engaging with AAPI-owned businesses, supporting AAPI artists, and learning more about AAPI leaders who have made a significant impact on American society.
4. Celebrating AAPI Diversity
AAPI Heritage Month give us the opportunity to celebrate the diverse communities within the AAPI community. Celebrating AAPI diversity means learning about and understanding the unique contributions and achievements of each individual community within the AAPI group.
5. Advocate for the AAPI Community
Finally, one of the best ways to honor AAPI Heritage Month is by advocating for the AAPI community. This means standing up against AAPI hate and discrimination, supporting AAPI organizations and causes, and being an ally to the AAPI community. With the rise in anti-Asian hate crimes it is more important than ever to be an advocate for the AAPI community.
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Today, in honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, we highlight Sonsern Lin and his family
( credit: Popsugar)
Tell Us How You Started Hungry_fam?
Hungry_fam: Prior to becoming parents, my wife and I wanted to enjoy our time together before having children, so we traveled a lot and documented our trips on social media. We eventually garnered a large following, which gave us the opportunity to travel more and experience all types of food. Then when our daughter was born, we were really excited for her to start eating. As soon as she turned six months old, she started eating solids and we decided to record her food adventures, too. Our daughter has a naturally big appetite and a strong palette. She's always been willing to try anything, so we decided to use food as a way for us to teach her about different cultures, not just our own.
Where Did You Meet Your Wife?
Hungry_fam: I grew up in Northern California and decided to go to UC Irvine for college, which is where I met my wife. We were friends and both part of a church group on campus before we started to develop feelings for each other. We ended up getting married and a few years later, we had our daughter and now a baby boy is on its way.
What is your very first viral video?
Hungry_fam: The first video I ever uploaded to TikTok was one of my wife eating noodles while my daughter sits behind her, drooling like crazy. At the time, we had zero followers but the video ended up getting two million views in one day.
Our daughter has a naturally big appetite and a strong palette. She's always been willing to try anything, so we decided to use food as a way for us to teach her about different cultures, not just our own. During that time, we mostly used Instagram to upload our family trips, but then TikTok started blowing up so we decided to upload a few of our videos on there.
That's when we realized that people really enjoy watching our daughter's foodie adventures. From there, we started posting a lot of different videos and her fans even nicknamed her "Empress".
What brought you to The Futon Shop?
Hungry_fam: We have always owned secondhand mattresses and furniture. When we finally decided to purchase a new mattress, we tried one of the popular mattress in a box companies. But we had a bad experience with all the chemical smells in the mattress. It was so bad, that we had to get rid of the mattress. We decided to give The Futon Shop a try, and immediately fell in love with their organic and chemical free mattress! Great comfort and no chemical smell!
What does your family's cultural identity mean to you?
Hungry_fam: Sonsern (APPA) grew up with a mix of Thai, Chinese and American culture. Julie (UMMA) was born in Korea, then moved to America in the 5th grade. So Sarang is ethnically Korean, Chinese, Thai and being raised in America. Our hope is that this diverse upbringing will allow Sarang to be empathetic and kind towards all types of people and cultures.
