Monthly Archives: January 2011

Holiday Game/Tradition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Residence: New York, NY
Performance Date: March 10, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Holiday Tradition/Game

“Every year, for Christmas, our family plays the game “White Elephant.”  We have a lot of family and extended family come to visit for the holidays, so its fun to put some games together that everyone can participate in and be amused by.  In “White Elephant,” each player/individual involved brings something, or a couple things, from home that they don’t want anymore.  They wrap it in Christmas paper, and everyone sets these gifts in a pile near the tree.  On Christmas, starting with the youngest present, each person takes turns going up to the pile and picking a gift; the gifts can be as random as an old sweater or a gardening pot, but the concept of the game is based on the old proverb “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.””

This is a game that my family has played for years.  As my sister stated, we usually have a ton of guests over for Christmas: grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, significant others, etc.  Though many groups still exchange sentimental Christmas gifts, we wanted to start using a game that would result in everybody participating and everybody receiving a gift.

The game is traditionally played Christmas afternoon after the unwrapping of the normal gifts and right before dinner.  This is also a point in the day at which many family members had consumed a beer or two and are ready for a few good laughs.  The people who participate general provide very humorous or unique gifts; some past gifts have been: a flask, a fur coat, wind chimes, old board games, etc.  This provides for a lot of entertainment, and many of the gifts relate to jokes within the family.

Little children do not generally participate in “White Elephant” for these reasons.  The gifts provided by the older family members are typically supposed to be used by older teens and adults, and wouldn’t be understood by small children.  Also, the adults most likely wouldn’t appreciate receiving a Barbie toy that was put into the pile by a 5-year-old.

The concept of “White Elephant” seems to be greatly influenced by the old proverb “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  In this game, something that seems old and useless to one player/family member can serve two functions:  provide another person with something they might actually use, and provide the family with entertainment if the piece happens to inspire memories or jokes.

This game, among others, seems to be popular not only in my family, but in other families, as well.  After discussing the game with various friends, I found that many of them participate in the same game, or at least one very similar with only slightly different rules.  (These rules vary in terms of small details, such as order of picking gifts and what kinds of gifts can be given.)  “White Elephant” also supports the Christmas spirit because it encourages the acts of giving and receiving gifts on this day, and being grateful for what members of a family have to give to each other.  Though it is only one among many Christmas traditions, it still proves to be a consistently popular game among families who celebrate this holiday.

Folk Speech

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 64
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Essex Falls, NJ
Performance Date: April 24, 2008
Primary Language: English

Family Speech/Vernacular:

“The family has always prided itself on staying right up to date with vernacular.  For example, we were referring to each other as “ho” and “bitch” five years ago, and things such as “tool” and “freak” today.”

My Dad has always been very easygoing in the way that he speaks to my siblings and me.  His use of the vernacular and “hip” terms seems to be a result of a combination of many desires: to be humorous, to get along with the youth in the family, and to seem up-to-date with things that are new and “in.”

As he described, a couple years ago my Dad started using phrases such as “ho” and “bitch” in a joking tone in order to mock me, my sister, and the media that we consistently started entertaining ourselves with.  As the years have progressed, he still uses these particular terms, but has also expanded his vernacular vocabulary into using terms such as “tool” and “freak” as they became increasing popular, as well.

This is a tradition/habit of my Dad’s that is always changing and expanding.  While he learns more and more slang phrases that are used by youth today, he also changes around his own uses of these words and the contexts in which he uses them.  Not only does he call members of the family some of these names as a joke, but he also refers to other people, often strangers, with these names under his breath and matches the words with various vocal tones to create different effects every time he makes a statement involving the described vernacular.  One aspect of this kind of humor that proves to be most amusing is the fact that one wouldn’t expect a 64-year-old man to be saying these things, and often the simple inclusion of a word here and there in his commentaries provokes a surprised reaction.

As I stated above, I think this tradition stems from a variety of factors.  My Dad has a very funny and blunt sense of humor that is also relatable to not only friends of his, but people from various generations, including my own.  It is clear that he prides himself in his humor and his ability to get along so easily with the youth in the family by using such crude humor.  The reason that his use of the vernacular became so popular over the last couple years is for a couple reasons.  First of all, our society has never before witnessed the creation of such a wide variety of slang to choose from, and the selection is almost irresistible to a grown man with a healthy sense of humor.  Secondly, as I, the youngest child, grew older and developed my own sense of humor, my Dad probably became far more comfortable with talking in such a crude manner in front of the family since parental control no longer existed in this sense.  Though I am not sure, and even doubtful, as to how many other parents use this kind of humor and language, it is clear from observing my dad that the vernacular in our media today not only affects youth, but older generations trying to keep up, as well.

Annotiations: The words listed above, along with another great variety of words, can be found on the popular website urbandictionary.com.

Folk Tale

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boonton Township, NJ
Performance Date: March 25, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Tale

Online Conversation via AOL Instant Messenger

polkadot308 (3:06:10 PM): when my sister used to be constipated, I would tell her stories that were kind of my own, less coherent, versions of “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”

polkadot308 (3:06:30 PM): they always went “three men, sitting in three chairs, drinking three cups of coffee, watching three tvs…etc.”

My friend told me this story about what she used to do with her sister when they were both younger and her sister was apparently constipated.  Dolyn is two years younger than her sister, but has a very nurturing nature and when she was really little wanted to try really hard to make her sister feel better.  She also loved storytelling, so she used this to try to ease and distract her sister when she was clearly having a difficult time.

Dolyn told me that she used to do this when she was about three years old, hence the use of the number three repeatedly throughout the story.  Three happens to be a very significant number in traditional folklore, and many stories involve the number three in its series of events.  Here, Dolyn uses the number three to list all of the people, items, and actions in the story as it progresses.  Though it is clear that the story seems to be more of a never-ending descriptive sentence rather than focused around a plot, like in “Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” the itemization using the number three still indicates a progression and imitation of the well-known fairy tale.

Dolyn also told me that her story would change every time she told a new one, which is very representative of folklore stories.  Though they all involved the number three, and generally started off talking about “three men,” each story would continue to very and become more and more different as it went on in order to produce a different tale every time.  This worked in two senses: Dolyn didn’t have to memorize exact details, and she also wouldn’t bore her sister by telling the same story every time.

It is also clear that Dolyn’s stories are influenced by traditional fairy tales. “Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is a very well-known story by many, and has been reproduced in many versions.  Dolyn’s stories, though “less coherent” as she says, and without as stable of a plot, were clearly influenced by the common fairy tale.  Instead of telling a tale of a small girl and three bears, however, she told tales of three men in a seemingly more modern world than are described in the more original “Goldilocks” versions.

Dolyn’s interpretations of these stories also continue as a type of family tradition between her sister and herself.  Though she no longer tells stories like this to her sister, as they have grown significantly older, it represents her nurturing nature and desire to ease and distract her sister.  It also shows a desire to be accepted and praised by her sister, which is common among younger sisters who yearn for sibling approval.

Annotation: Marshall, James. Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Dial Publishing, US. 1988

Proverb

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Wayne. NJ
Performance Date: April 5, 2008
Primary Language: English

Proverb

“Bite the Bullet.”

My cousin Leah always uses this phrase whenever she, or anyone else, has to face doing something they don’t really want to do or are scared to do.  She says she heard it a lot when she was little because her grandfather would say it to her father when she overheard their conversations about any duties he had or things he didn’t feel like doing.

It is apparent that the proverb “Bite the Bullet” seems to come from (or from what I remember of my days learning about it in elementary school) hundreds of years ago when during the Revolutionary Way doctors used to give amputation patients bullets to bite on in order to endure the pain of the amputation procedure.  Instead of screaming and yelling, the patients would have something hard to bite down on in order to avoid thinking about the pain of losing a limb, and a bullet seemed to do the job.

After hearing her grandfather use this phrase, Leah started using it often, as well.  I’ve heard her use it many times when referring to school work, jobs, breakups, etc.  She says that it gives her more confidence when approaching a difficult situation.  If she is seriously dreading something, when she thinks of the phrase, it reminds her that soon it will be over, and if she just sucks it up she can get it done and over with.

She also uses this phrase with other family and friends to try to remind them of the same things.  Though some people don’t take it as seriously because they think its easier to be told to just “Bite the Bullet” than actually do what is feared, it sometimes works.  It especially works with me because I tend to realize the same thing that she does, and I am more motivated to simply get the job done.

I think this is a popular phrase among many people because it is short and to the point.  “Bite the Bullet” is a strong phrase which gets the point across without having to be interpreted.  It is also easily accessible to many, no matter what their education, because it is so straightforward and easy to understand.  Even if one doesn’t get the historical background to the phrase, it still gives the same, direct, effect and encourages the individual to just get the job done.

Annotation: Jack, Albert. Red Herrings and White Elephants: The Origins of Phrases we Use Everyday. “Bite the Bullet” Harper Collins Publishers, 2005. Page 22.

Legend

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Essex Falls, NJ
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Legend

“When I was little, I always used to hear legends about the “New Jersey Devil.”  The Jersey Devil was described to be a strange creature with reptile wings and hooves.  The Devil is said to live in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, which is about an hour south of where I live; there are a lot of trees and very strange people are rumored to live in that area.  The story goes that the Leeds family came to America from England a couple hundred years ago and the Leeds were desperate to have children.  After the twelfth child, Mrs. Leeds got pregnant again and is said to have yelled something about that child being the devil, and when she gave birth it was the NJ devil.  A lot of people say they have seen the Jersey devil all over, and mainly in the Pine Barrens area.”

I’ve heard this story ever since I was little.  I heard it from friends, family members, camp counselors, teachers, etc.  It is a very well known rumor in New Jersey, and even the NJ Devils hockey team is said to be named after the creature (most likely to give off the sense of being fierce and ‘killing’.) It is essentially a legend that anyone born and raised in New Jersey grows to learn and re-tell.

It is likely that legends like these stem from a combination of a family story and sighting of a variety of animals.  The Leeds family probably did have a lot of children; maybe one died, or got kidnapped, but the rumors most likely began about something being wrong with one of the children.  Additionally, New Jersey has a wide variety of animals, and a lot of forests (despite what most think.)  It would be incredibly easy to mistake a horse, dog, winged animal, or even human for the Jersey Devil at night when details are hardly visible.  Some speculate that the creature could actually exist and be a very rare animal species that happens to be very afraid of humans.

Another way this legend was probably formed is because the Pine Barrens is said to be a very, very strange area of New Jersey.  The people who I’ve talked to about the Pine Barrens and south Jersey say that there is a lot of incest and deformed people along with very odd families.  It is very likely that this inspired someone, or a group of people, to create a humorous and scary legend about this area that would last for years to come.

The legend of the Jersey Devil is also very similar to a variety of other legends about creatures whose existence no one can quite prove (sea monsters, witch tales, the “Boogey Monster,” etc.)  It would be very easy to take the above factors and combine them with some already known legends in order to make a new legend that would provide entertainment for the citizens of New Jersey.  This is a tale that is told over and over, especially to kids; it could simply be another form of a ghost story or legend that adults would tell kids to scare them at camp or give them something to talk about.

Finally, the legend of the New Jersey Devil gives the state an additional amount of pride.  People in America tend to generally be very proud of where they come from and consistently look for ways to identify themselves.  The story of the Devil gives New Jersey citizens something interesting to tell people from out of state, and also gives them an additionally sense of identity and pride.