Main Piece

Religious tradition

“I heard about it when i was in like 4th grade and we wanted our field trip to the Bronx Zoo to not have bad weather. My 4th grade teacher told us about this thing…where you put the Virgin Mary statue facing out in a window. Supposedly it makes…like…good weather, for the next day or something.”

Background

Informant

Nationality: American

Location: Long Island, New York

Language: English

The informant doesn’t think that the practice actually has an effect, but she thinks you should continue doing it as a “trope.” The informant is deeply religious; she said that she believes that, if God wants it to rain, it will rain regardless of anyone’s actions. The informant has never had a Mary statue but has been given them as gifts, she just never kept them or used them. The informant said that she doesn’t feel as strongly as other people do about Mary.

Context

The informant attended a coeducational Catholic school where she learned of the practice.

Notes

The conflict of institutional and non–institutional religious beliefs is an interesting contention. Folk practices such as this are indicative of the importance that people place on different religious figures, like the Virgin Mary, who are perhaps underemphasized by the church. Furthermore, the informant learned the practice from a teacher, but not from the institution itself, which is an interesting distinction to make. When is one acting as part of their employing institution, and when is one not?