Author Archives: Mark Winn

Tradition – Latvian

“It is traditional to sing this one song at Latvian weddings, it is sort of their “song of the open road” if you will.  Also, Latvian weddings are usually three day celebrations.

The song (or “daina”) that my family sang at my brother Alex’s wedding was the first time I had heard it(I hadn’t been to any Latvian weddings before that).  It is called “??rbies, saule sudrabota, “. I don’t know an English translation for it, sorry.  As for the three day party that ensues, that is something that I first learned about also at my brother’s wedding, but as far as I am aware, that’s a very northern European thing to do; I think the Swedes are all about that. “  -Kate P.

The English translation of the title is Sun, Clothe Yourself in Silver. I couldn’t find the lyrics to the song, or the English translation, but it sounds as those it is almost a song wishing him good luck as he moves onto the next part of his life.

To address the three day wedding ceremony, in the International Folkloristics by Dundes, there is a chapter by Geza Roheim that talks about many interesting European wedding traditions. The ancient wedding festival could last for weeks so this seems to be a natural, modern evolution of those festivals.

To reference in text:

Straumanis, Alfreds. The Golden Steed: Seven Baltic Plays. Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press, 1979. Pg. 180

Tradition

Original script/version:

“It has been a family tradition to open presents on Christmas Eve, and then open our Santa presents on Christmas day.”

Kate said she felt like this was definitely a European tradition that hailed from her mother’s side of the family (the Swiss side). She said her mother also practiced the same tradition while she was growing up.

There seem to be many, many varieties of celebrating Christmas and handling the unwrapping of presents. The reason for moving the present wrapping could be two fold. Some families may like to concentrate more on the religious aspect of Christmas during the day, so they more the more consumer oriented portion to the night before. It could also be a way to spread out the festivities.

Many of European wedding traditions mentioned in Alan Dundes International Folkoristics book had special rituals and celebrations on Christmas Eve.

For further reference in text, see:

Etzioni, Amitai. We Are What We Celebrate : Understanding Holidays and Rituals. New York: New York University Press, 2004. Pg. 135.

Tradition

Tradition:

“Every Christmas eve, we eat crab as a family. Generally there are about 8 to 12 of us. So either me or your mom goes out and gets four-six Dungeness Crabs. We then clean them up, put all the legs in one bowl, and cut the bodies in half, and put them in another bowl. Then everyone gets half a body and a few legs. We use special tools to pick out the crab meat. When everyone has “cleaned” as much crab as they like, we all make crab salads. Mimi (my grandmother) makes Thousand Island dressing using mayonnaise, ketchup, and relish. Then you put the crab on your salad, put dressing over that, and have yourself a meal!”

My father carried on this tradition from his family. He has eaten crab for dinner for as long as he can remember. He doesn’t know why or how the special food of choice became crab. He moved around a lot, but never lived anywhere coastal. For much of his life he lived in southern California.

I think crab developed as more of a specialty food than anything else. My family has never eaten a lot of seafood, and the only time we ever eat crab is on Christmas Eve. I think this exclusivity makes it a specialty food, at least for our family.

I don’t think there is a lot of symbolic meaning behind the fact that it is crab. I think the reason why it became a tradition is because it is more of social activity. It takes 20 or 25 minutes to clean all the crab out of the body and legs, and creates a good social environment instead of just sitting down and eating.

Tradition

Tradition: Gift opening

“Since I was young my family has had a tradition for opening presents on Christmas morning. Instead of having everyone just grab gifts willy-nilly, the youngest person in the family, which was my brother, would find one gift for everyone. Then each person would open their gift, while the others waited. When everyone had opened their gift for that “round,” the next youngest would go. And we would go through the whole family like that. Once my dad had gone, he went last because he was the oldest, we would start at the beginning again. We would just repeat this until all the presents were opened.

My mom says that her father learned the tradition from a fellow police officer while working with the Los Angeles Police Department. She says it was a way of slowing Christmas morning down, avoiding all the crazy and hectic rush for presents that can happen if there is no order. This tradition also allows for everyone to equally be involved, and not have the morning monopolized by excited little kids or overpowering adults.

She said this is one of the few Munkres (maiden name) traditions that she carried over to her own family. She likes it now because instead of people just grabbing all the presents with their name on it, everyone essentially gets to give their presents all over again.

I feel like this tradition would find its origins among the poorer social classes. If there are less presents under the Christmas tree, the parents would want to find every way possible to extend the enjoyment of Christmas morning. Although we are not necessarily poor nor was my mother’s family, it is still a way of remembering those that don’t have as much to give, while also creating a more family oriented atmosphere on Christmas.

Folk Medicine

Diet/ Folk Medicine

I was told that eating the “BRAT” diet when your stomach is upset would calm it down and help you feel better. The BRAT diet being: banana, rice, apple sauce, and tapioca.

When I asked Matt where he heard this, he said his mom had told him about it when he had an upset stomach one time. Matt says that whenever he his stomach is up set or he feels nauseous, he returns to the BRAT diet. He doesn’t eat all the foods suggested; apple sauce and tapioca are his favorites.

This is the sort of folk medicine that would be passed from mother to mother at a day care or other places where there are lots of small kids. Little kids generally like eating most of the BRAT diet, so when their stomach is upset it is easy to get them to eat. It is also convenient because all the foods are common foods found in most grocery stores so no special trips or prescriptions are necessary. Most of the foods can already be found in houses that have little children.

When I asked Matt if he knew other people that also ate a BRAT diet when not feeling well, he said he knew several people that ate several of the foods in the diet, but did not call it by the acronym B.R.A.T.

For further reference in texts, see:

Schmitt, Barton D. Your Child’s Health : The Parents’ One-Stop Reference Guide to: Symptoms, Emergencies, CommonIllnesses, Behavior Problems, and Healthy Development . New York: Bantam Books, 2005. Pg. 248-250.