Category Archives: general

Christmas tamales

Date_of_performance: 04/28/2025

Informant Name: XM

Language: English/Spanish  

Nationality: Chilean

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: Santa Monica

INTERVIEW:

During every Christmas with my family we would usually eat tamales, not sure why it was tamales, but I was guaranteed a tamale when I went to my family’s house for Christmas. We aren’t Mexican, so I don’t understand, but it is a tradition and it feels with warmth and it was one of my favorite traditions during Christmas because it reminds me of my family and the time we spent together. It reminds me of good memories, makes me happy, and reminds me of home. I miss those christmases spent together as a whole family and when things felt easier as a child.

MY ANALYSIS

Hearing this story reminds me of the nostalgic Christmas when I was younger. How everything felt simple and nothing was changing. People fall into a routine during the holidays especially Christmas, because you are a kid so you go wherever your family goes, so you get used to the repetitive traditions that you create with the family you are with. The interesting concept of traditions, is that they don’t have to make sense on paper, it is something you create with family that you carry with you because it reminds you of home, so even if XM isn’t Mexican, having tamales every Christmas started to be associated with warm and happier memories and that is why traditions are made. It reminds her of her family and the Christmas she spent with them before she grew up and go thrown into the world and the messiness of it all.

3 Reyes Mago & Rosca de Reyes

Age: 20


Date of performance: 4/25/2025


Language: Spanish


Nationality: Mexican American


Occupation: Full-Time Student


Primary Language: English


Residence: California

Context:

My informant shared their experience with the celebration of “3 Reyes Magos,” or “Three Kings Day,” a tradition rooted in the biblical story of the Magi visiting the infant Jesus. Celebrated on January 6th during the Feast of the Epiphany, this holiday marks the end of the Christmas season. While the original story involves the kings bringing symbolic gifts such as gold, the modern tradition has adapted so that the Three Kings now bring presents to well-behaved children. Families typically wake up to find gifts left by the kings, much alike Christmas. One key tradition associated with the day that my informant shared, is the sharing of Rosca de Reyes aka, ‘The Kings Cake‘, a round, sweet bread with a hidden baby Jesus figurine inside. Finding this figure comes with the responsibility of hosting a future family party, a duty that applies even if the recipient is a child—placing the hosting obligation on the parent. This celebration blends religious meaning, family bonding, and festive customs that are passed down through generations.

Analysis:

Though distinctively different traditions, a similar meaning behind the Hispanic holiday is shared with my informant. I believe this holiday, shares a lot with the American traditions Christmas holds, so it acts like a second one for most. I’ve witnessed that sometimes it even hold more value than the traditional day of Christmas considering its the exact date that Jesus was supposedly born. I found it interesting how my informants background changed some of the traditions acted during this holiday and the meaning behind them. For example, as a Salvadorian, upon finding the hidden baby Jesus, the recipient makes tamales for the family. Making tamales is a heavy and arduous task that can take an entire day, which further amplifies the significance and value of this action and event.

60th Birthday Celebration

Age: 25

Text: D. told me about how there are 12 zodiac signs in East Asia that apply to all 12 months, but years as well. 60 years is considered a whole cycle since there are 5 types of zodiacs (blue dragon, black dragon, 3 more). He said when someone turns 60 years old it is a big celebration because they lived through all the zodiac signs. He said they rent a venue and do a crazy fancy celebration.

Context: He said he’s always known the 60th birthday to be a milestone. He says that it is fading with the younger generations because it used to be a big accomplishment to live until 60, but nowadays it is way more common. He said that he went to his grandparent’s 60th where they had a lot of food in a big buffet and traditional Korean clothes. 

Analysis: This ritual is a good example of cyclical time and rites of passage. It’s more than just a party, it reflects ideas of symbolic rebirth. Passing through all the zodiac signs is a rebirth and cause for a celebration. It also shows how we celebrate major milestones and transformations. It’s a right of passage into elderhood. Additionally, it exemplifies how tradition shifts over time.The fact that D. mentioned it’s less popular in younger generations shows how traditions that once carried a lot of weight adapt to new contexts. Things like traditional clothing, however, help preserve cultural identity in a modern context.

Never Say ‘Good Luck’

Folk Belief / Superstition

Performance Ritual / Verbal Superstition

1. Text

In theatre communities, it is widely believed that saying “good luck” to a performer before a show brings misfortune. Instead, performers and crew members say “break a leg,” a phrase which paradoxically conveys good intentions by using language associated with harm. According to JP, “If someone’s never been in theatre before, once they enter that space, they learn quickly not to say it. We’ve all made the mistake and have said it, but then we learn to never say it again.”

JP added that in some past situations, if someone accidentally said “good luck,” others would try and undo the jinx. “There are all these mini-rituals that people do to reverse it,” she said. “Some people knock on wood, which is a common way to reverse a jinx, but others would be as creative to do the hokey pokey. One girl I worked with once literally jumped in a circle three times. It all seems a little bizarre to me.”

She also mentioned how the phrase “break a leg” can be used creatively depending on the performance. “Sometimes if it’s a musical, people will say ‘break the set’ or ‘rip your costume.’” I shared with her how I’ve heard musicians use their own variations, such as “break your axe” or “break the kit.” Similar, though different, these many variations follow that same tradition of ironic misfortune equating to good luck.

2. Context

My childhood friend JP learned the superstition during her early involvement in high school theatre. The belief was introduced not through formal instruction but through direct social correction — another student or “thespian,” if you will, reprimanded her for saying “good luck” before a performance. This moment served as a kind of informal initiation into the vernacular norms of the theatrical folk group. JP described this moment as formative: “I didn’t even know I had done anything wrong — but after that, it stuck. I never said it again. I never forgot that moment. I felt ashamed. But in reality, how silly to feel ashamed for just trying to spread positive energy before the top of the show.” This type of spontaneous correction and adoption of group norms is characteristic of how folklore is transmitted: orally, experientially, and within culturally bounded settings. The performative aspect of the correction — the other student’s visible reaction — helped to underscore the gravity of the superstition and ensure its memorability.

For JP, and theatre practitioners more broadly, this superstition operates both as a ritualized behavior to mitigate uncertainty and as a signifier of in-group identity. The phrase “break a leg” is not merely a euphemism; it is a badge of cultural belonging. To say it — and more importantly, to know why to say it — is to demonstrate that one is an initiated member of the theatrical community. JP emphasized that even if people do not literally believe in the curse associated with saying “good luck,” the phrase remains taboo. Its use is ‘policed’ socially, often humorously, but with real affective consequence. She said, “The thespians take it seriously. You can’t joke around with them in that manner. God forbid.”

She also noted that variations of the expression, such as “break the set,” demonstrate how the underlying function of the phrase is preserved even as its form changes. These creative deviations reinforce both the community’s linguistic playfulness and its shared understanding of superstition as cultural performance. In this way, JP’s experience is not just personal but indicative of broader folkloric patterns: taboo language, symbolic inversion, group boundary maintenance, and the ritualization of transitions (in this case, the movement from rehearsal to performance).

In sum, JP’s account of this superstition illustrates how occupational folk groups like theatre communities maintain their identity and continuity through orally transmitted, symbolically rich traditions that respond to both emotional and practical needs.

3. Interpretation

The superstition of avoiding “good luck” in favor of “break a leg” exemplifies what folklorists call a conversion superstition — a ritualized substitution in language that seeks to preempt misfortune by invoking it in disguise. This paradoxical formula is rooted in the belief that overt expressions of hope or confidence might tempt fate or the supernatural to interfere. Instead, the phrase “break a leg” operates through apotropaic magic — protective language or gesture that wards off evil by acknowledging its potential presence in a non-threatening or ironic way.

In the context of theatrical performance, this form of verbal ritual takes on heightened significance due to the inherent liminality of the stage experience. The stage is a high-pressure site of live creation, where the margin for error is narrow and the outcomes are public. Within this context, superstitions serve a powerful psychological function: they offer performers a sense of agency in an otherwise unpredictable environment. By engaging in these folk practices, actors enact symbolic forms of control over the uncontrollable.

At the same time, this belief fulfills crucial social functions within the theatre folk group. Language becomes a boundary marker — a verbal cue that delineates those who belong to the culture from those who do not. The phrase “break a leg” is a form of vernacular code: it identifies the speaker as a cultural insider, someone who has internalized the values, taboos, and rituals of the group. In this way, the superstition becomes a tool of informal initiation. When someone violates the taboo and says “good luck,” the group’s reaction — whether humorous or stern — reinforces shared norms and reminds all members of the behavioral expectations that sustain group identity.

The supplementary gestures often used to “reverse” the curse (e.g., knocking on wood, hokey pokey) reveal how intertextual and intertraditional theatre folklore is. These counter-rituals draw on a much wider system of folk belief found across cultures and contexts. Their presence within the theatre reinforces the idea that folklore is adaptable and layered, borrowing and blending symbols and practices in ways that suit the needs of specific communities.

What is particularly striking is the persistence of this superstition within environments that might otherwise be considered secular, rational, or progressive, such as university theatre departments. This reveals the depth of emotional and communal resonance that folklore can carry. It is not sustained by literal belief alone, but by the emotional logic it provides. It offers a symbolic framework through which performers can acknowledge and manage their fears, externalize their hopes, and participate in a lineage of tradition that links them to generations of theatre-makers before them.

In this sense, the “break a leg” superstition is not merely a linguistic oddity but a ritualized expression of vulnerability, solidarity, and shared identity. It encapsulates the human desire to ward off chaos through collective, meaningful action — even if that action takes the form of a joke, a phrase, or a symbolic contradiction.

No Whistling in Theatre Spaces

Folk Belief / Superstition
Occupational Folklore – Theatre / Behavioral Taboo

1. Text

JP, a theatre major at American University, described a well-established superstition within theatrical environments: the belief that whistling inside a theatre invites bad luck or misfortune. According to JP, this is not merely a stylistic or aesthetic preference, but a behavioral taboo actively enforced in rehearsal and backstage settings, especially backstage. “You might be whistling without thinking, and someone will stop you immediately,” she noted. “People treat it as disruptive, even dangerous,” JP noted that she can’t whistle either way, but believes the superstition is a little dramatic.

JP recounted watching someone in her college program reprimanded for whistling during her first year in university theatre. “I didn’t know it was a problem. This girl was humming and then started to whistle backstage during tech week, and someone cut him off — not angrily, but urgently. They told her, ‘That’s something we don’t do here.’ I laughed. I thought it was so crazy and comical, but the girl who whistled had the biggest look of shame.”

Although JP does not personally attribute supernatural consequences to the act of whistling, she adheres to the custom out of respect for the collective understanding. “I don’t believe something bad will happen, but I know it’s part of the culture. You don’t want to violate the space or distract people, especially when the stakes are high. Additionally, I don’t want conflict with other people, so even if I could whistle, I still would not.”

2. Context

JP learned this superstition informally during her early involvement in university theatre. The belief was not introduced through any institutional channel or training, but rather through peer correction, a method common in the transmission of occupational folklore. The reprimand she saw another student experience served as an entry point into the implicit behavioral norms that govern theatrical spaces — rules which are often unspoken but widely upheld. Additionally, her unfamiliarity with the superstition prior to entering this particular theatre context highlights the localized nature of folklore transmission and how such beliefs can vary significantly across different performance communities.

The belief in the danger of whistling in a theatre is historically grounded. JP informed me that in the 19th and early 20th centuries, stage riggers — many of whom had maritime backgrounds — used a system of coded whistles to signal cue changes for scenery, rigging, and fly systems. An unintentional whistle could therefore result in mistimed or hazardous movements backstage. While modern stagecraft no longer relies on such signaling systems, the associated taboo persists as a form of cultural residue, maintained more for its symbolic weight than its practical relevance.

JP explained that even though the original rationale is no longer operational, the custom remains widespread and now it has now become a very looming superstition. “People treat it as disrespectful,” she said. “It’s not just about the sound. It’s about what it implies — that you’re not actively engaged and focused in the way you should be.” As such, the act of whistling violates more than etiquette; it breaches a collectively upheld boundary of theatrical conduct.

3. Interpretation

The prohibition against whistling in a theatre functions as a behavioral taboo within the occupational folk group of stage performers and technicians. Its persistence, despite the disappearance of its original practical necessity, is a testament to the role of tradition as a mechanism of cultural continuity. In this context, the act of whistling is not inherently harmful, but it becomes symbolically charged within a space where control, precision, and attentiveness are paramount.

From a folkloristic perspective, this taboo aligns with other examples of ritual avoidance behavior — prohibitions enacted not because of empirical risk, but because of their perceived symbolic danger. The theatre, as a liminal space in which transformation and performance occur, is often surrounded by customs that reinforce spatial and emotional boundaries. Whistling, an unsolicited and uncontrolled auditory act, is viewed as an intrusion upon the ritual environment of rehearsal or performance.

Moreover, the belief plays a significant role in group boundary maintenance. Through mechanisms of correction and social enforcement, practitioners reaffirm their identity as members of a professional tradition. The act of stopping someone from whistling, particularly a novice, is both a disciplinary and didactic act: it reasserts collective values while initiating the newcomer into the shared culture of theatrical practice.

Even among those who do not interpret the act superstitiously, the continued observance of the rule suggests a broader understanding of folklore’s functional value. Customs such as this one provide structure and coherence within an otherwise unpredictable environment. The taboo against whistling operates not merely as a superstition but as a ritualized gesture of respect toward the space, the craft, and the community of practitioners who maintain it.

In sum, JP’s account illustrates how occupational folk groups preserve behavioral norms through informal transmission, even when the original rationale has been obscured or rendered obsolete. In doing so, these traditions help define the emotional architecture of performance spaces and maintain a shared sense of discipline, identity, and continuity.