5 Ways To Celebrate AAPI Heritage Month!

Happy Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month! How exciting! This month we get to honor Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders and we also get to learn all about their culture and heritage. Learning about different cultures isn't always easy, but it is critical to understanding and respecting it. In honor of AAPI Heritage Month, here are some fun ways to become a little more educated on Asian and Pacific Island cultures! 

1. Take a Virtual Tour!

Virtual Tours offer a more immersive experience of a place with a physical location without traveling there. Virtual tours offer a 360 view of the area, making you feel like you are right there enjoying the moment. What’s incredible about these tours is that there are some explanations and history about the place you will be visiting. So it’s like you get your own personal tour guide before visiting. Here are a few sites with virtual tours you may enjoy!

At this site, you can get a virtual tour of the Taj Mahal, the Grand Palace in Thailand, and much more!

Here you can swim with wildlife in Japan and Indonesia!

2. Try a Few Asian Recipes!

Food is an incredibly important part of any culture. Food has history, it has meaning, and, most importantly, it is specific to a lot of cultures! For example, kimchi is a traditional Korean dish, and dumplings are a traditional Chinese dish! So, here are a few recipes you can try cooking! This website features 50 of the most popular Asian dishes, and honestly, it made me hungry! The dishes include Chow Mein (a noodle dish native to China), Sukiyaki (a hot pot dish native to Japan), and Naan (a flatbread dish native to India). Yum!

3. Support AAPI-Owned Brands!

Supporting AAPI brands show that you not only value their product or service but also show that you are committed to helping them grow as a company. Whether you are a lover of skincare, fashion, or makeup, there are quite a few AAPI brands out there that’ve got you covered, like Glamnetic, Seiso, Silk + Sonder, Sanzo, and Canva!

4. Find a New Asian Television Show or Movie to Watch!

Asian Television spans from K-dramas, C-dramas, and even Japanese dramas. There is also an entire industry dedicated to Bollywood films that include fun dancing, music, and juicy storylines! Check out IMDb’s list of recommended Asian tv series!

5. Check Out Some Asian Musicians

Music is one of the most universal languages ever. Whether you speak English, Korean, Chinese, Hindu, or Punjabi, the way a song makes you feel will surpass any language barriers. So, why not listen to a few popular Asian artists? You might find something you like! This playlist on Spotify has 60 songs by Asian artists for you to check out:

If Spotify is not your thing, here’s a bomb playlist on Apple Music featuring 112 songs and Asian artists only!

We hope you found a few ideas here that you’d like to try out. Honoring the AAPI community is incredibly important, and we hope that, if you take away anything, it’s your appreciation for their culture. Remember, if you have any friends/colleagues who are part of the AAPI community, and there’s something you want to know, the best thing to do is ask! Have fun trying out a few of these activities.