Author Archives: cniemann

Palm Sunday Branches

Palm Sunday Branches

Informant: T.N.had a very unique upbringing in that her father was in the Air Force, which caused her family to relocate extremely often. When she was young, her younger sister tragically died of leukemia at the age of five, and her father soon died in an airplane accident. Her mother remarried afterwards to another Air Force veteran who then worked in real estate, which also led to several relocations. T.N. grew up all around the United States but spent most of her time in Tampa Bay, Florida until she moved to Indian Wells, California for her Senior year of high school before matriculating to USC. She now resides in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

 

“Not sure if this is Folklore or not, but I love this one. As you know, Palm Sunday is the Sunday before Easter. At the Mass service on Palm Sunday, Palm fronds are passed out to the congregation. These are meant to represent Jesus Christ and his love. I’m not exactly sure the history behind it… I think that they supposedly waved palm branches when Jesus would enter a place. So because of this, the palm fronds represent Jesus’ protection. For this reason, as you know… our family would always gather extra palm branches and fold them into a Cross. We put these in our cars and in each of our rooms. This isn’t a teaching of the Bible, but something I did with my parents. To me it represents the protective and healing powers of Jesus Christ.”

Analysis:

This is really powerful to me. Palm Sunday is integral to Christians and the Catholic Church, but nowhere does it say that palm branches should be formed into a cross and kept in every room of the house and even cars. However, I have always grown up with this tradition, which was passed down from my parents and their parents. Right now, I have a palm branch in my dorm room and in my glove compartment. This tradition is particularly important to me.

Gingers Do Have Souls

Gingers Do Have Souls

 

Informant:

H.C.is a first-year student at USC studying in Annenberg. Haley grew up in Denver Colorado and is familiar with certain Colorado legends. She also has an important and unique point of view, since she is a Millennial, which seems to be the most “out-there” and transformative generation we have seen thus far. Because of this, she is a perfect informant, as she holds a modern and up-to-date perspective. All interviews were held in a study-room on campus.

Folklore:

“Okay… I’m not sure what constitutes ‘Folklore’ exactly, but this is pretty significant in my life, that I guess you could call a legend, or a rumor. It definitely seems to fit the category, in my opinion, at least. So… obviously I have red hair… Or as everyone says I’m a ‘Ginger.’ Because of the fact that I obviously have red hair… I faced a lot of making-fun-of… or ridicule basically my whole life. It was never that bad, like, guys and other people usually had it way worse. But the worst part is this… like, legend, that ‘Gingers have no souls’…? I have no idea where that came from… It doesn’t really affect me ‘cause I have thick skin but it is honestly pretty annoying. My whole life I get these, like, stupid ‘Where’s your soul?’ jabs. I’ve even been to sports games where people chant that at ginger players. No clue why the fact that I have red hair constitutes a lack of soul… but whatever. Some jokes can be kinda funny in the right light.”

Analysis:

I have experienced these jokes so many times in my life. It seems to be a pretty recent phenomenon. I had always thought that these jokes stemmed from more ancient times like the Salem Witch Trials where people believed those born with red hair had a tie to dark arts. Turns out, it’s actually a lot simpler than that. While I’m sure those ancient superstitions certainly played a role in this phenomenon, the “Where’s your soul?” trend is from the culturally-effective show South Park. “The phrase ‘gingers have no soul’ comes from the South Park episode ‘Ginger Kids’ that first aired on November 9th, 2005. At the beginning of this episode, Eric Cartman gives a class presentation on the subject of red-headed children and “Gingervitis,” a made-up disease.” This actually seemed to cause a rippling effect of ridicule towards red-heads, as the show introduced “Kick a Ginger Day,” where some particularly cool school children actually organized in real life outside the show in order to torture these “Gingers.” The movement also gained notoriety from a red-headed boy posting an angry rant to Youtube exclaiming that “Gingers do have souls!” Because of this, a popular meme was formed.

A full explanation of this phenomenon can be seen here:

http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/gingers-do-have-souls

Bloody Mary

Bloody Mary

 

Informant:

H.C.  is a first-year student at USC studying in Annenberg. Haley grew up in Denver Colorado and is familiar with certain Colorado legends. She also has an important and unique point of view, since she is a Millennial, which seems to be the most “out-there” and transformative generation we have seen thus far. Because of this, H.C. is a perfect informant, as she holds a modern and up-to-date perspective. All interviews were held in a study-room on campus.

Folklore:

“There was this super weird rumor when I was in elementary school regarding ‘Bloody Mary.’ Basically, there was this legend that if you go in the girls’ bathroom and turn off the lights and then face the mirror, and say something like ‘Bloody Mary, cross my heart and hope to die,’ a certain amount of times, the Virgin Mary herself would, like, appear in the mirror in Blood or something like that. Obviously, I never saw anything. But me and my friends would fib and say that we always saw it! And everyone in my class would do the same. It was pretty childish.”

Analysis: When I grew up, I experienced something similar. I think it was more inclined to girls, as the rumor I heard also revolved around the girls’ bathroom. Upon further research in addition to class discussion, it seems that this folklore arrived from girls’ transition into womanhood and experiencing menstruation for the first time. Hence, “Bloody Mary” and the rumor taking place in the girls’ restroom. We can see this old phenomenon present in cultural folklore today in addition to popular mediums such as television and movies.

Point Vicente Lighthouse

Point Vicente Lighthouse

 

Informant: T.N. had a very unique upbringing in that her father was in the Air Force, which caused her family to relocate extremely often. When she was young, her younger sister tragically died of leukemia at the age of five, and her father soon died in an airplane accident. Her mother remarried afterwards to another Air Force veteran who then worked in real estate, which also led to several relocations. T.N. grew up all around the United States but spent most of her time in Tampa Bay, Florida until she moved to Indian Wells, California for her Senior year of high school before matriculating to USC. She now resides in Palos Verdes Estates, California.

Folklore:

“Okay. Last haunting story, I promise… This one is also brief, as I do not know too much about its history. So, the Point Vicente Lighthouse… just a couple miles down the road from both the so-called ‘haunted’ Wayfarer’s Chapel and Vanderlip Mansion… is supposed to be haunted. Apparently, at top of the lighthouse, the silhouette of a wandering ghost lady can be seen. Apparently she’s the apparition of either the wife of a light-keeper that fell to his death from the top, or from a sailor that wrecked his ship in World War II. It is rumored that the panes of the lighthouse that face the street were painted so that people would not see this wandering ghost.”

Analysis:

I have visited the lighthouse a number of occasions. While it is ancient, it does not seem haunted in my opinion. However, if I saw a wandering silhouette in the top of the roundhouse, I would become extremely uneasy. It is easy to explain why the glass facing the street was blacked-out: So that the light would not get in the eyes of drivers when it comes around. There is certainly merit to this haunted-legend, but I don’t really see the allure of it that many ghost-hunters are attracted to.

Overton Bridge

Overtoun Bridge

Informant:

N. D. grew up in New Jersey under some challenging circumstances. He was not given anything and had to work for everything that he had. He moved to Los Angeles at the age of 18 and has worked his way up from the role of a humble construction worker to the owner of a construction company. He is a very successful contractor and enjoys an adventurous life full of skiing, hiking, and traveling with his three sons and wife.

Folklore:

“We have a bunch of family in Ireland. We visit them often. Sometimes we make a vacation of the trip afterwards. A few summers ago… We go to Scotland. I gotta tell ya… I have never experienced anything like this. There’s this huge bridge called the Overtoun Bridge. The bridge itself is cool but nothing too special. What is absolutely nuts… Apparently several dogs have committed suicide off of this bridge. They get to this bridge and just go insane… and jump off the edge of the bridge into the waterfall and rocks below. I have never heard of anything like it. Super creepy… Couldn’t believe that. Also couldn’t believe anyone in their right mind would continue to take their dogs to this place.”

Analysis:

Upon further research of the Overtoun Bridge, it looks like it has sparked international notoriety. Several animal experts have been sent to investigate the supposed dog suicides at the bridge, and the experts are completely stumped. The common denominator is that the dogs usually jump off the same side of the bridge on clear-weather days, and the most common breads of dogs that leap off the edge have long snouts. Leading scientists speculate that dogs are attracted to a scent below the bridge given off