Author Archives: Samantha LeRoy

Snow Traditions 2

Nationality: American
Age: 14
Occupation: High School Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

These were local rituals done to bring about a snow day. Kids would pressure each other to do them before bed, hoping the more people who did them, the more likely it would be that a snowstorm came. 

“I remember when we first turned our pjs inside out before bed. [J](his brother) told me about it for the first time. We turned our pjs inside out, flushed ice cubes down the toilet, and put a spoon under our pillows. All of these done with a lot of people hopefully would bring more snow to town. I remember telling a big group of friends they had to send pictures of their inside-out PJs and spoons under pillows to their moms to send to my mom.” 

This ritual doesn’t have a designated time besides whenever a kid can’t take another day of school. These rituals are passed between friends mainly in cold communities. The peer pressure to participate is very interesting because it shows the heavy belief these kids take in turning pajamas inside out or putting a spoon under their pillow. Kids are very superstitious before they learn how the world works scientifically. Most people grow out of these superstitions after they learn about precipitation. 

Snow Traditions

Nationality: American
Age: 17
Occupation: High School Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

These were local rituals done to bring about a snow day. Especially when the informant was younger, there were lots of snowstorms in the area, and these rituals were said to help bring them. 

“The best days were always snow days because we had no school and everyone was free to do cool things like sled or make some money by shoveling snow. When we were young, like young, young, like 3rd or 4th grade we did all those things. We were flushing ice cubes, putting white crayons on the window sill… those other things. My mom actually found a white crayon on the windowsill of the basement the other day.” 

This ritual doesn’t have a designated time besides whenever a kid can’t take another day of school. It is a special kind of kid belief where flushing ice cubes creates snow or a white crayon will turn the ground outside white. It is also interesting because these rituals are only practiced in cold places, like the northeast of America. 

Gaff Circle

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

“The Gaff Circle was a tradition run crew did before each show. We would stand in a big circle on stage and pass around a roll of gaff tape and put a piece on each other’s arm for each show we had done. The right arm was for musicals and the left arm was for plays. It was a pretty big deal to be an 8 show senior plus it was cool to see all the different years on run crew.”

This ritual is similar to an initiation and continuation ritual. People earn stripes of gaff tape to show how many years they have been on run crew. While run crew is considered an annoying job for most, at this high school, it was coveted. It was a sign that they were all part of the same little group and that they earned their spot. It creates community and connection between them while also reminding them of previous people and experiences. 

Sausage

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

It is a men-only post-show tradition that was invented at the local high school theater and celebrated between grade meshing as well as the seniors’ final shows. 

“I didn’t join theater till my sophomore year which had [J] and [C] as the ring leaders of the seniors. They introduced me and the freshman to sausage. It was crazy at first, but a ton of fun. There’s the song sausage, but its cool because there are a lot of singers who have their own verses that all end with ‘but I still get sausage’. All the seniors make their own verses and we[all the male members of theater] all jump around and have fun in there. For closing night, both guys and girls come in and all the seniors get a voice. We would also put a freshman in a safe and bang a beat on it as like an initiation. It was a fun thing to look forward to.”

The ritual reminds me of a fraternity initiation(with less danger). They all sing and jump around in an exclusively male space, singing a song that is an allusion to sex. It can also be very inclusive because theaters are a LGBTQ dominated space, and they allow trans men to be included in Sausage. It’s also a fun tradition to pass down to other generations and a good, safe way to celebrate after a show. It creates community between the younger years and celebrates the graduating Senior class.

String

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Morris Plains, NJ, USA
Language: English

The interviewee was a member of the local high school’s theater program and valued the ritual as a part of connectivity and valuing the community of the theater program. 

“When I first joined theater I accidentally found out about a surprise tradition called Lock-In so I asked questions about it. People told me there were things like scavenger hunts and that it ended with String. I asked what that was and the [G](the upperclassman) just gestured to her wrist where there was several different colors of string. It turned out to be this sweet little circle up where we all took turns throwing a ball of yarn to each other and wrapping it around our wrists then throwing it to the next person without cutting it. The thing was that we threw it to someone, not our best friend, who had inspired us or made us happy or taught us something during that season. Someone special who made their time better. Then that person would do the same thing. At the end we would all hold our wrists up in the air and the president of the ITS board would tell us that the string represented we were all connected across the departments. We would then go through a cut it so everyone could wear the string till opening. Normally people would keep the string bracelets and wear them for other seasons. I still have the string from all of 7 of my shows.” 

The tradition was something to look forward to every year. It was a way to feel included and appreciated for the hard work and long hours that were the theater program. It is also a time to reflect and enjoy the people who have inspired and helped you. Wearing the string on your arm all day for a week and seeing all the people you are connected to in the school in the halls is a way to feel unity and appreciation for others.