Author Archives: Jennifer Chen

Feliz Año Neuvo

Nationality: Colombian
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Costa Mesa, California
Performance Date: 4/7/13
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

MATERIAL

 

“On New Years Eve in Colombia, all the families will build a stuffed doll together. It is filled with old clothes that you’ve grown out or old sheets and pillowcases. My family also writes slips of paper with our bad habits or mistakes and throw those inside the doll, too. It is kind of like a New Years Resolution but the opposite. They are things you want to rid yourself of. After you put everything in the dummy figure, you either tie it with firecrackers or put firecrackers inside of it. On the stroke of midnight, you set off the fireworks with a match. All through the streets, you can see everyone’s dolls blowing up and firecrackers going off. It’s very loud, bright, and colorful everywhere. It’s a celebration of a new beginning.”

 

ANALYSIS

 

The transition from one year to the next is a subliminal time. That being said, many traditions revolve around New Years Eve and the moment the clock strikes twelve and the New Year is upon us. My informant grew up in Colombia and celebrated New Years Eve with friends and family every year. The day of New Years Eve, my informant’s house, along with most other Colombian households, were buzzing with food preparation and doll making. My informant said his favorite part of New Years Eve was watching the firecrackers blow up the doll.

This celebration is very symbolic of a new beginning. When the doll blows up with the firecrackers, the old sheets, clothes, and slips of paper with bad habits blow up with it. This is a representation of getting rid of the old year and all the bad luck that came with it, preparing your household and family for the new year. Firecrackers are used in many cultures to contact dead ancestors or the Gods in the heavens. Therefore, I believe that the firecrackers may also be used to notify either ancestors or Gods that a new year is upon the Colombians, and that they are ready for a year of good luck and success. Beyond that, a celebration of firecrackers in the streets and children running around and rejoicing is a way to show all of Colombia coming together to celebrate during a special time.

Christmas in Hungary

Nationality: Hungarian
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/5/13
Primary Language: Hungarian
Language: English

MATERIAL

 

“On December 25th, we celebrate Christmas in Hungary. On Christmas Eve, December 24th, the adults bring the Christmas tree in, set it up, and decorate it. The children are not allowed to enter the room. The tree is usually set up in the night while the children are sleeping. The children are only allowed to enter the room when they hear the bells the next morning. They are supposed to believe that the tree was brought by angels. There are presents under the tree but instead of in America where you write “To: ___” and “From: ___” on each present, in Hungary we just write the name of the person the present is for. This is because Baby Jesus brings all of the presents for everyone.”

 

ANALYSIS

 

My informant grew up in Hungary and lived there for all of her life until she was 17years old. Each Christmas when she was younger, her parents would set up the tree after fell asleep on Christmas Eve and when she woke in the morning, there would be a tree and presents under the tree from the Baby Jesus. This may be an extension of a representation of the Immaculate Conception. In Roman Catholicism, the most prominent religion in Hungary, Baby Jesus was believed to be conceived in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit and was birthed while Mary remained a virgin. In this same way, Baby Jesus comes with angels on Christmas Eve in secret, in a way that nobody knows or sees, to set up the Christmas tree and leaves presents. In this way, Christmas remains a predominantly religious holiday in Hungary, rather than becoming a more commercialized holiday, as it has become in other parts of the world.

Spring Festival (春节)

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 48
Occupation: Software Engineer
Residence: Naperville, Illinois
Performance Date: 4/9/13
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English

MATERIAL

 

大年初一称为“春节”，是中国最大的传统节日。这一天，大家都要穿新衣服、新鞋子；小辈要给长辈拜年，长辈要给小辈“压岁钱”；亲朋好友间要互相送礼拜年，互祝“新年好”。春节前，每家每户都要在门框上贴春联，有的地方还要挂灯笼、在窗上贴“窗花”、在墙上贴年画等来祝愿新年交好运。很多地方有“扫尘”的风俗，就是要在家里做个彻底的清扫，这样就能把过去一年的差运气除去，准备迎接新年的好运气。

 

大年三十晚上是全家团聚的时候。每个人无论在多远，都要尽可能回到家里与全家人一起吃年夜饭。半夜之前不睡觉，称为“守夜”。到半夜十二点时，要放鞭炮、吃饺子、隔年饭等来辞旧迎新。有的地方在大年初二时出嫁的女儿要回娘家，表示对娘家的感谢和祝福。从大年初一到初三，家里的垃圾不能往外倒，表示要“聚财”；大人不能打骂孩子；不能用刀，表示“平安”；除了商店之外，几乎所有部门都休假。

 

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is China’s largest traditional holiday. Although technically it is the first day of the new lunar calendar year, the festival lasts for a while after it. It is more of a holiday season than one day of a holiday. On the first day of the new year, everyone wears new clothes and new shoes. The younger kids bow down and wish their elders a happy new year and in return, the elders give the children a red envelope with money in it. Friends and family members exchange gifts and wishes of a happy new year. Before the Spring Festival begins, every household frames their door frames with traditional Chinese red paper slips that have happiness wishes written on them. Some places also hang lanterns in their windows. Many places in China also have sweeping and dusting customs. Before the Spring Festival, families will all do a thorough cleaning on their home, sweeping away the dust and symbolically, all the poor luck of the past year, preparing for the New Year to bring good luck.

 

New Year’s Eve is a night for families to congregate. No matter how far you live from home, you are supposed to travel back for this night. Nobody is supposed to sleep that night and at midnight, households set off firecrackers and eat dumplings. Traditionally, married daughters lived and stayed with the groom’s family and seldom returned home but on the second day of the New Year, she is allowed to return to her family to celebrate for a day. From the first day of the new year to the third day, the garbage in households can not be taken out. This is supposed to be a time of taking in new things and you need to keep your new luck for the new year. Also, adults cannot get mad at and spank children over these three days. Crying is supposed to be reserved for only when someone dies, so adults are supposed to refrain from getting mad at children during this period. Knives are also not supposed to be used, in an effort to keep the holidays peaceful.

 

ANALYSIS

 

The Chinese culture is all about togetherness and family. So, it comes as no surprise that on the biggest traditional holiday, the Spring Festival, one must be with one’s family. My informant grew up in China and the Spring Festival was a time to see all of her family that perhaps didn’t live in the same area as she did. Even when my informant was young and her family was extremely poor, they would always spare a little money to buy new clothes and shoes for the family to wear on the first day of the New Year. This symbolizes a changing of luck in the New Year and represents new beginnings. Around Spring Festival time, there is a lot of red all over China. Red symbolizes prosperity, good luck, and success. Therefore, the red slips of paper are placed around doorframes and red lanterns are hung in windows, to signify that anyone who walks in and out of the door will be blessed with good luck in the New Year. The changing from one year to the next is a liminal state and many Chinese traditions revolve around this time. Dumplings, in the Chinese language, represents togetherness and firecrackers are to celebrate and to alert the heavens and ancestors that it is a New Year and a time of happiness. Not taking the garbage out from the first day after the New Year until the third day is to symbolize keeping whatever the New Year has given you. If you throw garbage out, it would represent throwing away your good luck for the whole year.

For another version of this holiday, view pages 14-28 of this book:

Wei, Liming. Chinese Festivals. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print.

Mikulás Day

Nationality: Hungarian
Age: 24
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/5/13
Primary Language: Hungarian
Language: English

MATERIAL

 

“In Hungary, we kind of have the presents or coal tradition you have in America, but it’s different. It actually is on December 6th, not December 25th, like in America. I mean, Christmas is on December 25th, but Santa Claus comes on December 6th. Our Santa Claus doesn’t live in the, uh, what is that place called – oh, the North Pole. He lives in Heaven. His name in Hungarian is Mikulás. Instead of the little people dwarfs, or I mean elves, he has Krampusz, who help the Santa Claus but only for the naughty children. To prepare for this night, children must clean their boots and place them into the window for Mikulás to see. If you are good, Mikulás will fill your boot with sweets and chocolates that night but if you are bad, the Krampusz will put a Virgács in your boot. A Virgács is a stick type thing made with a plant that is kind of hard and kind of soft, kind of like twigs but softer. I am not sure how to explain it in English. You can look it up online, there should be pictures. Anyways, there are strands of the plant held together with a handle and it is given to the bad children in their boots so their parents can spank them.”

 

ANALYSIS

 

My informant was born and raised in Hungary, only leaving for America when she was 17 years old. She has celebrated Mikulás Day, or Saint Nicholas Day, ever since she can remember. Her mom bought her a special pair of boots for the holiday when she was younger and she has used that pair even when it was clearly too small to fit her. She never actually wore these boots, considering it a special part of the holiday.

The reason that Hungarians celebrate this holiday on December 6th dates back to around 300 AD, when Saint Nicholas, a historic saint and Greek Bishop, lived in Turkey. He was known to secretly do good deeds, such as putting coins in the shoes of the people who left them out for him to wear. Saint Nicholas is said to have died on December 6th at an old age for the time, somewhere in his 70s. So, Mikulás Day is celebrated on the day of his death to remember and pay tribute to this kind-hearted saint. The Krampusz likely evolved just to give children an incentive to be good all year round so that they get sweets instead of a Virgács.

 

For another version of this tradition, view page 177 of this book:

Mocnay, Eugénia. Czech Phrasebook. Australia: Lonely Planet Publications, 2001. Print.

Selkies

Nationality: Irish
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/10/13
Primary Language: English

MATERIAL

 

“So Selkies are mythological creatures in Irish and Scottish folklore. They are seals who can shape-shift into women with dark hair and big, light-colored eyes. They explain why there are dark haired Irish people because they seem to have come out of thin air. The tradition says that the seals change into women and the only way they can change back is to put their seal skin on. They are derived from drowned Irish people. So, for every Irish person that drowns, there is a Selkie. The legend is that the seals remember that they used to be human so they long to return to their original form, transforming into a beautiful dark-haired woman. Then, human men fall in love with them and take their seal skin, which makes them forget they were a seal and fall in love with the men. After marriage, the man will hide the seal skin because if the woman ever sees it, she will remember her origins and develop a burning desire to return to the sea, her original home. Once she is a seal again, she longs to be a human again, rendering the Selkie a tortured soul, caught between two identities. This legend explains how dark-haired Irish children came to be, since there seems to be no introduction of dark hair into the Irish culture and it just came out of nowhere.”

 

ANALYSIS

 

My informant’s mother told her this story ever since her younger sister was born because although my informant has red hair, her mother, younger sister, and one of her younger brothers all have dark hair. To explain this, her mother told her and her siblings the story of the Selkies. It was a good bedtime story to explain how dark-haired Irish people seemed to have come out of thin air, as most of them have light red or brown hair. It is also a cautionary tale to encourage children to stay safe and not accidentally drown, because then, as legend has it, they will live a tortured life as a Selkie.