Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

年年有鱼 or nián nián yǒu yu

TEXT: “nián nián yǒu yu” / “年年有鱼”

CONTEXT:

Informant- “This is like a very beloved tradition called nián nián yǒu yu in China during Chinese New Year. So literally it means “may there be fish every year”, but the magic is in the sound of the word. In Chinese, the word for fish is “yu” and it sounds exactly like another word, “yǒu” which means abundance or having extra leftover. So when Chinese families eat fish during the Chinese New Year dinner, they are not just eating a dish, they are making a wish. It’s like saying, “oh, may this year bring us more than enough, always enough food, enough money, enough luck, enough love, and enough happiness to carry into the next year.” And the fish is usually served as whole with the head and tail, because a complete fish represents wholeness and a good opening and a good beginning and ending. So in some families, people do not finish the entire fish on New Year’s Eve. They intentionally leave a little bit because this is like having leftovers and abundance symbolizes that the family will have abundance left over for the coming year. So the fish on the table is not only food, it is a symbol of hope. And it tells a like, simple but beautiful Chinese New Year wish. “May we always have more than we need.”

ANALYSIS:

This Chinese New Year tradition is a symbolic way of setting forth positive intentions for the coming year in hopes of prosperity. This belief that stems from the play on words is reminiscent of the tradition of blowing out birthday candles in hopes for the coming year to be full of happiness and good luck. Beliefs such as this one are cultural and passed down in familial settings across generations.

Diaz de los Muertos and One’s Ancestral History

Leave a reply

Age: 28

Text: CB – “Known well as Diaz de los Muertos or day of the dead, its a very important holiday in the Hispanic calendar. It has a lot of crossover with the Americanized Halloween, but it’s distinctive differences go far beyond the costumes and candies. The point is to remember our dearly departed. During it, we bring out all the old photos from my grandmother’s family and my grandfather’s family, my mother side (Nana, and Tata respectfully). Specifically what we do is help my Nana and Tata arrange all their family photos on the banister and dining room table so that they may join us for one last meal. We offer our prayers to them and little candies of their favorite and light candles in their honor. As the photos come out, my grandparents and my aunts and uncles will begin telling stories about these people Somehow, we’ve heard 1000 times and never interrupt. Others are new to us and add another source of identity to where we came from.”

Interviewer – “What is the most memorable story you’ve heard about your ancestors?”

CB – “My big Nana (great-grandmother) was a loving, but firm woman. All her children learned to dodge at a very young age, for she was proficient with wooden chanclas. One time my mother snuck out at night to go see a movie when she got back they had closed and locked her window This wasn’t that unusual. Typically they would just spend the night on the roof at this time, however she went to big Nana‘s house, knocked on the door and gave her a sob story about my grandfather locking her out. This caused my great grandmother to storm over to their house (my Nana’s family lived very close to each other) and hammer on the door. When my mother’s father opened it, he was immediately hitting his head with a wooden chanclas. She chased him around the property for about an hour while my mom darted to her room and laughed from her window.”

Context: Diaz de los Muertos is an annual Hispanic holiday to celebrate the dead of one’s family. Typically it involves large gatherings, bringing together members of extended family to celebrate and share stories about those who have passed. In the case of CB and their family, some stories pop up and stay the same each year, and each year each family member listens on with respect and fondness. Besides, the candy, feasts, and decorations this holiday is additionally anointed with, at the heart of it rests the tales of those gone to show that they are and never will be forgotten. CB has been told this story about his mother sneaking out a number of times, year after year, and it never gets old.

Analysis: Being both an annually calendrical holiday, there is an air of spiritualism, belief, but also prolonged familial ritual for Diaz de los Muertos for CB and their family, as is with most families who celebrate it traditionally. The art and act of gathering around to tell stories about those who have passed to allow their spirits to not fade into obscurity is a prime example of continued tradition and using a holiday as the medium to come together to do the sharing. This family-based festival, where food is offered and made, candy is eaten, stories are exchanged, and to take pride on those who have passed is a wide mixture of many folk group mediums, from foodways, to folk belief, to folk speech and narratives, and finally this annual holiday which encompasses it all. Diaz de los Muertos is a rich example of folk culture for the Hispanic community, and continues to shine on for each family regardless of how they celebrate it.

Splitting Xmas: Heritage and Tradition for the Eve and Day of Christmas

Leave a reply

Age: 24

Text: MF – “Christmas in my family is different because we split it into two days to represent both sides of my grandparents’ culture. Since my grandparents come from different backgrounds, they made it work so they could both spend time with their families while still being together. Because of that, Christmas Eve is centered around Mexican culture, and Christmas Day is more traditional American.”

MF – “On Christmas Eve, everything is focused on Mexican food and traditions. We usually have dishes like tamales, chili relleno, enchiladas, rice, beans, and other homemade foods that take time to prepare. A lot of the cooking starts earlier in the day, especially with tamales since those require prepping the masa, making the filling, wrapping them in corn husks, and steaming them. Chili rellenos involve roasting and peeling the peppers, stuffing them, battering, and frying them. Our enchiladas are a little different too. Instead of making them individually, my grandmother makes them in a big pan so there is more for everyone, which makes it feel even more like a shared family meal. It is more of a warm, cultural, family-centered night where everyone is eating, talking, and enjoying being together. Christmas Eve is also when the whole family exchanges gifts with each other, so it feels more like a big group celebration.”

MF – “Then Christmas morning is completely different. It shifts into a more traditional American-style Christmas. That is when it becomes more personal, where my parents give us our gifts (Under the tree for us when we wake up). We also have foods like ham, mashed potatoes, and other classic dishes. It feels more like what you would typically see in movies, with everyone gathered together, opening presents, and relaxing. The most important part of this holiday for me is definitely the food and being around family. The food brings everyone together, but it is the time spent with family that really makes it meaningful for me.”

Context: MF and their family each year break up Christmas into two separate days, where Christmas Eve is used to represent and celebrate their Mexican heritage and culture, and the latter day, Christmas Day proper, is to celebrate Americanized Christmas as is shown in pop culture and around the United States. The largest distinction between these two days would be the food that is made and consumed on the respective days, as well as the aura around the celebration itself.

Analysis: While being centered around a calendrical holiday, MF and their family made this truly their own ritual by the deviation of form, now having this repetition annually for them and their family. Taking a pre-existing holiday and molding it by one’s own community or folk group to align more with their vision, whether it be to express shared gift giving and family time, honoring the traditions of their Hispanic heritage with the food and style of family time but also celebrating the holiday as is done traditionally on the day itself. Within MF’s family, there really isn’t a Christmas Eve, but two separate holidays to treasure and cherish each side of their family. Through the communal act of making and eating food together, giving gifts throughout the whole family, or the traditional “ham, mashed potatoes, and other classic dishes,” lend the power of one’s own folk group, the rituals, traditions, holidays, and the foodways that fuel them to create something truly beautiful and unique.

Feast, Festival, and Fur – The rituals of a furcon

Leave a reply

Age: 27

Text: Interviewer – “When was the first time you heard of a furry convention?”

JP – “I’ve for sure sure known about them since I was younger but I didn’t really think positively about them until years later. I was a bit of an edgelord back in the day.”

Interviewer – “Have you been to one before or many?”

JP – “I’ve been to the same one, TFF, or Texas Furry Fiesta for 3 years as of now. So a couple times, I’d say.”

Interviewer – “What has been some notable elements of these, some highlights that you get excited about when traveling and going to these conventions?”

JP – “To me, the Artist Alley, a large room in the convention center where tons of different artists are posted up to sell their merchandise, get commissions in person, or advertise. It’s super cool. Besides that, the various community events that TFF has have been the highlights for me.”

Interviewer – “What rituals do you feel are active elements of every furcon, or you feel should be a part of them if not?”

JP – “Fursuiting for sure, and while it’s unnecessary I particularly have fun playing a bit of a character. I have 2 different suits, so I’m able to change up the characters I go as, which adds to the fun of it all since a lot of other people are doing the same. Some conventions even have events to show off all of the different attendees suits! Though despite it being a very integral thing, it’s still unnecessary and one doesn’t need a suit in order to attend.”

Interviewer – “What’s been your most memorable or best memory in the fandom or at a furcon?”

JP – “As far as my best memory, it would prolly be my first con just getting to spend time with some friends and having the opportunity to explore the city with them.”

Context: Similar to other fandom based conventions, a “furcon” is just that, a convention for furries or fans of the furry community to gather, go to panels, buy art, and be a meeting point for friends who would usually be online to meet up in person. When talking to JP about his involvement within the fandom, since I knew he recently went to Texas Furry Fiesta, I wanted to delve in and ask about the folk practices done at this kind of event, as I know other conventions akin to comicons have their cosplays, panels, celebrity features, and art galleries.

Analysis: Furries are one of the fandoms that have such deep cultural ties to industries, popular culture, media, and their own complex traditions, rites, and rituals. One of said rites of passage is attending a furry convention, or a furcon for short. Aside from this rite of passage, many traditional events occur, some mentioned by JP. These would include the sharing of community folk art at the artist’s alley, a dance competition, showing off the hard work and craft of fursuit makers by featuring your own, as well as being a pseudo-pilgrimage for a friend group all within the fandom to meet up. A furcon is a multi-faceted treasure trove of lore for all of those who attend, their passions, and particular interests in their characters, how they present themselves, and the boundless memories, activities, and events at their disposal.

Kaal Pudpe Sign of Respect

Age: 20

Text:

Informant: “This is included in what me and my brother do in my culture. It’s something that is a sign of respect, it’s called “kaal pudpe” and it means “touching the feet.” So you touch the feet of your elders. If you were my elder, when I would first see you, I would say “How are you?” and I would go like this” (gestures touching feet). “It’s respecting the wisdom that they have and it’s always a married elder.”

Interviewer: “So if they’re not married, you wouldn’t do that to them?”

Informant: “No, you don’t have to. There’s a lot of people around my age but then the minute they got married, you’re supposed to, technically. It’s a lot of things as well as a greeting when you enter someone’s house, as a sign of respect.”

Context:

The informant is from Karnataka, a state in India. In their culture, they view elders as wise and are highly respected. Married couples are also seen viewed highly. As young people, to show respect for them, they’ll touch their feet as a form of greeting.

Analysis:

In many cultures, aging isn’t seen as a negative, but rather, a positive. The elderly are seen as wise and more knowledgeable. Young ones are encouraged to respect elders because they lack life experience and can learn from them. Countries like Karnataka create these traditional ways of young ones showing respect by touching their elders’ feet. This ritual is repeated through generations and acts a way of socializing across the culture and holding people in high regard. In Chapter 5 of ‘Living Folklore’ by Sims and Stephens, they expand on this thought and share how “traditions associated with objects, customs, or rituals…may sometimes emerge into narratives and form an important part of a group’s identity.” This functionalist ritual validates the culture and sets a certain expectation that everyone must follow.