Join World Relief at the Karen Wrist Tying Ceremony

Karen Memorial Day and Wrist Tying Ceremony Events

Public Invited to 3-Day Karen Event Celebrated Worldwide

Saint Paul, MN – The Karen Celebration Days Committee (“KCDC”) and Karen Organization of Minnesota (“KOM”) invite the public to the Karen Memorial Day and Wrist Tying Ceremony events, on August 5, 2011 –August 7, 2011 at the Washington Technology Magnet School. This year the activities will include a three-day men’s soccer, women’s volleyball, and men’s kato tournaments, a Karen Memorial Day event on Saturday, August 6 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., and the Wrist Tying Ceremony events on Sunday, August 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

Karen Memorial Day tells the history of the Karen struggle and honors the leaders who gave their lives in the name of freedom. The Wrist Tying Ceremony is an event celebrated by Karen all around the world and will include traditional Karen dancing and singing performances. All guests will be invited to participate in the non-religiously affiliated wrist tying by the Karen elders, which symbolizes unity and the Karen’s blessing of health and happiness for the next year.

These cultural events are an important part of Karen history and tradition.  This is also an opportunity for the Karen to raise awareness about the story of the Karen people, and to facilitate goodwill and mutual respect with our new friends and neighbors. The Karen community in Minnesota has been celebrating the Karen events since 2002 and thousands of Karen and non-Karen have attended.

“These events, which symbolize Karen unity and are celebrated by Karen around the world, are even more important to our people now, because we are living in exile outside of our homeland” said Nay Htoo, Karen community leader and chair of the Karen Celebration Days Committee.  “While we are working hard to adjust and integrate into our new community in Minnesota, we also want to invite all of our new friends and neighbors to come and learn about our history and heritage.”

The Washington Technology Magnet School is located at 1495 Rice Street, Saint Paul, Minnesota. All events will be free of charge, and Karen vendors will sell traditional Karen food throughout the event. Please contact KOM for more information.

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The Karen (ka-REN) are an ethnic minority from the mountainous regions of Burma and Thailand. The Karen have been persecuted by the Burmese military junta for decades and today, many Karen families who have fled their homes have resettled in Minnesota, which has the largest population of Karen outside of Southeast Asia.