Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Burning Paper Money- Chinese Ritual

Text:
Informant: “During the New Year or Qingming Jie or the Ghost festival on 7/15, on these three dates we remember our ancestors. When I was young I did this for many years and I still like to do it, although not everyone does it now. We would take yellow paper and hammer coins onto it to make it look like money. My brother and I would go outside into the street and draw a circle on the ground. We put the yellow paper money inside the circle and burn it to memorialize our ancestors and give the money to them. At the end we take one piece of the paper money and put it outside the circle. That is for the little ghosts around, the people who don’t have families. While burning the paper we also say things like, ‘Grandma, Grandpa, we miss you. We hope you have a good life in another world. Hopefully this money can support you.’ And we also say something to the ghost friends so they can enjoy the money too.” My father and mother taught me to do this.”

Interviewer: “Do you still do this?”
Informant: “When I got older people started using printed versions of fake money instead of making it. I did it once in America by the beach but then realized it was against the law. In China, in the south people still do this today, but in the north many places moved the burning to cemeteries because of regulations.”

Interviewer: “Is this something that only kids usually do?”
Informant: “Yes, young kids do it. It’s kind of like a job and part of the culture.”

Context:

The informant learned this ritual from their parents while growing up in China in the 80s and participated in it with their brother during holidays associated with remembering ancestors, including Lunar New Year, Qingming Jie, and the Ghost Festival on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month. The informant remembers that during these times it was common to see many families in the neighborhood performing the same practice.

Analysis:

This example is a form of ritual folklore, since it involves a repeated set of symbolic actions performed during specific calendar events. The ritual follows several steps, such as making the paper money, drawing a circle, burning the money inside the circle, and placing one piece outside the circle for wandering spirits. These actions are believed to send resources to ancestors in the spirit world and to acknowledge spirits who do not have families to remember them.

The ritual also reflects cultural values related to ancestor respect and family continuity. Speaking to ancestors while the paper burns creates a moment where the living symbolically communicate with the dead, reinforcing family memory and responsibility across generations. At the same time, the practice shows multiplicity and variation. While the central idea of burning money for ancestors remains consistent, the informant notes that some people now use printed paper money or perform the ritual in different locations due to regulations. Despite these changes, the ritual continues to circulate and remains an important cultural practice for remembering those who have passed.

Paper Stars- Material Culture

Text:

Informant: “I learned how to make paper stars in middle school. You just need a long strip of paper and you create a knot with it, then fold the paper in a specific way following the edges of the knot. Eventually you run out of paper and tuck the end in, and then you puff up the star, which is the most fun part in my opinion. My friend taught me how to make them in my after-school Chinese school class, and she showed everyone there. I still make them occasionally in class or while watching a movie because it gives me something to do with my hands. They’re pretty easy to make and all you need is strips of paper, so it’s very accessible.”

Context: The informant learned how to make these paper stars from a friend during an after-school Chinese school class in middle school. The friend demonstrated the process to multiple students, and the technique spread informally among classmates.

Analysis:

Material folklore like paper stars are often learned and shared within a social group rather than created by a single individual. In this case, the informant learned how to make the stars from a friend in an after-school Chinese school class, and that friend taught the rest of the group as well. This shows how small crafts like this spread through communal creativity, where people learn by watching and teaching each other. The stars are also an example of bricolage, since they are made using simple materials that are already available. Because the craft is easy to learn, requires almost no materials, and can be done casually while sitting in class or watching a movie, it continues to circulate informally as people pass the skill along to others.

Breaking a coconut for new beginnings- Superstition

Text:
Informant: “If you get a new car or you’re starting something new, you’re supposed to crack a coconut in front of it. For example, when my brother opened a new office he broke a coconut in front of the building. The shell is supposed to represent your ego and past karma, and the white part inside represents purity and your inner self, so then breaking the coconut represents breaking the ego and starting fresh. It’s symbolic, like a sacrifice. In India the coconut is also known as God’s fruit.”

Interviewer: “When was the first time you saw this done?”
Informant: “The first time was when we got a new car when I was seven or eight. My dad broke a coconut in front of the car. After that we did it for every car we’ve gotten.”

Interviewer: “Is this common where you’re from?”
Informant: “Yes, everyone I know back home in India does it. It’s very common. Even people who move abroad still do it usually when buying something important or starting something new, like a car, a business, or another new beginning.”

Context:

The informant is from India and first witnessed the ritual when their father broke a coconut in front of their family’s new car when the informant was about seven or eight years old. Since then, the informant’s family has repeated the practice whenever they purchase a new car. The informant explained that the ritual is widely practiced in India and is still performed by many people who move abroad, especially when starting something significant like a business or purchasing a vehicle.

Analysis:

This example reflects a superstitious ritual connected to ideas of luck, protection, and new beginnings. The act of breaking the coconut is believed to symbolically remove obstacles or negative karma before starting something important. Like many superstitions, the practice is performed at specific moments of transition, such as purchasing a car or opening a business.

While the specific practice described here involves breaking a coconut in India, many cultures have similar rituals that serve the same symbolic purpose of blessing a new beginning. For example, ships are often christened by breaking a bottle of champagne on the hull before their first voyage, and in Chinese traditions there are various house-blessing practices, such as boiling water when moving into a new home. The specific actions vary across cultures, but the underlying idea remain the same. Taking a functionalist lens, we can interpret these moments as uncertain and carrying a lot of anxiety and tension, so ritual actions help people feel that they are beginning a new venture with good fortune/protection.

Onam- Indian Festival

Age: 22

Text:
Informant: “Onam is a festival about King Mahabali returning to visit his people once every year. One thing people do is make pookalam, which are flower carpets placed at the entrance of the house to welcome Mahabali. My grandma makes them and that’s where I first saw them. People usually get together to make one and it can take two to three hours. There’s also a big meal called Onasadya which we eat for lunch. People sit in rows with a banana leaf in front of them and volunteers serve the food. Someone will bring a big bucket of rice and scoop it onto everyone’s leaf, then another person comes and gives things like bananas. Everything is vegetarian and there is 25 different dishes, the number of dishes is important and you eat with your hands. There’s also boat races called Vallamkali with 100-foot snake boats. I’ve watched them on TV before.”

Interviewer: “How long have you been celebrating Onam?”
Informant: “Pretty much since I was a kid, maybe when I was six or eight. My family celebrates it and that’s how I learned about it. I don’t celebrate it as much anymore, but my parents still celebrate it.”

Context:
The informant grew up in India and learned about and participated in Onam through family celebrations during childhood. Their first encounter with the traditions was watching their grandmother prepare pookalam flower designs at home. The informant explained that their family regularly celebrated the festival when they were around age six or eight. Although the informant does not celebrate Onam as frequently now that they have moved to America, their parents still celebrate in India.

Analysis:
Onam is an example of festival folklore, which combines storytelling, ritual practices, food traditions, and communal gatherings. The festival is centered around the legend of King Mahabali and his annual return, showing how narratives help explain and structure cultural celebrations. The traditions practiced during Onam also express important Indian cultural values such as hospitality, cooperation, and community. Activities like making pookalam or sharing the Onasadya meal require many people working in tandem, which turns the festival into a collective experience rather than an individual one. The large vegetarian meal served on banana leaves and eaten in rows reinforces a sense of equality, since everyone receives the meal in the same way.

Double Happiness Red Paper- Chinese Wedding Tradition

Age: 54

Text:
Informant: “When people get married, friends and relatives help prepare for the wedding. They cut out the double happiness character, ‘双喜 (shuāngxǐ),’ using scissors. It means double happiness. They cut the character out of red paper, it has to be red paper. The character is 喜 (xǐ) for happiness, and the wedding version combines two of them to make double happiness. People only do this for weddings, they make both small and big ones and place them everywhere in the house of the bride and the groom, like entry doors, windows, gates, the bed board, and furniture.”

Context:

The informant is from China and and explained that this practice of cutting the 双喜 out of red paper is widely performed in China and considered a cultural tradition and blessing associated specifically with marriage. The informant also shared that they personally participated in this custom when they got married and when their friends and family married.

Analysis:

Wedding decorations like the double happiness character (双喜) are a form of customary folklore tied to an important life transition. Weddings mark the beginning of a new stage of life, and symbolic objects are often used to express hopes for the couple’s future. The repetition of the character for happiness represents the union of two people and the wish for joy and prosperity in their marriage.

The decoration also has elements of material folklore, since the character is physically created by cutting it out of red paper. In modern times, people tend to buy the paper pre-cut, but there are still people who cut it by hand. The process of preparing and displaying these decorations is often done collectively by family members and friends, which reinforces the communal nature of wedding celebrations and an overall community emphasis in China. Placing the symbol throughout the home not only signals to others that a wedding is taking place, but also symbolically invites happiness and good fortune into the new household.