Monthly Archives: May 2011

Holidays – Birthday – Sri Lankan

Nationality: Sri Lankan
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Morgan Hill, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

On every member of the family’s birthday, the other family member must each feed that person a piece of birthday cake. My informant says it is a fun and lighthearted birthday activity that they always do. It is supposed to be a way to treat the birthday boy or girl more specially than they are normally treated although it turns out to be funny since it is not practiced at any other time after one learns to feed him or herself. Every birthday since she can remember her family has done this tradition.

My informant says that all her extended family members and Indian and Sri Lankan friends who live in the United States do the same ritual. There is no significant cultural meaning for the activity except to somewhat ‘serve’ the person whose special day it is.

Folk Remedy – Garlic

Nationality: Salvadorian
Age: 96
Occupation: Retired
Residence: San Pedro, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

My informant believes that garlic is like a panacea and it is especially useful for colds and coughs. He says that his mother and father taught him about its useful qualities. At the first sign of a cold he eats a clove of garlic. He is such a firm believer in this that he carries a clove of garlic in his pocket everyday.

My informant’s family members are cynical of his belief and reliance on garlic. Most of the younger relatives do not share his beliefs of garlic as a cure-all but nonetheless respect his belief. The remedy must work for my informant because he still believes in it and has been doing so for many years.

Medicinal uses of garlic can be dated back to ancient times. Depending of the country its uses and powers vary. Since garlic is grown and produced around the world it makes sense that different cultures have beliefs regarding its healing powers.

Folk belief

Nationality: American - Salvadorian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Pedro, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

If you cross your eyes while you are outside and a gust of wind blows your face with get stuck that way.

Jessica learned this folk belief from her grandmother. The saying is said to prevent children from crossing their eyes. Many folk beliefs of the sort are developed and used to scare children from doing something undesirable to adults. The belief is not taken especially seriously but her grandmother still says it. Jessica does not believe the saying although whenever she crosses her eyes or sees someone else doing so, the phrase pops into her mind.

Jessica’s family is from El Salvador and her grandmother mostly speaks Spanish and does not speak English well. The exact origins of the folk belief are unknown but people across the world are familiar with it or have heard it, definitely in the United States and El Salvador.

Customs – Grace

Nationality: American - black/Mexican
Age: 17
Occupation: Student
Residence: Palo Alto, CA
Performance Date: March 2011
Primary Language: English

Grace

Before every meal eaten as a family, my informant and his family say a prayer to bless the food. The basic structure of the prayer goes as follows:

Dear God,

Thank you for this food,

We are about to receive,

In your name,

Amen

The informant and his family call this prayer grace. A different family member at random says grace. Everyone holds hands, bows their heads and closes their eyes. After the prayer each family member makes the sign of the cross. Whoever is saying grace can add additional parts to the prayer if he or she pleases. More prayer is added if one family member has a special day coming up, is going to face a challenge in the near future (like an exam or interview), also additional words are said if a visitor is present.

The informant and his family are Catholic but he does not consider himself devout. He says saying grace is a ritual done so frequently that it is routine rather than a spiritual practice. Even if it is not a deeply spiritual practice, the prayer does remind him of God and his faith. His family attends church on occasion and he sometimes prays alone but says grace is their most frequent and consistent Catholic practice.

Praying before meals is common among Christian people and it is called grace. Food is not supposed to be eaten until grace has been said. It serves as a way to symbolically make one’s nourishment clean and sacred before it enters the body. Saying grace is also a time to thank God for blessing them with food. Grace seems like a way to incorporate religion and faith

Holiday – Christmas Eve

Nationality: American - Salvadorian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Pedro, CA
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Jessica is a student at the University of Southern California. She was born and raised in San Pedro, CA. Her mother and father are both from El Salvador and moved to the California when they were twenty years old. Jessica speaks both Spanish and English fluently.

On Christmas Eve each year, Jessica and her family always have the same meal and do the same activities. Her mother and aunts prepare tamales and ham for dinner. The entire family eats together including immediate family and extended family. Then once it is midnight, the liminal period between Christmas Eve and Christmas day, they open gifts.

Jessica’s family has been doing this her whole life and her parents did a similar variation during each of their childhoods as well. The traditions they celebrate are similar to those of many people from Latin American countries and of Latino descent.

Jessica says that this practice her relatives to practice something that keeps them connected to their family origins. She says this is one of the few traditions that are native to her parent’s home country. Family cultural customs are frequently present and apparent in holiday traditions. It is a time when people are reminded of their culture regardless of their location.