Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

“Fight Heat with Heat”

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

“Fighting heat with heat. During the hot and humid summers, Koreans have the belief that eating hot or spicy things can cool you down, as well being in hotter places.”

Grace explained this seemingly paradoxical statement, that after being in an even hotter place or eating a hot thing, the original hot temperature of the summer will seem cool. She said that hot soups and spicy dishes are popular to eat in the summer, as well as are Korean spas. These spas are called jjimjilbangs, which have hot rooms of varying temperatures, in which people basically go inside to sweat. Supposedly after being in these rooms, people feel refreshed and cool, and sweating is even suppose to improve the skin, working also as a beauty treatment. She herself partakes of this tradition, as for some reason when the weather starts to turn hotter, she’ll find herself attracted to steaming soups and enjoys visiting the jjimjilbangs with her friends.

At first I found this tradition to be a bit puzzling, but after Grace’s explanation, I came to understand it. I’m not sure if I can personally relate to it, as when summer comes, I find myself craving ice cream and smoothies, not hot soups, but it does make sense that after being in a hotter condition, the original condition does not seem as bad.

Dia de Los Tres Reyes Magos

Nationality: Korean
Age: 23
Occupation: Marketing
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: March 24, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: Korean, English

“Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos is a huge holiday in Mexico celebrating the day the three kings visited Jesus with their gifts. It’s celebrated on January 6th and is basically the peak of the Christmas season. Because, in Mexico, the celebration extends to days like the Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos, Christmas season goes on forever. Children get gifts on this day, because the Three Kings came to Jesus bearing gifts for Him. This is also the day when people eat Rosca de Reyes. Rosca de Reyes is a dessert bread in the shape of a big oval and has bits of fruit on it. The people that make it hide a little statue of baby Jesus inside the bread somewhere. I think that this is to symbolize having to hide Jesus in a barn so King Herod couldn’t find him. Anyway, so the statue is hidden and the cake is cut up so everyone gets a piece. The person who finds the figurine in their piece is blessed, but they also have to throw a party for Día de la Candelaria, on February 2nd. So some people like finding the statue because it is a good sign, but others don’t because they don’t want to throw a party.”

Unlike the United States in which Christmas is the main holiday and the day that everyone looks forward to, my informant told me the the Día de Los Tres Reyes Magos if often the bigger holiday in Mexio. She remembered thinking that being a Mexican kid is awesome since they celebrate Christmas and receive gifts then, and about a week later they celebrate Reyes Magos so they get gifts again. Her family did not celebrate this second holiday as much, but kept with the tradition of Christmas as the one big holiday during the winter season, so she would often feel jealous of her friends on this day. She said she usually tried to go over to one of her friends’ houses to take part in the festivities that way.

I did not know that the day when the three wise kings arrived bringing gifts, was celebrated. To me it does make sense that this day would often be used for gift exchanges rather than Christmas, since if Christmas is about the birth of Jesus, it should be celebrating the beginning of his life, and not be about presents. I suppose it is part of showing gratitude and giving to others, as Jesus did, but since the wise kings actually gave gifts to the baby Jesus, it seems logical that part of the tradition for this holiday is gift giving. I find it interesting how different countries celebrate the same holiday, but put a twist on the holiday that is uniquely theirs. I think I would have enjoyed celebrating this holiday as well, as I look forward to the Christmas season, and this extends that season.

Greetings in Indonesia

Nationality: Korean
Age: 54
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Jakarta, Indonesia
Performance Date: April 18, 2013
Primary Language: Korean
Language: English, Indonesian

 

“When you greet someone in Indonesia, they only touch your hands on the tips very gently using both hands. So if describe it, it’s like you stand facing each other and put your palms together. And then with your hand, you will touch the other person’s hand only on the tips. This is hard to explain in words. They never grab your hand to shake it like in the western way. Also, if you are a young person and you greet the elders, first you kiss the elder’s hand and then you bring the hand onto your forehead gently. That’s how you show your respect. Between females, when they greet each other, they share kisses on both cheeks, also very gently almost not using their lips.”

This way of greeting, for my informant, looked very elegant and polite. She thought it was a better way than the custom of shaking hands in Western culture. It is very polite which is an important part of the culture in Indonesia. It also shows respect to each other and to elders, which is another important part of the culture. This way of greeting is more personal than just shaking hands, it helps to start relationships between people in the correct path.

For myself, I also find this way of greeting to be very elegant. In Korean culture, we also show respect to our elders by bowing, although handshakes are also common. Handshakes can sometimes have different connotations than just greetings however, as we are even taught of the best way tot deliver a handshake in professional situations. A firm but not too overbearing grip is usually recommended, as different pressures can have different meanings. When there is tension between two people, they are often depicted as aggressively shaking each others hand, trying to win over each other with the strength of their grip. In this way handshakes can almost be something condescending or something used to analyze the other. However, the Indonesia custom is not like his as it shows deference to each other and affection in their relationships.

Weddings in Taiwan

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: April 10, 2013
Primary Language: English
Language: Mandarin

“One thing I remember is when my sister got married in Taiwan, there were a lot of Taiwanese traditions that we went through that I think are traditional marriage customs. Like, first my brother-in-law came to our ‘house’ that our family was in, and had to be welcomed in by us to get my sister or else he couldn’t come in the door. Then, he had to formally ask my parents if he could marry my sister, and then he had to bow and give my parents money. Then when my sister left ‘our house’ my little sister had to pick up a fan that my older sister threw out the car window and neither of them could look back and my little sister had to take the fan and put it under her pillow, which was one way to ensure a happy marriage. After that we moved to my brother-in-laws house, but before my sister entered, she had to step over a pot of fire onto a tile and the number of pieces the tile broke into signified the number of children they would have.”

My informant was unfamiliar with the traditions herself as she is Chinese and lived in America for most of her life, and found them very different and interesting. She was not really sure of the meaning for these traditions other than entering a new stage in life.

As discussed in class, marriage is one of the most celebrated occasions in life, so marriage traditions are abundant in most cultures. Now that I know may of the seemingly innocent traditions that people partake of are actually Freudian, I viewed these traditions in a similar light. I found it interesting that my informant’s sister had to step over a pot of fire before finding out how many prospective children she will likely have. This seems to have a Freudian angle as fire can signify passion and sexuality. Also, I have heard that fans can signify union, so perhaps the tossing of the fan can mean the new union formed and a loss of the female’s innocence, which the little sister keeps as she should still have this innocence. This may not be the actual significance of this action, but I interpreted it in this way. Other actions seem to show the traditional way of the woman leaving her home and entering her husband’s. At least in Korea, I know that often newly wed couples will live for a couple years with the husband’s parents. This seems significant in this particular wedding as well, as the husband “bought” his wife from her family by offering money, and they moved from her house to his.

Remembrance Day

Nationality: Canadian
Age: 30
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Ontario, Canada
Performance Date: April 9, 2013
Primary Language: English

“In Canada, we have a holiday called Remembrance Day on November 11. It’s for remembering those who died in service for their country. We remember these brave men and women for their courage and devotion, even in the face of extreme hardship. For this holiday, we wear red poppies on our clothes for support. This tradition is supposed to come from the famous poem “In Flanders Fields” from World War 1, I think. I remember reading that poem in school. On this day, we usually attend different ceremonies and visit memorials. The most remembered wars for this day are the World Wars and the Korean War. I remember my friend mentioning that she really appreciates that her grandfather, who fought in the Korean War is honored by the Canadian government as a war veteran who fought well for his country. Especially since this war is often called the Forgotten War.  This day reminds us as to why we must work for peace every day of the year.”

The informant finds this holiday to be an especially important one, because she believes that it is essential to honor anyone who has allowed future generations to be able to live in piece. It is also important to her because some of her family members fought in wars, and it allows her to honor and remember them, and to see others honor and remember them. In our everyday life it can often be easy to forget such important things, so have a Remembrance Day is important to re-remember those who have allowed us to have peace.

Remembrance Day closely resembles Veterans Day, and even happens on the same date. I thought they might be identical things, but from researching it on the Internet, it seems as though Veterans Day is something unique to the United States whereas Remembrance Day is celebrated by many different countries of the world. Personally, for Veterans Day, I do not think I do anything special to commemorate those who have fought. Remembrance Day seems to be a bigger deal in Canada, with many national ceremonies happening. I think that the act of wearing red poppies is a nice sentiment, as it is a physical symbol of what he day is about.