Celebrating AAPI Heritage Month in the Classroom

Celebrate AAPI culture

AAPI Heritage Month is a great way to celebrate AAPI culture. Lunar New Year, Chinese New Year, Holi, Diwali, Songkran, Ramadan and more offer easy opportunities to explore traditional food, clothing, art and culture as well. However, when celebrating holidays, make sure to mind the fine line between cultural exploration and appropriation. Resources like Here’s What You Get Wrong When You Culturally Appropriate Asian Fashion (Huffington Post) and Racism 101: At What Point Does Cultural Appreciation Cross Over Into Appropriation (LAist) can help guide you.

Beyond holidays, here are a few ideas for weaving AAPI culture into lessons:

• In religion classes, bring in foods from local AAPI restaurants and discuss how different cultures incorporate food into their religious practices.
• In history classes, visit a local AAPI market to tie ingredients and recipes to histories of regional agriculture, trade and imperialism.
• In health science classes, explore Eastern medicine and wellness (chiropractic care, yoga, acupuncture, hilot, etc.) and its influence on Western practices.