Author Archives: Jackson Watson

May 9th Russian Holiday

Alexander is a 20 year old student at USC. He is currently a freshman, and is old for his grade because he spent an extra year in Russia, where he grew up his entire life. He said life there was very different and while he is good at English, he still struggles slightly as he is very new to the country. He talked about one holiday that Russia has that the US does not have:

“May 9th is victory day, like the Russian victory in WW2 when Russia went in to Berlin. Basically government spends a lot of money, its always sunny because government puts money and puts chemicals in clouds and clouds disappear, we do fireworks and major parades. Troops walking around in beautiful clothes, and military cars and planes fly on the main street. People also go out, and president gives speech. Young guys like me buy flowers and give to veterans to thank them”

He said this was a big holiday for them and it is something that he loved growing up because he got to see his military honored for their victory in the war. I find this holiday very intriguing, not the actual holiday itself but what he said about it always being sunny. I wonder if the government actually somehow affects the clouds there, or if it just always happens to be sunny and that is what they tell people.

Russian kolobok story

Alexander is a 20 year old student at USC. He is currently a freshman, and is old for his grade because he spent an extra year in Russia, where he grew up his entire life. He said life there was very different and while he is good at English, he still struggles slightly as he is very new to the country. When I asked if there were any stories he learned growing up this is how he replied:

“There was a grandpa and grandma and they didn’t have children, the grandma decided to make kolobok, which is literally a round piece of bread, and made him alive, she baked him, he got bored, and she put him in the window, and he jumped out the window and went to the forest. And so he’s walking through the forest, and he first meets a rabbit, and the rabbit wants to eat him, and he’s like “oh I ran away from my grandma and my grandpa and I’m gonna run away from you” then he runs away. Then meets a wolf, and the wolf wants to eat him and says “I’m gonna give you a cookie come here” and then he says “I ran away from my grandma and grandpa, I’m gonna run away from you” so he runs away. Then he meets a fox, and the kolobok says “I ran away from my grandma and grandma, I will run away from you” and the fox says “I can’t hear you well, or see you well, can you come closer to me” and the kolobok comes closer and the fox eats him”

Alexander said this was the first story he learned, in fact he says it is the first story your mother tells you and he learned it when he was very young. He takes it now as a lesson to never run away from home, or trust the sly fox. I have never heard this story, but again within this story is the prominence of the number 3. The kolobok repeats the “I ran away from my grandma and grandma, I will run away from you” phrase 3 times before the story ends, and I see this in many stories all over. I also think this story has a good message and find it interesting that Alexander said that “this is the first story your mother tells you” as if she has to.

Guyfawkes 5th of November celebration in London

Michael is a 23 year old from London, England. Michael grew up In London with an American mom and a British father. He said a lot mainly translated from England to here, except for a few holidays. One holiday he spoke of was the 5th of November.

Song “Remember, remember, the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot, I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot”

“He tried the blow up houses of parliament, and guards caught him last minute, and he was hung drawn and courted, hung by neck but not until dead, then cut down, cut his innards out, and got ripped and got spread to all 4 corners of the campus. Every year we build a scarecrow, and build “Guyfawkes” and burn him.

Michael said this was a very defining thing to do, because their country is bound upon parliament, so anyone who attacks it is viewed negatively. He said many people would do this as it was more of ritualistic act. I see this as a form of propaganda almost, that they symbolically burn someone who tried to burn down their parliament, which could almost create an image in their minds at a young age that their parliament should never be questioned. I think this is a cool tradition nonetheless.

Legend of King Arthur

Michael is a 23 year old from London, England. Michael grew up In London with an American mom and a British father. He said a lot mainly translated from England to here, except for a few stories that are told there that do not get told here. One he spoke of was the story of King Arthur.

“He pulled Excalibur the sword from stone and was the chosen king and he had merlin, the magician, and had sir Lancelot who was his most trusted knight. He was famous for the round table, which was like heresy at the time, and it was antireligious because kings were supposed to sit higher than anyone else, and he was like “no I’m on the same level as all my advisors.” So he would sit at the round table for al of his meetings and went against divine right of kings, and sat on the same level as everyone.”

Michael said everyone learns this story from a young age, he said he learned it from others around him when he was young and everyone knew it. He now realizes the underlying message that it preaches, saying that it teaches everyone to be on the same level, no matter your status. I find this story very interesting, I have seen snippets of it here and there in movies, but never actually heard the meaning of sitting on an equal level with all of his knights.

Story of the British flag and Saint George and his Dragon

Michael is a 23 year old from London, England. Michael grew up In London with an American mom and a British father. He said a lot mainly translated from England to here, except for a few stories that are told there that do not get told here. One he spoke of was the story of Saint George and his dragon, and the correlation it had to the British flag.

“He slayed dragons, and he’s the reason, the cross of Saint George is the English flag”

Michael said that he did not know much of the story, except for the fact that the cross on the English flag, the red cross, was Saint George’s cross. He said that everyone learned this when they were young and began to admire the British flag more than he did before. I personally did not know the significance of all of the crosses on their flag, and while he said that they do also represent different regions in London, that this was the defining factor behind the red cross in the middle. I like this brief backstory behind their flag.