Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month with swag

As spring comes around the corner, you may hear people talk about AAPI Heritage Month. If you’re curious about the AAPI meaning, we’re here to inform you about everything you need to know about this special month.

Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) refers to the heritage and culture of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in the United States. AAPI Heritage Month celebrates AAPI heritage and culture and it gives people the chance to learn more about the culture and the history surrounding AAPI in the United States.

So, here’s everything you should know about AAPI and some inspiration for how to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. 

We’re here to answer any questions that you may have about AAPI Heritage Month. Let’s get into it…

When is AAPI Heritage Month celebrated? AAPI Heritage Month is celebrated in the United States each year in May. 

What is AAPI Heritage Month? AAPI Heritage Month is a chance for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in America to embrace and celebrate both their culture and heritage. This month is also a chance for people outside of AAPI to take time to learn more about AAPI history in America and AAPI culture in general. 

What countries are included in AAPI heritage? There are over 40 countries that fall under the category of AAPI heritage. Cultures/regions that may identify with AAPI heritage include: 

• East Asians - People from China, Korea, Japan, Okinawa, Taiwan, and Mongolia.
• Pacific Islanders - People from Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Polynesia includes Hawaii, Samoa, American Samoa, Tokelau, Tahiti, and Tonga. Micronesia includes Guam, the Mariana Islands, Saipan, Palau, Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei, Kosrae, Marshall Islands, and Kiribati. Melanesia includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.
• South Asians - People from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• Southeast Asians - People from Burma, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, the Philippines, and Vietnam.

Here’s a little bit about the history of AAPI Heritage Month…

You may be wondering, why does AAPI Heritage Month take place in May? That’s because two culturally significant events for the AAPI community took place in May. 

On May 7, 1843, the first Japanese immigrant came to America. The Japanese immigrant was a 14-year-old boy named Manjiro. A couple of decades later, on May 10, 1869, the transcontinental railroad was completed, a significant moment in American history. The transcontinental had been worked on by more than 20,000 Chinese immigrants. Both of these events make May a significant month for AAPI history. 

More than 100 years after these events, President Jimmy Carter signed a proclamation instating the first-ever Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week in 1979. Shortly after, in 1992, Congress passed an amendment inviting Americans to observe May as Asian American Pacific American Heritage Month. 

Today, AAPI Heritage Month is a time for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to share their pride for AAPI culture, history, and heritage. But this month of cultural celebration isn’t limited to just Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in America. This month is a celebration that every American can partake in. 

Since many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have been conditioned to assimilate into American culture, this month is an opportunity for them to share their voices, stories, and pride for AAPI culture. This is why it’s so important for everyone, not just those of AAPI heritage, to participate in AAPI Heritage Month. By showing allyship to Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, we can all help to uplift AAPI voices. By doing so, we can create a more diverse and inclusive America, making it easier for everyone to understand and embrace our differences and what makes us each unique. 

AAPI Heritage Month gifts are an excellent way to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. Here are a few ideas for AAPI Heritage Months, whether it’s at work or among family and friends:

AAPI Gift Basket

Gift baskets are a great way to celebrate this significant month. Put together a gift basket bundle with authentic Asian foods and gift them to employees, colleagues, or friends so that everyone can celebrate and enjoy AAPI culture.

Custom AAPI Month Swag

Allyship for AAPI communities and individuals is more important than ever. A great way to show allyship towards AAPI Americans is with apparel. Create AAPI apparel with inspiring messages, celebrating diversity and the things that make us unique. If you want to give AAPI merch to your employees or colleagues, you could create an AAPI heritage month swag store, using swagmagic.com.

The Swag Store allows you to create a custom catalog and share it with participants. Send store credits to your participants and they’ll be able to shop the swag store and redeem their credits. Everything will be shipped directly to the Swag Store participants through SwagMagic.

Another great way to celebrate this important month is with AAPI Heritage Month activities.

AAPI Heritage Month Activities for the Workplace:

Throw an AAPI Cultural Celebration

Hosting an office AAPI celebration that honors and acknowledges Asian American culture. You could include authentic Asian foods, music, dance, and art in this celebration. A presentation that educates on Asian history and Asian American history/social causes would be an excellent idea to include in the AAPI celebration. 

Attend an AAPI Festival or Event as a Company

If your employees are all local, consider attending a local AAPI Heritage Month festival or event as a company. A great idea for this event would be to come dressed in company swag and show your support as a company for the local AAPI voices in your community.

Virtual AAPI Event/Trivia

If your employees are remote, then you could host a virtual event to celebrate AAPI Heritage Month. This could include a virtual educational session or AAPI Trivial hosted through a virtual platform.

If you’re an educator, celebrating Asian Pacific Heritage Month in the classroom is an excellent way to encourage diversity and inclusion. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month activities for students can help students better engage with the educational content.

Coming up with AAPI Heritage Month discussion questions to ask in the classroom is an excellent way to get students engaged. This could include questions that get students engaged with Asian American history or cultural aspects such as music, dance, and art.

Asian American Heritage Month crafts are another great way to incorporate AAPI culture into the classroom. Consider teaching students about AAPI art and having them recreate the art, paying attention to the cultural influence of the art while completing the crafts. 

Here are some AAPI Heritage Month fun facts that you can use for your AAPI Heritage Month Activities or include in a message attached to an AAPI Heritage Month gift:

• More than 60% of the world lives in Asia.
• Hawaii is the only state with a majority Asian population.
• The top 5 Asian languages in the United States are Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, Korean, and Hindustani.
• There are more than 22 million people who identify with AAPI heritage in the United States.
• 7% of the US population is AAPI.

We hope you learned something new about AAPI culture and history. Happy AAPI Heritage Month!