Contextual Information
Time of Interview: April 24th, 5:20 p.m.
Location of Interview: Interior of Informant’s Room, Arts and Humanities
Informant’s First Encounter w/ Folklore: Early Childhood w/ Family
When Folklore is Performed: Every Chinese New Year
Transcript:
“So I’m third generation Chinese, and every Chinese New Year, it’s been a tradition in my family to say Kung Hei Fat Choy, which is the traditional Chinese New Year greeting, but we say Kung Hei Fat Choy Fat Boy! And this has been going on ever since my ancestors came over from America, and a large part of it goes down to how during Chinese New Year we eat a lot of food, and I think in China being on the bigger side, or fat, signifies wealth because you can afford to eat food and become fate. So, Kung Hei Fat Choy is our response to that, because we don’t want to become fat!”
This saying has been passed down throughout the informant’s family since immigrating to the United States, and provides a comedic variation upon the original New Year greeting. In creating such a variant, the informant’s family is able to bridge a gap between the two different cultures, such as the believed relationship between body size and wealth, and retain their own unique identity while doing so.