Category Archives: Customs

Customs, conventions, and traditions of a group

Recipe

Age: 53
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: February 2007
Primary Language: English

A tradition that has been passed down over time as far back as Sherri’s grandmother (to her recollection at least), is to cut the symbol of wheat into pies that her family makes.

Sherri explained to me that while at first she thought it was for decoration, not until she was twenty did she know the real reason.  Sherri’s mother taught her that the symbol has a greater meaning.  It symbolizes the harvest that was collected that season.  This “harvest” is the income that is collected by members of the family that was used to help make the food.  It also represents the hard work that was put into making the meal, both by those that made the money to pay for the ingredients, as well as the sweat and tears put into preparing it all.

She told me that this design is very important to her family, as it both shows respect and dignity for those who did it in the past and provided for her and her sisters, as well as shows hope for the future that she may, in turn, be able to provide for her children.

I believe this is a very interesting tradition that is expressed through cooking.  While it is not as noticeable as a family recipe, it is a subtle tradition that carries a large symbolic meaning behind it.

Tradition

Age: 25
Occupation: Commercial Producer
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: March 2007
Primary Language: English

On Christmas Eve, Erin and her family and friends gather at her parent’s house for a feast.  The have served Mexican food from a local restaurant for approximately the past ten years.

Erin explained to me that this is a very peculiar new tradition her family is starting up.  The interesting facet about it is that no one in her extended family is of Mexican decent.  She explains that is all started when her mother accidentally overcooked the turkey she was to serve to twenty guests.  Her mother, who Erin said was always ready to adapt to setbacks, sent her and her brother out to get some food to serve.  After looking all over town, the only restaurant they found open that could serve such a large amount of people was a Mexican restaurant.  They served their guests tamales, taquitos, and enchiladas.  It was such a hit with their guests that they decided to make it a tradition.  Now their family and friends look forward to their annual Christmas Eve “Fiesta” (party in Spanish.)

Erin says this has become a very significant part of their holiday festivities.  Erin and her siblings look forward to that meal year round as it turns into quite a feast.  Erin says her mother has since adapted the occasion a little by contributing a large pot of tortilla soup to the already abundant Mexican feast.

I find this a very peculiar yet interesting tradition.  It all began simply because of a cooking malfunction and some guests’ love for Mexican food.  I would hope that they continue this tradition and Erin and her siblings pass it on to their children.

Tradition

Age: 25
Occupation: Commercial Producer
Residence: Hermosa Beach, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

Every Christmas season as children, Erin and her siblings would go in a car ride with their parents around the surrounding neighborhoods to look at the Christmas lights and decorations on houses.  They referred to this as a “jammy ride,” as they would wear their pajamas during the journey.  The term “jammy” refers to the pajamas they wore.

Erin said this tradition was a very important part of her Christmas season when she was a child.  They would go on one “jammy ride” every year and the children looked forward to it every time.  She remembers being in awe at some of the lights that decorated houses in some neighborhoods.  Her father, Barry, would read the local newspaper for houses that won awards for best decorations in their neighborhood and would take them to those houses as a special treat.  This tradition came from her mother, who did the same thing with her parents and sisters growing up in Tustin, California.

When she entered high school, Erin and her siblings stopped wearing their pajamas but still went on the annual jaunt.  Nowadays, Erin and her siblings have gone back to wearing their pajamas and restoring the tradition.  Erin says the trip is more for nostalgic purposes that entertainment as it takes her back to the times when she was a child with no worries in life and could spend hours staring at Christmas lights around the neighborhood.

I think this is a very quaint tradition that I hope Erin and her siblings continue with their children in the future.  I believe traditions like this to be a good way to connect the family together during a season focused around the family.

Tradition – American

Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

Every Christmas season, Joshua’s family decorates a Christmas tree with ornaments.  On Christmas Eve, his mother hides a pickle ornament somewhere on the tree.  Then, on Christmas morning, Joshua and his sister look for the pickle in the tree.  The first person to find it receives a special gift, which is usually money, and supposedly a year of good luck.

Joshua says his family has been partaking in this tradition for as long as he can remember.  He says that as children, he and his sister would get very into it and would wrestle to try to get to the pickle first.  Ever since they each entered high school, the race has been less heated, with the two of them having a much more laid back attitude.

Joshua says he does not know the true meaning of this tradition, but knows that his mother did the same thing while she was a child.  While he originally thought it came from Germany, he informed me that he read an article which stated that its origins are unknown, and this tradition is widely unknown in Germany.

My informant says this tradition is very important to him.  Although it does not have a greater meaning behind it that he knows of, he says it is important to him because it helps give his family an identity with which they can pass on traditions to their ancestors.

Through research I conducted after the interview, I found out that in fact the origins are truly unknown for this tradition.  Many in the past believed it came from Germany, but few people in Germany know about this tradition.  I think it is important for families to have their own traditions they can pass down to their ancestors as it helps keep the family more together during the holiday season.

I found this tradition at:

http://www.sabineworld.com/12062002.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_ornament

Tradition – American

Age: 53
Occupation: Housewife
Residence: Laguna Hills, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

During a wedding, the bride and the groom typically cut the wedding cake and feed each other the first bites.  Sherri explained that in many American weddings, the bride and groom smear the cake on each other’s faces in the process of feeding one other.

Sherri explained to me that this tradition has been going on for many years, as she and her husband, too, partook in this activity.  She said she first saw it take place at a wedding in the early 1970s she attended.  While at first she thought the couple who did it was in for a long, eventful marriage if they were already having food fights, she came to realize the real reason they did this.

Sherri says that newly married couples do this in order to show that they don’t take anything too seriously, even their own weddings.  It is a way to take everything with “a grain of salt” so to speak.  It also shows that the couple is carefree and always up for a good laugh.  In addition, Sherri explained to me that it is expected at most American weddings nowadays, as those in attendance look forward to the bride with all her make up getting cake rubbed in her face.

After conducted the interview, I found that this tradition occurs at modern, Christian influenced weddings.  I have also discovered that it does not happen at all weddings as some more traditional peoples find this tradition vulgar and offensive to them and to the bride.  At nearly every wedding I have been to, I have noticed that this does in fact occur, and the crowd usually erupts with laughter.  I believe it is a good tradition for people to partake in, as it does in fact show that you have the ability to laugh certain things off and not take anything too seriously.