Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Jumping the Broom

Nationality: African American

The setting is my bedroom. My informant is a close friend of mine that lives down the hall from me. This is the same informant as the Edgar Allen Poe entry.My informant is from Maryland, but grew up moving around the country.  “Jumping the broom” is a practice that comes up in African American culture. My informant says that this tradition is something that she heard from her mother, but it is also something that she has simply known about for most of her life.

I: Before African Americans could afford weddings slash their weddings were recognized by the government and they were slaves umm to constitute your marriage they would both jump over a broomstick together. “Jumping the broom” was the saying. And some people still do it for the traditional aspect of it. It is kind of passed down from generation to generation. And that’s a saying that comes up in black culture a lot because of that, jumping the broom

Rebecca: Do you know anyone that has done this?

I: My mom’s first cousin and his wife

Rebecca: Who told you about this?

I: I think my mom did but I honestly don’t remember because it comes up so much and I was around it a lot growing up

Rebecca: What does the story mean to you?
I: I think its just an interesting story and I think its cool that it has that cultural sentiment. The idea behind it is that you are “sweeping” away the old and bringing in the new, so like when people get married it is like a new beginning. Once the couple jumps over the broom, it is a transition or joining of the families.

A common theme among my collections is that my informants either heard the stories from their parents, or just assume that they did because they have always known about the story. This idea comes up a lot in African American culture according to my informant, so she hears about it a lot. My analysis of this wedding tradition relates to our class discussion. It seems to represent the liminal period between being married and single, and the broom acts like this division. Jumping over the broom together indicates that the couple is jumping out of the single life, and into their married life as a couple.

Annotation 1: Charles Dickens’ novel Great Expectations references a couple being married “over the broomstick.”

Citation: Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1942.

Annotation 2: “Jumping the Broom” is also a romantic comedy released in 2011 where two African American families come together for a wedding, which ends up being multiple weddings. The film actually does involve a physical broom that one bride gives to her friend as an apology at the end of the film. Both couples jump the broom after their wedding ceremony.

Chinese Changzhou Combs

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese, some French

Interview Extraction:

Informant: “There’s this special brush, or comb I guess is more accurate, that girls get when they graduate high school, or any sort of graduation beyond that, although I think is mostly for high school. But the comb is supposed to be meaningful and it’s made out of this special wood, and you’re not supposed to like, get any water on it.

Me: “Do you ever use it?”

Informant: “I do. And yeah, the wood’s supposed to be good for hair and you can stroke your hair with it however many times and it makes it healthier, I think.

Me: “Who gave it to you?”

Informant: “My mom’s cousin. She said she got one from her mom, and it’s all about womanhood and all that blah blah blah.”

Me: “Who typically gives the comb?”

Informant: “Family, relatives, mothers usually I guess.”

Me: “Do you think you’ll get one when you graduate college too?”

Informant: “Oh, no.”

 Analysis:

It’s interesting that the comb is given to girls at graduation, and my informant stressed the fact that this is an upper education graduation gift. Yet at the same time, she mentioned how it was relevant to womanhood, and indeed it can seem like an appropriate gift to a girl who is transitioning into becoming a woman. Traditionally, I would have assumed that this process would be celebrated earlier, but since it is education-based, this custom would evidently be a more modern one, even if the item itself is older.

My informant also remarked that it’s typically a high school graduation gift, indicating again that it is part of the shift from living with one’s parents and being a girl to living elsewhere in the world and becoming an adult.

My informant didn’t know the name of the special wood used, but her gift is presumably aChangzhoucomb, which can be made out of mahogany, jujube wood, heather, and boxwood.Changzhoucombs have been in production for over 2000 years and have been traditionally used only by royalty, making them a popular and valuable award or present to anyone who may deserve it. Additionally, though the combs can be good for the hair, they seem to be mostly decorative in purpose. They are hand-painted and can often be very intricate, emphasizing the importance of beauty in a young woman.

I’m not sure how popular throughout Chinese culture it may be to give these combs as graduation presents, but no doubt they will be in use for a long, long time, bestowed as various gifts for any occasions.

Dressing in Red for Chinese New Year

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 22, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Interview Extraction:

Informant: So like, so like say, so like say I’m born in the year of the monkey for example, so in the year of the monkey on Chinese New Year, I have to wear all red, like red clothes, red underwear even. I think it’s because when it’s your year that you were born in, you’re supposed to have bad luck, but wearing red counters that so you’re safe.”

Me: “So have you ever dressed up all in red then?”

Informant: “No, no. We always, my family and I, we always say we’re gonna do it, but we never do.”

Me: “Do a lot of people in China do it?”

Informant: “I don’t know. I hear a lot about it in dramas, but I don’t actually know anyone that dresses up.”

Analysis:

Naturally, just because it is one’s birthday month or zodiac year, it doesn’t necessarily follow that it will bring good fortune, but after celebrating the anniversary of birthdays so much, I did not expect that it would be bad luck to be in the zodiac year you were born in. I would have thought that it’d be the opposite, that if it’s the same year you were born in, that it would have been a lucky year for you. Yet, it’s just the contrary. Perhaps it can be because one’s personal zodiac sign has completed a whole cycle and is somehow vulnerable to bad luck entering the new cycle. Hence, protection is needed to ward off the negative energy or demons that can get in. One would envelope him or herself in red, used commonly in Chinese culture to ward off evil.

My informant does not live in China currently, so presumably, even when she is with her family, she feels no cultural mandate to follow this tradition. It appears to still be in vogue however, especially if television shows are referring to it. At the same, it can be somewhat difficult to find clothing and garments all in red, so while her family means to follow through with custom, it is understandable why they wouldn’t.

The color red itself is used extensively in Chinese culture, as a color of celebration and also protection. It is the color of the New Year celebration, and throughout the many facets of the holiday, red is always stressed. Coming from a European background where red symbolizes blood and usually has a negative connotation, it is fascinating to understand the different meanings the color can take, and the great cultural meaning it has as well.

Chinese New Year Firecrackers

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 11, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Interview Extract:

Informant: “So during Chinese New Year, there’s a fear of the evil beast coming. It’s called ‘Nian,’ which actually literally means ‘new year,’ so you’d say ‘oh new year is coming, the evil beast is coming!’ And um, he’s afraid of the color red, and he’s afraid loud noises. So then that’s why people use firecrackers, to scare off the evil beast. And the firecrackers are the kind that have a rope on one end and you light it, and then you have to hold it away from you and turn away like this (informant demonstrates) so it doesn’t blow up your face…And it’s really loud, and it’s really scary! It explodes and there’s like all these pieces of paper flying everywhere, and I hated them when I was younger. They were so scary.”

Me: “But I guess it was an important tradition, so you still had to do it and light the firecrackers?”

Informant: “Yeah, I did. And my parents would always try to take pictures of me while I was lighting one, but I really hated it. In modern times, though, they do have some where you just throw them on the ground, and it’s like a smaller explosion. It’s still loud though, so I don’t really like those either. And also, I hate them because boys, like teenagers, will throw them at girls’ feet, and like it would blow up and lift their skirts, and yeah, ugh, I hated it.”

Analysis:

This is a tradition that emphasizes red and noise as modes of protection. The color red is usually linked to dynamic tendencies and human vitality, while noise is an indicator of live presence. Both elements assert human life and agency, which is combined in the firecracker, thus enabling it to easily frighten off the evil beast or spirit, or anything nonhuman.

My informant did not particularly enjoy this aspect of the Chinese New Year, yet she was surrounded constantly by firecrackers during the celebration, showing that they are an extremely vital and crucial part of the holiday. Even if people do not necessarily believe in Nian, they will engage in the firecracker experience to demonstrate their excitement, or in the case of my informant, cultural and familial duty as her parents try to take pictures of her with the firecracker.

What was most intriguing in her narrative was the fact that boys would use the firecrackers to intimidate and possibly flirt with girls. This shows that the folklore is adapted in unique ways, depending on who is performing it, and has evolved. While it may not be polite or even safe to shoot the firecrackers at girls, it gives another dimension to the Nian-scaring tools and demonstrates that many elements of the Chinese New Year are being used in slightly different ways. The traditions may still be very strong and they way in which they are used can remain unchanged, but the same cannot be said for their meaning. My informant is proof of this, as she herself seems to cringe at the very word “Firecracker” and is likely not to use the original form, but a rather smaller and quieter firecracker in her future New Year celebrations.

Candy to Stick Your Scores

Nationality: Korean
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 9, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

“A certain candy called yeot (엿) is often eaten or gifted before big tests in South Korea. This traditional candy is very sticky, kind of like a harder caramel. Therefore, eating such a sticky candy should help the answers stick in your mind before the test.”

My informant, Grace, said that this is a more recent tradition that developed amongst students, as pressures to do well in studies grew and expectations for test scores became higher. For her, it’s kind of a sad tradition because it shows the desperation of the students in South Korea to which succeeding in school is extremely important and causes large amounts of stress.

This tradition seems cute, eating a sticky candy to make answer stick. However, I do agree that it shows the changes in Korean society, as schooling turns more and more rigorous. I assume that students gifted these candies are under much pressure to perform well, if their parents present things such as this, it could serve as encouragement but may also add pressure as it shows the expectations of the parents for good scores.