NANG SANGKHAN THE ANNGELS OF MERCY

Our Honored Guests,
Families and Friends,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is once again an honor to be here with our people to celebrate the coming of the Lao New Year.

Nang Sang Khan, the Angel of Mercy, has indeed blessed us by being in the center of our stage and the center of our lives! As Deputy Mayor Ron Roberts and other honored guests unveil the curtain to reveal Our New Angel, a fresh face-a new beginning for our new year, we come to understand how the Angel of Mercy truly has blessed us a new in the year to come.

For our American guests and American born children, let me remind you of Nang Sang Khan's story. Once a powerful man challenged GOD-with the looser agreeing to chop off his head if he could not answer three questions. Of course, man could not challenge GOD and he failed to answer the questions.
After one week of trying to answer, he said goodbye to his family and went to the jungle to commit suicide. From the family of eagles(who were nesting in the palm tree he choose to lie under once he died) he learned the answers. So he went to God and give him the right answers. When GOD learned that man was correct he honored his agreement, chopped off his head. But in his place he sent his seven daughters-Nang Sang Khan the Angels of Mercy to come each year to bless the world.

So many of you may be wondering-what are the questions and what were the right answers. Now the questions are:

1) In the morning where is the color of people?
2) At noon, where is the color of people?
3) In the evening, where is the color of the people?

The answers are as follows:

1) In the morning, the color of people is located in the face since
everyone wakes up and washes their own face.
2) At noon, the color is in the chest because in the old days
people washed their chests.
3) In the evening, the color will be on their feet,
since people wash their feet before going to bed.

Now you know the rest of the story.

To strengthen us as we make the transition from out homeland to our new American homes.

Namg Sangkhan truly has blessed the laotian people with the qualities of hard work, close family ties and initiative-those wonderful traits we all possess whether we are Hmong, Kha Mu, Lao lowlanders, Thai Dam, Thai Lu and Thai Phouane.

As we leave the year of Goat, we look foreward to new beginnings. This new year marks our sixteenth year in celebrating our annual celebration together! This is some achievement!

This year of the Monkey celebration continues our tradition of having thousands of people celebrate by joining Nang Sangkhan's parade, releasing of the dove ceremony. holding Baci religious rites, competing in Lao sporting events and demonstrating the traditional arts and crafts of our ancestors, Miss. Lao New Year Pageant. fun, food and festivities.

This year of the Monkey marks the seven crowning of our Beauty Queen, Miss. lao new Year Pageant. Our 16th celebration also is the first time that we have honored our musicians with a Lao Musical Award. Also, this is the time that we have even published our own Lao Telephone Directory.

So as you can see, the old American saying of Monkey business does not apply-for this year, this monkey means BUSINESS.

In closing, I ask for Nang Sangkhan Our Angel of Mercy to have mercy on our dream-to create our own Lao Cultural center. All the proceeds and fund raising today will go towards the fund for this center-which will preserve our honored tradions for our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the years to come. Please honor our culture and traditions by supporting this dream.

The Lao Cultural center of San Diego would like to thank our honored guests who have unselfishly shared their precious time with us to grace this occasion with their presence, our donors and supporters who have generously and outpouringly given their financial and moral support, our friends and our countrymen who have exerted tremendous effort to lighten up our burden to bring this undertaking to successful completion and for their continued support.

SA BAI DEE PEE MAI or HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Let the Festival Begin! Thank You.

New Year Message from
Buu-Van A.J. Rasih,
Chairman of the Board

Organ Pavillion, Balboa Park
San Diego, California, U.S.A.
April 11, 1992