Author Archives: mmschwar@usc.edu

Remedy For Sickness

I asked my grandmother if she had any remedies that she does when she is sick or wanting to prevent a sickness. She told me that “When I get sick I home-make matzah ball soup as a something to make me feel better. It’s something that my mother always did for me and it helps your throat and body feel much better. I still use the recipe that my mother gave me. I also drink a water with lemon squeezes inside”

 

Background Info: My grandmother is Jewish, and matzah ball soup is a traditional Jewish deli dish. The recipe that she speaks of was created by her mother in Romania, and she would have this while she was little as well.

 

Context: My grandmother told me about this remedy at our family Passover dinner

 

Analysis: This is my favorite soup that my grandmother makes for me, and whenever I get sick or feel under the weather, I too will have some of this soup if I have access to it. She said that before even using medicine she will try this remedy first and it usually works for her, and I have had a similar experience.

Superstition

When talking to my mother, I asked if she had any superstitions that she can think of. What she came to was something that I actually have noticed in her actions.

 

She said that, “Whenever I hear an ambulance, either outside or while I am driving, I catch myself scratching my head. I think this is me targeting my nerves and anxiety in hopes that whoever is in the ambulance, or who the ambulance is rushed too, is not someone that I know or am related to.”

 

Background Info: My mother mentioned that her mom was always cautious about ambulances and firetrucks, she did not scratch her head, but always would check the news to ensure that whatever emergency there was got resolved, or did not involve someone that she knew or was related to. This was clearly a superstition triggered by an emergency vehicle or situation.

 

Context: My mother told me about this superstition while at lunch over Passover weekend.

 

Analysis: This is something I have actually noticed my mom do, I remember asking her about it a while ago and she discussed with me how it is usually unintentional, but that it happens every time. This reminds me of my superstition of knocking on wood in a situation where I want to prevent an event.

Iraqi Traditional Family Meal

Marc’s mother, as I said, is of Arab descent, so I had a feeling that his mom would have some traditional recipes that she has had passed down. Marc told me about a dish that his grandmother home-makes, and taught his mom, and something that Marc has at all family gatherings.

 

Marc told me about his family recipe for his favorite dish. “Its something that we usually eat whenever our family gets together. It’s called Hameth Kibbee ‘d Girsa. They are kind of similar to meat dumplings. The stuffing inside the dish is what my grandmother taught my mom, it has chopped meat, spices, and homemade vegetable sauce. You then can make the outer shell out of different types of wheat and then you stuff it with the center stuffing, making it almost like a dumpling or ball. My mom has added her own twist to the recipe trying different spices and stuffing, it is one of my favorite family meals”

 

Background Info: Marc explained how his mother makes this Iraqi dish almost at all family events, but she learned it from her mother who also helps make it at many events. It’s a rare dish, but one of his family’s favorite.

 

Context: Marc told me about this tradition while we were in his apartment hanging out during small talk.

 

Analysis: When Marc explained this dish, it did really sound like the Asian dish of dumplings, or shumai. He explained how it has a very middle eastern type of flavor, as opposed to a very fishy flavor like traditional dumplings. This sounded very good and diverse, and Marc’s mom promised to make them for me one day.

Iraqi Wedding Tradition

Marc is one of my close friends, and I knew that his dad is from South Africa, and his mom is of Arab descent. With this in mind, I asked if he had any particular traditions at celebrations from either of these cultures. What he told me about what a dance that he has done at multiple Arab style weddings.

 

Marc said that, “At weddings we do something called a Dakbe line, this is pretty much when the whole wedding gets in a big line and does a traditional line dance from various Arab areas, this is usually done at weddings but also at other celebratory events. It’s one of my favorite things to do at these types of events. I learned this from my mom’s side of the family who is of Arab descent.”

 

Background Info: Marc’s father is from South Africa and his Mom’s parents are from an area near Iraq. Marc now lives in Florida, and attends many events every year that involve traditions and flavors of these two different backgrounds.

 

Context: Marc told me about this tradition while we were in his apartment hanging out during small talk.

 

Analysis: I personally have yet to attend a wedding, so I don’t know of any wedding traditions that I have seen in person. At bar mitzvahs, there is a similar type of line dance that Marc speaks of. What I found interesting was how this dance is done at other celebratory events as well because in my religion, this type of dance is only at specific events rather than multiple.

 

Persian New Year Tradition

When talking to my friend Nigel whose whole family is Persian, he brought up a traditional ritual that is done during Persian new year, and touched on how his family does some things different and some things very traditional, namely, he talked about the Haft Seen Table.

 

I had Nigel talk about what this was because I never had heard of it, he explained that his family, “puts out a haft seen table, which is symbolic of the first day of spring. We put out different types of spices and objects such as garlic, wheat barley, lentil sprouts (that are growing in a dish to symbolize that spring is here), sweet pudding, dried Persian olives, as well as a gold fish in a glass bowl, these are all symbols of different things in the Persian culture. My grandparents usually use more of the traditional spices as the predominant parts of the haft seen table, and those are the things that I know of as very important just because that’s what my family has always followed. Every family usually does their own symbolic items on their table, as well as the traditional ones.”

 

Background Info: Nigel puts out a haft seen table every year during Persian New Year, and was explaining the symbolism of many objects on the table and how they are meant to celebrate the joy of spring. He learned this tradition from his parents and continues to practice this every spring.

 

Context: While walking to our class I talked to Nigel about the tradition of the haft seen table.

 

Analysis: I personally have very little knowledge about Persian New Year, so this was one part of the tradition that I was lucky enough to hear about. I continued to ask Nigel more about the basics of Persian New Year and I found out a lot about it. I am only personally familiar with Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year).

 

For another perspective on this tradition, as well as some explanations of the symbols, see

 

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/03/20/291443678/persians-celebrate-new-year-natures-rebirth-deliciously