lisnom,
it comes with self-restraint. many hmong weddings now don't even
require alcohol. one of my brothers wedding was done using soda pop.
the cigarettes was just customary (given) and not even smoked. oh yea,
and we are ntseeg hmoob tej dab qub, not you hmong christians who
ntseeg neeg daj hau tej dab qub. (remember, like zab aka anti said,
christianity is not 'dab tshiab', as it is 2,000 years old and based
on 2,000+ history).
this has nothing to do with religion, but everything to do with
health, culture, and education. to impose a 'ban' would not be
necessary if we had education on the dangers. there should be
government programs to sponsor campaigns against smoking in the hmong
community. also, the government is also imposing a 'ban' on smoking
with restrictions in some states on where you may smoke and with
increased taxes on cigarettes. i heard new york and new jersey are two
tuff states on taxing cigarettes.
On Jun 20, 6:42 pm, "lis...@
lycos.com"
lycos.com> wrote:> On Jun 19, 8:40 pm, Mogee
hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>
>>> On Jun 19, 8:02 pm, yang...@
gmail.com wrote:
>
>>> I have asked this question in the past many times and majority of the
>>> times the answers I got from the individuals I asked were (YES) Hmong
>>> should NOT use cigarette in wedding or for a better word (should NOT
>>> promote the use of cigarette).
>
>>> Then I asked myself the following question. If the majority of them
>>> about (99%%) of them agree that “Hmong should NOT promote the use of
>>> cigarette” then Why Hmong continue to uses cigarette in wedding and
>>> label it as (Qav Nov Qav Tswv) and some folks even go as far as
>>> referring to as part of the culture. Which I believe history will not
>>> support their theory especially the history of cigarette itself.
>
>>> So, should Hmong BANS the use of cigarette in wedding ceremony? I
>>> believe we should what about you? What is your opinion?
>
>> I don't think we should necessarily BAN the use of cigarettes in
>> wedding ceremonies, but I think we should be open to not using them.
>> I could care less if a person makes a personal decision to smoke.
>> Likewise, I would not judge them for offering or accepting them as
>> gifts as part of a wedding ceremony. I would support leaving it up to
>> each individual to decide.
>
> Smoking is part of the drug addiction. If Hmong want their children
> to be free of these dangerous unclean substances, the parents should
> eliminate their old tradition of using tobacco as honoring &
> respecting occasion. I would love if they bring a couple of roast
> ducks or chicken to the table and start to negotiate and eat instead
> of bring win/beer/and tobacco. Many times we told our children not to
> drink, smoke, or take other drugs but when we have an occasion we the
> parents are the ones to start these things. Who do we preach to if we
> carefully assess our situations.
>
> Anyway, we the Christians are no longer practice this tradition but I
> love to support our younger generations of all faiths to be free of
> tobacco, alcohol, and other dangerous drugs.
>
> Nom
