Nationality: American
Primary Language: English
Other Language(s): None
Age: 35
Residence: New York City, USA
Performance Date: April 12, 2017 (telephonically)
Ethan is a 35 year old man, born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who is employed as food vendor at a local food market. He is a College Graduate iand majored in Business Administration. He is 4th generation American
Interviewer: Good Morning. You mentioned that as a child you remember a family ritual. Would you mind sharing it with me?
Informant: Of course, I would be happy to. So anytime anybody would move into a new house it was my grandmother on my Dad’s side, the Catholic side of the family, not the Jewish side, um there is a patron saint I believe St. Anthony which is the Saint of lost things or something like that. And she would give us a little doll; and we would bury it in our backyard and that way if we lost anything we would just pray to Saint Anthony then that object would be found. And I am not sure about the origins but I know that I buried that St. Anthony in my backyard
Interviewer: Did you ever find anything that you lost?
Informant: “I once misplaced my favorite batting glove and could not find it. And ah a few weeks later my grandmother was visiting and she took out of her purse the glove. She asked if it belonged to me. She told me that she took it by mistake when she was bundling her clothes.
Interviewer: Did you attribute this to St. Anthony?
Informant: Well I remember being so excited, I think I must have been 10 at the time or 9 cause I was in the 4th grade, when I received the glove from her and I said to her that I guess St. Anthony found it and um all I can remember having the greatest smile I ever saw from her
Interviewer: What does it mean to you?
Informant: Um not much other than it was a nice little touch that it is a nice little tradition that my grandmother passed down that I was happy to continue forward. While I doubt it worked, this tradition makes me think about my grandma.
Thoughts about the Piece:
Anyone who has lost something has “prayed” to find it but Catholics pray to a specific individual for help. For the text of the prayer see: http://www.catholic.org/prayers/prayer.php?p=150 Other stories of St Anthony novena anecdotes can be read here: http://www.holysouls.com/stanthony.html