Author Archives: Laurel Van Patten

Folk Celebration – Los Angeles, California

Nationality: Japanese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cypress, CA
Performance Date: April 29, 2008
Primary Language: English

Japanese Housewarming Celebration

When a couple gets married, and buys a new house, they have a big dinner for a housewarming celebration.  At this dinner, everyone is supposed to eat fish eggs, usually eaten with rice.

The informant claims that eating the fish eggs is supposed to bring good luck, especially in the realm of starting a family.  This practice is supposed to help them have a baby, hence the connection of eggs with fertility.

I agree with my informant.  Because the new couple has a new house, I suppose it would be expected to fill that house with a family, including children.  I’d also like to add that I think this celebration involves fish eggs rather than another kind of egg because fish are an important staple of a traditional Japanese diet, as Japan is an island surrounded by water.

Joke – Milpitas, California

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Milpitas, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: German, French

Engineer Golf Joke

There were three good friends playing golf together one day: a doctor, a lawyer, and an engineer.  On this day the group in front of them was playing very slowly and they were getting frustrated with the waiting.  Just then a green’s keeper buzzed by in a golf cart.  The trio complained about the slow group.  The green’s keeper told them to relax because the one guy in the next group was blind.  The trio was shocked and impressed that a blind guy was so dedicated to the game.  The lawyer said “maybe I can give him some free legal service”.   The doctor said “I’d like to examine him and see if there’s something we can do medically for his situation.”   Then the engineer said “Why can’t he play at night?”

The informant was told this joke at work and passed it on to her fellow engineers.  She thinks that it plays off the fact that engineers are supposed to be natural problem solvers.

I think jokes like this one help to make all engineers feel connected and give them a kind of pride in being engineers, while at the same time being able to laugh at themselves.  It brings out the positive benefits of being an engineer, in having more of a common sense kind of mind, rather than being feeling or emotion oriented.  It emphasizes that engineers are level headed and down-to-earth.  In addition, the engineer is focusing on the task at hand and trying to find ways to be more efficient, a common goal in the many fields of engineering.

Folk Medicine – Milpitas, California

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Milpitas, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: German, French

Cure for Hiccups

To cure hiccups take a heaping spoonful of sugar.

The informant was not sure why this particular cure works, but it was passed on to her from her mother, and has, additionally, been passed on to me.  All of us claim that this remedy really works.

I’ve found that this remedy does in fact work for me, but I don’t know why.  There are many cures for hiccups, but I suppose maybe this one is circulating in my family because, not only does it actually work as a sweet solution, but Mary Poppins is a classic childhood film in my family.  I always remember watching it and loving the song about sugar helping the medicine go down.  So perhaps, this idea as sugar being equated with medicine was adapted into my family as a hiccup remedy, though I’m not quite sure.

Superstition – Milpitas, California

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Milpitas, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: German, French

Bird Poop Superstition

“My Mom always said bird poop is good luck.  One time fishing off a dock in Eureka (I was about 12) there were a lot of seagulls around.  I received a big splash on my head.  I was so disgusted and grossed out that I started crying.  My Mom laughed and insisted it’s very good luck to have a bird poop on you.  She helped me wipe off my head with a tissue.   Well I don’t remember catching a fish that day, but at least I didn’t break a leg, so who can say my luck isn’t good?”

As you can see, although grossed out by the superstition, she seems to really believe that having a bird poop on you is good luck.  She thinks also it could be a superstition adults tell kids in such situations to make them feel better, although they might not be necessarily believe it themselves.

I’d agree with my informant, I think that adults probably use this superstition to make unfortunate kids feel better about a gross situation.  This teaches children to find the good in bad situations, teaching healthy optimism.  This superstition has an emphasis on how people should always try to have a good attitude.  I also thought the informant’s take on good luck was interesting, emphasizing we should be happy with what we have.  Sometimes having good luck means nothing bad happens.  This reminds me of the proverb, “No news is good news.”

Folk Recipe – Milpitas, California

Nationality: American
Age: 47
Occupation: Engineer
Residence: Milpitas, CA
Performance Date: April 26, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: German, French

Hot Salsa Recipe

Ingredients: 3-4 cups tomatoes (chopped & seeded), 1 ripe mango (peeled & chopped), 1/3 medium onion (chopped), 1 clove mashed garlic, 2-3 jalapeno peppers, 1 habanero pepper (chopped & seeded, optional – heat lovers only!), 1-2 T tomato paste, juice of 1 lime, ¼ cup cilantro, chopped (optional), and 2 T balsamic vinegar.

Combine all ingredients except habanero in glass or metal bowl. Stir gently.  If using the habanero pepper, prick pepper and cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes, until soft.  Wear latex gloves. Remove from water and take off flesh, discarding membranes & seeds. Chop and mash as finely as possible.  Add to salsa and stir.  Clean work area & discard gloves. Let salsa sit for at least one half hour before eating (to let the flavors fuse).  Serve with tortilla chips.

The informant stressed that the salsa is always made with fresh ingredients straight from a personal garden.  The salsa is made at the height of tomato season in the summer for the best flavor.  Also, it is made when people come over to socialize.  It is usually made by her and her daughter as a bonding mother-daughter experience.

The practice of the women making the food is very common.  It seems expected that a food preparation practice would be a female bonding experience since women are stereotypically seen as the dominating figure in the kitchen.  I think that the salsa recipe reflects a Mexican influence that inevitably happens when living somewhere like California where there is a wide variety of authentic cuisines available.  Additionally, the weather in California contributes to this folk recipe, since one could not grow such flavorful fresh tomatoes, peppers, etc, in their own backyard without a hot environment.