In light of recent events in Atlanta, and an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes in Atlanta, the Emerald Youth Review condemns anti-Asian violence across the nation and urges solidarity between diaspora communities. 

We deserve to be proud of who we are: the way we look, talk, and create. 

In approaching this month's topic, we want you to explore the reasons why you are proud to be Asian-American. A special connection to your heritage, hair that sticks out straight, trips to your ancestral homeland. The joy of having a second language, gratitude for relatives that push you to succeed, or who know how to make you laugh. There's no right or wrong answer here -- just aim for the truth.

"I'm Proud to Be Asian Because..."

Don't forget to include your name, grade and school, and an (optional) headshot with your piece. Send your submission to YouthReview@EmeraldParents.org by Monday, April 12th.

​Around this week of March last year, schools all around Seattle began to close.

It was out of the lockdown (initially imagined to be only a couple weeks) that the Youth Review was created. First meant to be a simple virtual gathering place for pent-up creative energy and extra hours of free time, we've grown towards publishing artwork and writing from talented young artists all around the Puget Sound area. 

Since that first series, we've published nine series, encompassing 43 works from elementary-schoolers, middle-schoolers, and high-schoolers -- including a serial comic. In the summer, we even held a writing workshop over Zoom. 

Here's the year in review: 

• April: "The COVID-19 Lockdown"
• May: "Mother's Day"
• June: "Fantasy"
• July: "Family Traditions"
• August: "The Great Outdoors"
• October: "It's Fall"
• November: "Still Life"
• January: "Fauna"
• February: "The New Year"

In lieu of a March call for submissions, we would like to take this moment to express gratitude for everybody who has passed at one time or another through our virtual halls. Great thanks to you for reading or contributing to the Youth Review, and as always: keep sending us your work!

Sincerely,
The Editors of the Emerald Youth Review

Childhood memories of fireworks in Yunnan; a noisy New Year's Eve prank involving a gong, a mallet, and red envelopes; an adorable baby cow. The artwork and writing in our February series usher in the New Year in creative and explosive ways. 

"The Spring Festival" by Sophie Wang gives us the lowdown on the traditions and history of the Spring Festival through stories, facts, and cross-cultural comparisons.

"Lunar New Year Prank" by Brendon Wang zips with fantastical wit as it recounts one naughty child's New Year's Eve shenanigans. 

The Year of the Ox  by Grace Li offers up a meticulously-drawn bovine mascot for the coming year.

We're proud to bring you this month's edition of the Emerald Youth Review. Leave a like or a comment to show your support!
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       The Spring Festival, more commonly known as Chinese New Year, is the most important holiday in Chinese tradition. The Spring Festival marks the beginning of a new year in the lunar calendar which ancient China used. Unlike the Gregorian calendar used by most of the world, the lunar calendar is based on the moon, so is often changing, adding and subtracting months as needed. This is why the date of the Spring Festival is inconsistent, though it is always in the range of the end of January and the beginning of February.
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              Though the Spring Festival celebrates the new year, many activities actually take place on the previous night. On the eve of the Spring Festival, almost every single family in China would gather, and eat a feast of union. Different families will have their different traditional foods, ours are dumplings and babao (8-treasure) rice.

              The most important color of the Spring Festival is red. When the holiday approaches, people will wear red clothes, tape red paper cuttings to the windows, and hang couplets. People would hang the character “Fu” (good fortune) on the door. In the morning of the Spring Festival, kids will get lucky red envelopes under the pillow containing money as a ward against evil.

              Another important tradition of the Spring Festival is fireworks. My first memory of fireworks is when I was really young, maybe 4 or 5, at my grandparents’ in Yunnan in southwest China. I used the kind in the shape of a stick, if you light the end, it would sizzle, and bright sparks would jump around it. This kind of fireworks is really fun, because you could wave it around in the air and draw shapes with it. Afterwards, the smoke it emits would stay in the same shape for quite a while against the dark night. The bigger fireworks are terribly loud, but once they explode, there is no other sight like it: colorful light exploding in circles. Even though I always cover my ears, my heart still thuds with every explosion.

              There are arguments that the holiday shouldn’t be called “Chinese New Year” because China isn’t the only country to celebrate it. But in Chinese it is simply called “chun jie”, which translates to “spring festival”. It is the western world that named it Chinese New Year.

              Regardless of what it is called, the Spring Festival is a time of joy, when families unite, and celebrations are thrown.
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February 12th brings the advent of a new Lunar Year and with it, a host of pan-Asian traditions. On that day, traditional lunisolar calendars mark the moon as being at its newest, and the spring being ready to be sprung. Gloriously, Chinese tradition on this side of the Pacific will make itself tasted, heard, and seen: dumplings for dinner, the trading of red packets, or the hanging of lanterns. 

How will you celebrate the Year of the Ox? With a bang? 

Possible Places to Start

- Whatever celebration you take part in on the 12th, depict it. 
- Try your hand at the esteemed art of Chinese Calligraphy .
- Sketch the moon. Or, sketch a normal street scene tinged with the color red.
- Write a short story about a New Year's gift that goes totally, horribly wrong.

Don't forget to include your name, grade and school, and an (optional) headshot with your piece. Also, titles! Send your submission to YouthReview@EmeraldParents.org by Monday, February 15th. 

We realize some of you may have submitted related pieces to the July series on Family Tradition. If you have already had a piece published, we urge you to delve deep into other aspects of this historically rooted and culturally rich holiday.

A pair of parrots; a special tiger; a very cool cat; antlers peeking out from the woods, and a startlingly blue wolf howling at the moon. The artwork and writing in our January Series render the wild in every form — unlocking primordial forms and beings with the simple stroke of the pen. 

"The Purrfect Life" by Audrey Hong renders with skillful pen marks a cat with distinctive character.​

"Wild Life" by Eason Tang takes us toward canine calls atop the peak of a craggy, meticulously-drawn hill.

"Tiger" by Brendon Wang presents us with the fierce rictus of his Zodiac sign.

"Animal Forest" by Grace Li could be lifted right out of a storybook, with its shining antlers and graceful woodland inhabitants.

"Parrots" by Yuming Dong splashes with the bold, Kahlo-esque colors of a twin pair of macaw parrots.

We're proud to bring you this month's edition of the Emerald Youth Review. Leave a like or a comment to show your support!