Author Archives: Connor Wilson

Two Scoops of Rice

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston
Performance Date: April 26, 2017
Primary Language: English

“Whenever I’m having like family dinner, like when I was a kid, and we’d have rice, regardless of whether or not we were hungry, we’d have to take two scoops of rice, not one.  Like, even if you only wanted one scoop’s worth of rice, you’d have to get that amount of rice in two smaller scoops, because you have to take two scoops no matter what.  It’s about having the ability to have two scoops of rice and appreciating that certain sense of prosperity.  My dad put this practice into my family, and he got it from his parents who were from China, where this practice is a broader cultural thing.”

ANALYSIS:

This piece of folklore is super interesting because of it’s strong connection to Chinese heritage despite the informant having never even been to China.  Culture and cultural practices get passed on from generation to generation and are often a way for the people inheriting the culture to get in touch with their heritage, and I think this is a perfect example of this.  And even though the furthest line the informant can draw back to this practice ends with his grandparents, it’s almost certain that the grandparents inherited it from their grandparents, and so on and so forth.  It’s uplifting to know that such a gracious cultural practice and the meaning behind it has survived for so long and across continents.

Meshindet

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston
Performance Date: April 26, 2017
Primary Language: English

“My grandmother says the phrase ‘meshindet’ a lot.  It means ‘in good health’, roughly translated from Albanian.  My mother and aunts say it a lot too because they got it from my grandmother.  We say it whenever we’re spending money together as a family, like a family dinner or a family vacation or anything.  It’s like an acknowledgement of the prosperous times we’re living whenever we’re able to spend that money, because everyone’s healthy, everyone’s together, and we can afford to do nice things together as a family sometimes.”

ANALYSIS:

I really like this proverb because of both it’s strong roots in Albanian culture and the positive and grateful meaning behind it.  Picturing a family getting together for a nice family meal and then saying ‘meshindet’ when the check comes just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.  I hope this particular proverb continues to find strong life as this family grows into new generations because I think it could really do a lot to help a family keep a positive outlook when times are both good and bad.

Chinese New Year

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Boston
Performance Date: April 26, 2017
Primary Language: English

“So for Chinese New Year, the date changes every year because of the calendar, but some of the things we do, because the culture’s really superstitious, is we take three oranges and put them on a plate in a triangle, and then you take a third orange and put it on top of the three to make something like a pyramid.  You make a few of these orange sculptures and put one in each major room of your house, like the living room, bedrooms, bathrooms, you know.  So on actual Chinese New Year when my family goes out to dinner, we leave every single light on in the house because it’s supposed to let the light wash out all the spirits from last year and leave the house open to new ones and what’s ahead.  I don’t remember exactly why we do the oranges, but the lights wash out the spirits, so at least I know that.”

ANALYSIS:

This annual ritual is really interesting to me because I was never familiar with the customs surrounding Chinese New Year, so I found this really enlightening.  It’s super fascinating to see what parts of the customs the informant knows the meaning behind and what parts have just become arbitrary to the informant.  The idea of washing away the old spirits and leaving room for the new ones is something I find really interesting and poetic, and now I just wish I knew why the oranges are a part of the custom, but because the informant didn’t know, everyone the informant tells, including me, won’t know either.

The Haunted City of Pleasanton, California

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: April 26, 2017
Primary Language: English

“I’m one of the believers that my hometown of Pleasanton, California is haunted by ghosts.  There are certain buildings around the city that are rumored to be haunted by ghosts, and most people that live in Pleasanton know exactly which buildings I’m talking about, regardless of if they believe in the ghosts or not.  So whenever you enter one of these buildings you have to not freak out or anything, because that’ll make the ghost want to haunt you.  If you just stay calm and act normal, the ghost will be friendly with you, and you’ll be okay.”

ANALYSIS:

I find it interesting that in this ghost story, whether the ghost is amicable or not to you is completely up to the person interacting with the ghost.  This results in a ghost story that directly opposes the traditional ghost story narrative of the evil ghost trying to haunt everyone it comes across.  Additionally, I found it very interesting that there was such a clear divide between who believes in the ghost stories and who doesn’t, because the way the informant described it made it seem like the believers and non-believers were in direct opposition to each other.

Christmas Eve Tradition

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Luxembourg
Performance Date: April 26, 2017
Primary Language: English

“So every Christmas Eve, back when my entire family and extended family lived in Seattle, we’d all meet up at the market downtown and then split up into groups so we’d be all over the entire market.  Each group would buy separate ingredients together that make one meal, and then after the market we’d go back to our house and each group would prepare their meal together, so once we all finished cooking we’d have a ton of different meals with our entire family and it’s always delicious and different every time. It’s something we did for twelve years, and now that our family doesn’t live so close together we can’t do it anymore”

ANALYSIS:

What I like about this tradition is that it’s completely unique to this specific family but still rooted in the broader tradition of family coming together over the Christmas holiday.  It’s also really sad that geography had to tear the family apart and bring an end to the tradition.  It makes me wonder if the tradition will live on when the informant has his own family, or how the tradition might evolve within this family now that geography is at play.