Monthly Archives: May 2025

Graduation – A Shared Celebration

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Schenectady, New York
Language: English

Ritual: Graduation- Celebrated at the completion of an educational cycle or program

Background/Informant’s Interpretation: With an older brother and a twin, he has had his fair share of high school graduations. A yearly occurring ritual that symbolizes one graduating into the next steps of life where one is spreading their wings and is leaving home for the first time. Most kids in the US go through this ritual, with the lessons from high school carrying on in your actions and thoughts that occur within college, especially during your freshman year of college. His older brother, witnesses him and his twin crossing the stage was symbolic to him of how he was able to share a non-religious ritual with brothers in an public environment. Getting to meet many people and different experiences, this culminates into a mixed culture across college campuses in the United States, he has experienced as a non-traditional theatre major. At the end of the ritual people may take an untraditional path going into trade school or forgoing school overall. However, at the end of the day, this a ritual that is key i one’s development and one that celebrates past accomplishment laying out steps for what is to come next.

My Interpretation: Personally, I believe that this riytal that is common amongst all yet is easily forgotten due to its yearly appearance. With a brother who recently went through a collegiate and medical school one this rituakl demonstrates a part of someone’s heritage that we often times forget about due to the fact that their are no systematic, religious or ethnic ties to it. Its important to a heritage, due to the fact that the steps it took to get to graduation differs person to person, with arduous steps and sub-processes highlighting how family and culture has pulled through for them. As such, graduation acts as a culmination of all these factors and emphasizes an essential part of heritage in the 21st century.

Lunar New Year

AGE: 20 

Date of performance: 04/30/2025

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title-   Tết

Context- J is a Vietnamese-American student who celebrates Vietnamese holidays and festivals in the US. J tells about Tết, explaining “I celebrate Tết, which is lunar new year/Vietnamese new year. Usually kids get li xi which is lucky money (money in red envelopes) from adults but before they get it, they have to say good things/wish for good things to the adults before they receive it such as saying “I hope this year has a lot in store for you such as good fortune, a long life, good health, etc” and then the adults wish for good for the children as well. You eat a variety of dishes and celebrate the elderly who have passed away during that time by lighting incense on an altar displayed at home. People also go to a whole bunch of temples where they pray to Buddha and get blessings from monks.”

Analysis- J shares a traditional celebration of the Lunar New Year within Vietnamese culture—a popular holiday that is celebrated in Asia. Tết is a vibrant example of folklore as traditional rituals and customs within the Vietnamese community come together and are celebrated in honor of cultural identity. Some rituals within the celebration are the money in the red envelopes, which symbolize good fortune for the elderly and young. Although the Vietnamese celebration is unique, the theme of good fortune is common amongst East Asian countries. Oicotypes of certain elements such as the red envelopes convey how folklore is adaptable to its respective culture without losing its true identity.

Brasilian Traditional Food

Date of performance: 04/29/2025

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title-   Feijoada (Brazilian black bean stew) 

Context- M’s mom is from Brazil, so when asked about her favorite foods, M shares that a Brazilian staple in their household is feijoada, or black bean stew. M says, “The traditional foods you eat them whenever, but when there’s a celebration there will without a doubt be those foods, you know. They definitely do remind me of home!”

Analysis- M shares a favorite food of hers that represents a part of her home in Brazil. Traditional foods are a key part of folklore as they convey tradition, customs and identity throughout generations. These traditional foods, as M has experienced, can be generationally passed down through oral tradition. Folklore relies on oral transmission to expand and develop in different regions of the world, which can also be observed in traditional foods and cuisine.

Brasilian Birthday

AGE: 20 

Date of performance: 04/29/2025

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title-   Brasilian Birthday Traditions

Context- M shares a part of her familial heritage that influences how she celebrates birthdays in her family. M says, “I LOVE the brasilian happy birthday song, it’s awesome. It’s a tradition during birthdays to always have brigadeiro made, which is like a chocolate truffle ball made of milk, cocoa powder and butter that’s covered in sprinkles.”

Analysis- M shares a variation of the typical birthday most people imagine. Instead of the classic ‘Happy Birthday’ ballad followed by a whole cake, M celebrates her birthday the Brazilian way—singing the ‘brasilian happy birthday song’ and sharing many brigadeiro. An iconic element of folklore is observing how certain elements of a tradition, such as a birthday, are kept throughout the world but slightly adapted to the certain region/people. The way people can share similar customs but make it their own based on their unique traditions is a trait of folklore, which can be seen in M’s Brasilian birthday tradition.

Brasilian Festival

AGE: 20 

Date of performance: 04/29/2025

Occupation: Student 

Primary Language: English 

Title-   Carnival

Context- M shares with me a tie to her family heritage that she celebrates even though she doesn’t live in Brazil— Carnival. M’s mom is from Brazil, and M shares with me how they would celebrate— “We would watch it on tv because we weren’t in Brasil but we’d wear Brasil colors and usually eat the traditional foods like feijoada and coxinha.”

Analysis- In folklore, festivals are seen as cultural practices that exemplify traditional and communal elements of a community’s values, traditions and history. Carnival is a big festival in Brazil, celebrating Brazil’s diverse heritage and showcasing different folkloric elements through their extreme costumes, traditional dancing (samba), and the occasional storytelling. Carnival is an example of how culture and tradition are highlighted by a giant performance—a key element in identifying folklore.