Monthly Archives: May 2023

When the resident house ghost wants pop soda too.

Category: Legend/Tale (Depends on if the person believes in ghosts or sees them as fanciful creatures)

Text: “[D]uring the middle of the night my family members would often go to the fridge, get a glass of pop, go back to bed. So when that would happen, whatever family member would do that, you know go down the stairs, open the fridge, get the pop, go up the stairs, go back to bed, every single time, afterwards there would be the sounds of that same thing happening but no one was doing it. Like it was-it was, there was a ghost that haunted the house and the ghost did other things but this goes whenever someone would do that afterwards. They would walk down the stairs, open the fridge, pour the pop, and then walk back up the stairs, but there was no one no one doing it. But it made the same exact noise and people could hear it from their beds. … And the ghost did other things, but yeah. They eventually moved out of the house cause it was creepy”

Context: 

V is a college student who’s been told this story by family members who live in Hazelwood, PA. She interprets this story as an unresolved, creepy mystery of the house saying it could possibly be haunted by a ghost. She is not sure the identity of the ghost.

Interpretation: Ghost stories often deal with ownership according to Valk. This story is the perfect example of that since the ghost “haunts” the house V’s family lives in. However, V’s family is unsure who the ghost is, so the ghost is not of a known person or ancestor of V. This latter sentence crosses out a different common aspect to ghost stories. Though it may be a ghost of the prior house owner sine Valk also mentions ghosts possibly appearing due to changes in property owners. Telling this story shows some belief in the supernatural.

Script:

(V told this story to an audience of 3, one of which was me)

V: This is a story from my family in Hazelwood, PA. I think I’ve told you this before [P], but I don’t think I’ve told you… but anyways so it’s like this-this old house had been in the family for a while my family’s been in Pennsylvania like since, it was like-it’s in Pittsburgh, PA in the borough called Hazelwood but they’ve been there since like-like pioneer times. Like we traced it back like ancestry and my family’s lived there forever. Anyways so it’s really common to drink like pop soda instead of water, it’s like gross, but so during the middle of the night my family members would often go to the fridge, get a glass of pop, go back to bed. So when that would happen, whatever family member would do that, you know go down the stairs, open the fridge, get the pop, go up the stairs, go back to bed, every single time, afterwards there would be the sounds of that same thing happening but no one was doing it. Like it was-it was, there was a ghost that haunted the house and the ghost did other things but this goes whenever someone would do that afterwards. They would walk down the stairs, open the fridge, pour the pop, and then walk back up the stairs, but there was no one no one doing it. But it made the same exact noise and people could hear it from their beds.

Me: Mystery unresolved? 

V: Yeah that-that’s it. And the ghost did other things, but yeah. They eventually moved out of the house cause it was creepy, so yeah. That’s my story. That’s what I got.

Baby Jesus and the Three Wise Men

Category: Legend/Myth (Myth as it’s sacred to Christianity, but is part of the legend of Jesus)

Text: 

Jesus, the king of Christians, brought Christianity into the world with himself. His mother, Mary, birthed him in a manger and shortly after three wise kings came and gave presents to Mary and baby Jesus as they recognized his future immediately as they are guided by the brightest star.

*for more details read the script below

Context: L is my mom and she taught at a Sunday school that I also attended when I was young. L was born in Mexicali, Mexico and moved the US with her family when she was little. She knows this origin story of Christianity / birth of Jesus from multiple sources: from her parents, from her church, from her peers, from her Sunday school, etc. She sees this story as a beginning of new world order since Christianity with Jesus have just been introduced to the world.

Interpretation: Jesus is the son to the Holy Trinity. Considering the story of Jesus is a huge aspect to Christianity, I’d say this story is sacred enough to be considered a myth. Telling this story shows that the narrator believes in Christianity. The kind house owner show the importance of kindness and hospitality to those of the religion, and so do the wise men with presents. The three men’s wisdom and actions also show the importance of wisdom through reading people and situations well and being prepared by acting upon those readings.

Script:

Me: Yeah, so like what do you think is the most fundamental story in Christianity?

L: Well I’m going to respond to this going back to when I was a Sunday school teacher and around Christmas time, you know how you got to decorate Christmas trees you and put presents under the tree? Well part of Sunday school teaching was this, not side story but leading up to it was the story of the three wise men bringing gifts to the baby Jesus in the manger. So basically the story goes is that Mary, who just had the baby, was looking for a place to rest and they had to go knocking on a bunch of doors, because they had no place to rest, and someone who was very kind opened up and said, ‘I have no room here in the house but I do have this place outside.’ Let’s call it a barn. Right, so, and what they did was they arranged the baby as best they could inside of the manger outside. And there was the three wise men. The three wise men knew that the baby had been born and there was going to be a new king: a king to the Christians. And so the three wise men set out and they said-the myth has it that they went looking, you know, they were guided by this bright light, the brightest light they could see in the sky and that led them to the baby Jesus. And it’s the three wise men who bring you know-the myth and the I forget what it is- 3 so… the three wise men bring these three presents to this, you know, baby who’s not even inside a house, who’s out, you know, in in the elements, who looks like any other poor, I mean even beyond poor, you know, child. Yet these three wise men, and that’s why they’re called wise men, recognize even as the baby Jesus was an infant that he was the king. And that’s why it’s central to Christianity because even as a baby he was recognized, it was known, that he was going to bring in what we now consider Christianity, the thought of you not only having God and the Holy Spirit but that you have Jesus and that’s why you have the Trinity: the father, son, and the Holy Ghost. So that is what I think would be a, some people call it a myth, especially those who are not Christians will say, ‘oh you know that’s that’s a myth.’ That’s our story. So it’s the three wise men and the baby out in the manger. That’s all.

Me: And then where’d you hear it from?

L: Well I taught this as part of Sunday school. I don’t know if you remember, we would always color stuff right? And one of the animals that was always out there would be a lamb among them because that’s the sign of a new world order and you’re outside. But I grew up knowing this because, do you remember that I used to go to Sunday school on my own and then I went to catechism and my parents brought me up. And do you remember your sister’s godmother, [Z]?

Me: Yeah.

L: So she knew the whole story. So I grew up with this from my peers and my parents so this has been going on for generations now.

Me: So your parents taught you the story?

L: My parents and my Sunday school, my church.

Me: Ok, that makes sense.

L: So it’s from my generation of Sunday school teachers, right? And peers to now your generation of attending Sunday school.

Me: Ok. Gracias.

Swedish Passing of the Jug

Text: 

For this ritual, the participants form a circle and pass a jar of an alcoholic beverage all the way around until everyone has drunk. At each passing of the jug, they say this to each other (person one starts holding the jug).

Person 1: Per Mattsa!

Person 2: Vud vill du?

Person 1: Jag vill dricka.

Person 2: Så dricka då

Person 1: Per Mattsa!

Person 2: Vad vill du?

Person 1: Hur smakte det? 

Person 2: Känn På!

Transliteration/translation:

Person 1: Greetings

Person 2: What do you want?

Person 1: I want to drink.

Person 2: So – drink

Person 1: What do you want?

Person 2: How did it taste?

Person 1: You taste it.

Context:

The informant is part of a Swedish-American family and does this tradition on a yearly basis at Christmas time.

Analysis:

This tradition has its roots deep in Swedish Viking tradition according to the informant. They claim it was used to prove whether or not it was poisoned as everyone had to drink it. Another variation of the story is that it was used by royalty and the king was the last one to drink and so he would know that it was safe by the time it got to him. Either way, this tradition is a form of showing unity among the group who is partaking in it at a time of year when this is important to them. Despite having its roots in the Viking tradition it is been adapted to being done at Christmas, like many other pagan traditions when the Catholic church pushed to Christianize pagan traditions. Although now it is not done to show the liquid is not poison, the sharing indicates that all are willing to share the same jar. Like many traditions it gets adapted from its original form, keeping the same outline but now being used in a different setting, all the while helping those involved retain a sense of their heritage.

New Years Penny

Text: 

The informant’s family and friends trade pennies with every other person at their New Year’s Party and wish them good luck for the New Year. 

Context:

The informant is from Texas and his family now lives in California every year after the New Year starts they trade pennies with one another.

Analysis:

To me, there are a few things at play with this tradition. The choice of the penny is meant to represent money. Similar to how Professor Thompson mentioned champagne is drank to show wealth and wish for wealth for the new year, and pennies are used to wish the other person financial fortune in the year to come. In addition, this is done to force everyone at the party to wish the other good luck which stops them from carrying any feelings of ill will toward the other into the New Year. 

Swedish-American Christmas Foods

Text 

On Christmas Eve the foods are based on the Viking traditional foods in Sweden : 

  • Cold First course: 
    • Beet salad with beets, pickles, herring 
    • Herring 
    • Rye or hard bread with butter and cheese 
  • Warm second course 
    • Ham with mustard 
    • Julienne potatoes with cream and anchovies 
    • Meatballs 
    • Sausages 
    • Cabbage 
  • Dessert
    • Cookies with cream and berries 

Then on Christmas day aside from the leftovers, the foods are based on Christianised Swedish foods:

  • We have leftovers from Christmas Eve for the first course
  • Second course
    • Lutefisk or another more mild white fish 
    • Boiled potatoes 
    • Peas 
    • Bechamel sauce 
  • Dessert
    • Rice porridge with milk, sugar, and cinnamon 
    • Put a peeled almond in the porridge (so it is the same color) and everyone takes it without looking
    • Then we say poems around the table while eating and the person who gets to almond has to pretend like they don’t have it and everyone guesses who got the almond
    • Whoever gets the almond gets a little almond gift 

Context:

The informant is the granddaughter of a Swedish immigrant and these are the traditional foods eaten on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day for dinner.

Analysis:

The informant’s family is Swedish-American and therefore mixes some American traditions in with the Swedish but relies heavily on the Swedish ones for the majority of what they do. Eating these foods although difficult to get and not always the favorite of the American guests allows for the family to retain part of their identity that they find important. They make an annual summer trip to Sweden and would like to eventually spend Christmas there as well as there are more Christmas traditions that they cannot do as they are not in the right location. Because of this, they do the ones they can which include the food they eat. Retaining the pre-Christian Viking food as well indicates a sense of pride in their heritage and brings them together. Keeping the traditions also helps add a sense of family and fosters an atmosphere of community. The family is very close as a result and all of them meet for all major holidays. The traditions bring them together and give clear boundaries of who is considered family and who is not, as it is a big deal to be invited to partake in the traditions.