Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

El Día de la Velitas

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

MATERIAL

 

“In Colombia, the Christmas season starts on December 7th. This day celebrates the Immaculate Conception and is called ‘El Día de la Velitas’, or the Day of the Little Candles. On the night of December 7th or sometimes earliy in the morning on December 8th (before the sun comes up), families light colorful candles and lanterns in the houses and lining the streets. Everyone does this in Colombia and so the whole country is lit up for that one night and day to welcome in the Christmas season.”

 

ANALYSIS

 

The Immaculate Conception is celebrated mainly on December 8th in many Catholic countries and Colombia is no different. No Christian service is ever held without candles, as candles symbolize a dispelling of evil, warding away the darkness of the night, the Eternal Light, and also a burning love for God. Candles are lit everyone on El Día de la Velitas to welcome in the Christmas season, one of the most holy times of the year. It is to bring light to the country and remind everyone of the peacefulness of the holiday season.

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.

Chinese Marriage Traditions

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

MATERIAL

 

女孩儿长大出嫁时，要穿红衣服戴红花，表示将来的生活会红红火火；要在箱子里放上很多硬币，称为“压箱底”钱，表示娘家给女儿带去很多钱财，并预祝她将来生活富裕。还要在新娘的床上放很多红枣桂圆瓜子，表示早（枣）生贵（桂圆）子（瓜子）。

 

When a girl gets married, she has to wear a red dress with a red flower. Before the wedding ceremony, there is a tradition of the bride being sent to the groom’s house by all of her friends and family, symbolizing the transition of her single life to her married life. She brings her suitcases with all of her clothes but at the bottom, she puts a lot of coins so that the suitcase is very heavy. The bed that the bride and groom will sleep on for their first married night is called the “happiness bed”, and there will be dates, lychees, and watermelon seeds scattered all over the bed.

 

ANALYSIS

 

The Chinese marriage ceremony is all very symbolic. The color red in China has many connotations. It is a symbol of success, good luck, and prosperity, hence the reason why the bride wears a red dress with a red flower in her hair the morning of the wedding. In olden days in China, when a daughter is married off, she leaves her family’s home to go with her groom’s family. Nowadays, usually the couple lives in their own home after marriage, but the tradition of sending the bride from her family’s home to the groom’s house (or their new shared house) still exists. When the bride would be sent to the groom’s family’s house, she would pack all of her suitcases and if they were heavy, it would symbolize the wealth and social status of her family. If they were wealthier and high up on the social scale, the groom’s family would be less inclined to ever cause trouble with them. Thus, nowadays, brides will put many coins at the bottom of the suitcase to symbolize making it heavier. Once at the groom’s house, the bride will put her suitcases in the bedroom and look at the bed they will spend their first married night in. This bed is called the “happiness bed” and on it, the groom’s friends and family will have scattered dates (a Chinese wordplay to symbolize having children soon), lychees (a wordplay to symbolize prosperity and wealth), and watermelon seeds (a metaphor for being fertile).

Red Envelopes for Travelers

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/7/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

MATERIAL

 

如果家里有人出远门时，长辈们常常会送一个红包，里边除了有钱之外，还要包进去一些松柏叶、红花瓣等。松柏叶代表着“常青”，表示永远存在；红花瓣代表红火，表示运气好。这代表着长辈们对远行的家人的一种美好祝愿。

 

Before a family member takes a trip, the elders in the family will often give the traveler a red envelope. Inside, in addition to money, the package will also contain pine needles and red flower petals. This wishes the traveler safety and success.

 

ANALYSIS

 

My informant’s extended family lives in China and she remembers this tradition from when she would return to China with her immediate family to visit. Her family that lives in China would always give her and her younger sister each a red envelope with money, pine needles, and red flower petals inside. The red envelope symbolizes a wish of success, prosperity, and happiness on the trip. The pine needles are symbolic because evergreens are said to live forever, so the needles represent a blessing of a safe, accident-free trip. The red flower petals involve, again, the color red. The whole package represents basically a good luck wish for the trip. The informant remembers her parents telling her and her sister that they must keep the red envelope with them throughout the duration of the trip so keep them safe. It always made my informant feel safer having it because she really believed it would keep her from harm.

Lantern Festival

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, California
Performance Date: 4/7/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

MATERIAL

 

农历正月十五是“元宵节”，又称“花灯节”，很多地方会举办“灯会”，各种各样的灯笼，里面点上蜡烛或电灯，聚集在一起，很是漂亮；大家要吃“元宵”，又称“汤团”来表示生活的美满。过完元宵节，春节就算是过完了，大家又要开始正常的生活。

 

15 days after the Lunar New Year, there is New Year Festival known as the Lantern Festival. Traditionally, everyone would make a variety of red lanterns, candles, and lamps. Everyone would hold them and play and congregate in the streets. Now, there are usually parades in the streets that have floats decorated in red and with lanterns all over them. The Lantern Festival symbolizes the end of the Spring Festival, and signifies to everyone to resume normal life again.

 

ANALYSIS

 

The Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is the biggest and most celebrated traditional Chinese holiday. 15 days after the first day of the lunar calendar, there is another festival known as the Lantern Festival. These lanterns are usually red, which is the most important color in Chinese culture. It symbolizes prosperity, good luck, wealth, and happiness. It is used in almost every big holiday or tradition. In older days, everyone would make the lanterns and candles and come together in the streets to interact with each other. It was a time for all the children to have a free play day and a time for the adults to have some time to talk amongst one another. It symbolizes the end of the Spring Festival. The light from lanterns and candles is supposed to light up the sky, to let the heavens know the festival is over but that China is still as one, praying for the Gods to bless the New Year. It is a last hurrah for the two weeks that the Spring Festival lasts. It lets everyone know that it is time to resume normal life. Firecrackers are sometimes set off as well, to alert the Gods and ancestors that everyone will be returning to school and work, but asking them to keep blessing everyone on Earth with the good luck of the New Year. My informant remembers visiting China once for the duration of the Spring Festival when she was very young and she thought it was a magical time.