“My mom is half Mexican, and we make tamales every year for Christmas – but we also make empanadas, and I don’t know why, and I have never known why, and I asked and my mom was just like ‘I’m pretty sure it’s ‘cause we like them,’ because it’s not a Christmas tradition to make empanadas, but we make pumpkin ones, I think just ‘cause my great-grandma was like “… cool!” or like someone at some point wanted to. Um, but my whole life we’d leave those instead of cookies for Santa [laugh] – yeah, pumpkin empanadas – um, and my poor father – [he] does not like them, but was in charge of making it look like Santa had taken a bite of them […] and then we would be like ‘wow, he didn’t like the empanadas, he only ate a little bit!’ […] It became like a cool thing, we had an elf on the shelf for a while and my sisters would get really excited – my sisters would make like a little miniature empanada for him [laugh] and we would leave that out because, you know, they leave on Christmas Eve […] It’s like a sort of personalized ritual, it feels very, like, the immigrant experience to Americanize a tradition like that and it’s like ‘oh, leave them out for Santa’ […] But, yeah, that’s a Christmas thing that we do.”

Context: The informant is a college student living in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA.

Interpretation: This seems to be a unique combination of Mexican foodways and the Christmas tradition of leaving food out for Santa on Christmas Eve (which may not have an equivalent in traditionally Mexican celebrations of Christmas). The informant speaks of this fondly, which leads me to think it has been a fun and unique way for her family to blend Mexican and American Christmas tradition, rather than one stifling the other.

The informant and her family wear “silly hats” every Christmas for good luck during the new year – “the sillier the better.” This tradition has lasted for as long as she can remember; she estimates around 20 years.

Context: The informant is a college student who grew up in San Diego, CA.

Interpretation: These silly hats combine Christmas tradition with a common philosophy associated with new year celebrations, that doing certain things will bring one good luck in the next year. While the informant doesn’t know the exact origin of this family tradition, it seems likely that it started more for fun, and assumed the identity of a good luck ritual as it was repeated over time.

Before the 4th of July, my town hosts a “Fishing Derby” at the public beach near my house. It always starts early–6 or 7am–on July 3rd, and is primarily attended by families with kids ages 5-11. Kids bring or are given little, goofy fishing poles and fish off the dock for perch, pike minnows, and more. Mostly perch. If/when kids catch a fish, adults help them reel it in, unhook it, weigh and measure it, and release it back into Lake Washington. This is also a competition, and at the end of the derby (maybe 10-11am?), the kids who caught the longest fish, heaviest fish, and most fish are given trophies. All of the kids who participate are given little goody bags (bobbers, basic fishing lures, etc), and there’s also usually free donuts and coffee at the dock. 

4th of July is probably the most community-centric time of the year for my town, and the fishing derby is a classic, more kid-oriented activity. It’s been going on for as long as I can remember, and my Dad (prominent fisherman) is usually one of the ones helping to run it. I participated every year when I was younger, and now show up sometimes to help weigh and manage fish, hand out prizes, and make sure kids are safe and having fun. I think the fact that this is a big part of the community activities reflects a lot of Washington state culture, particularly for communities near the lake and Puget Sound–Lake Washington is truly massive/a very present part of Seattle. Seafood and fishing are a pretty big part of local culture, so it’s fun to find a low-commitment, easy way for younger kids to get involved.

Context: The informant is a 20 year old student at USC. Originally from Bellevue, WA. Non-binary, white and of European descent (primarily Irish and Italian).

Interpretation: This fun tradition demonstrates the way that fishing and Lake Washington influence culture in Seattle – typical celebrations of the 4th of July have nothing to do with fishing. It speaks less to the significance of the 4th of July itself to community building, and more to the fact that residents of Seattle have taken this opportunity to come together and strengthen their community through fishing. It creates an ingroup that is more unique to Washington state (particularly Seattle or Bellevue) than to America alone.

Came from rural communities in the middle ages, Spaniards would bring a large log into the house before Christmas symbolizing gifts and warmth and light that were given in the form of wood. It’s a lesson, the kids would have to take care of the caga tió keeping it warm and feeding it, and if they took care of the log talking to him and you know being nice to the log, on Christmas it would poop presents. On Christmas Eve the kids would be nice to the log and say goodnight and it would have a blanket over it. In the morning they would come out with sticks and beat the log and say “Caga tió, caga tió” until it pooped presents.

The informant also involved his children in this tradition a few times since starting his family in California.

Context: The informant is in his 50s; he grew up in Barcelona, Spain (where he primarily participated in this tradition), immigrated to the U.S. as a young adult, and started a family in San Diego, CA where he lives today.

Interpretation: From an American perspective this may seem outlandish, but this tradition is actually fairly similar to Santa in its philosophy: to receive presents from some mythical being, children must be nice and behave well. Except for the beating the log part. In any case, it seems to be a humorous and kid-oriented way to celebrate the holidays, with at least a nod (if ironic) towards positive qualities like generosity.

Originating in Barcelona in the 1400s to tell biblical stories to the illiterate populace. They are characters that take part in parades and are around 10 feet tall, with large paper mache heads. They all have names for example, Mustafa is a moor head.

The informant and his family also went to a festival featuring these giants during a visit to Spain earlier this year; these characters are apparently not specific to any one festival, and instead appear in some of many throughout the year.

Context: The informant is in his 50s; he grew up in Barcelona, Spain (where he went to these parades), immigrated to the U.S. as a young adult, and started a family in San Diego, CA where he lives today.

Interpretation: This character seems to be one that celebrates Spanish culture in general, and is not specific to any holiday in particular – however, they are associated with festivals in Spain and are sometimes represented in parades. My guess is that, by virtue of existing in Spanish folklore for such a long time, it has become more symbolic of Spanish culture (as distinct from outside cultures) than of the particular biblical stories it initially represented.