Main Piece: Informant: On Chinese New Year’s. We always eat fish because fish is like a lucky food but we don’t flip the fish over. Usually I feel like Asian people are pretty good about getting all of the meat like chicken and stuff because wasting is bad, but we don’t like, flip the fish… Continue Reading »
The informant, AW, was in a position where he couldn’t call because of WiFi restrictions and of course, in quarantine we couldn’t communicate in real life. However, he had a story he wanted to tell, so he texted me the following: As a child, we had all kinds of superstitions about things you shouldn’t do… Continue Reading »
Context: I remembered my friend mentioning some superstition in regards to a fish so I asked her about it again and she explained and this conversation was recorded. MG: What does the fish in your dreams superstition mean? KR: “Okay… so it means someone close to you, or it could be actually you, is pregnant. Usually… Continue Reading »
RN is the informant, PH is myself. PH: Do you know any legends, jokes, proverbs that you especially like? RN: Proverb? PH: Yeah RN: Can it be in another language? PH: Yes RN: I’ll give you the English translation and you can just write [that it is a] Vietnamese proverb PH: Do you know how… Continue Reading »
BACKGROUND: A family from Bucks County, Pennsylvania passed down the tradition and ominous warning, “Don’t drink milk with fish”. This proverb was passed down for so many generations that the actual reason not to drink milk while eating fish. The family comes from a long line of traditional Mennonites branching off into the Pennsylvania dutch… Continue Reading »