Category Archives: Gestures

Frozen Faces

Text:

Parents would tell their children that if they make funny faces too much, their faces will be stuck like that forever.

Context:

The informant was told this as a child, and noted that it was said generally either in jest or as a light way to discourage them from being immature/disrespectful and making faces all the time. They also carried this on and said it occasionally to their own child, though mostly in teasing.

Analysis:

This phrase was and is used by parents as a funny but somewhat “scary” way of keeping their children from making faces all the time. It shows how certain beliefs are born from ways of keeping children in check rather than innately from fact or fear.

Trevi Fountain

Text:

If you ever visit Trevi Fountain in Rome, toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain. This is so fate will bring you back again.

Context:

This is a commonly referenced tradition for tourists to do when visiting the Trevi Fountain. The informant for this article was told this in preparation to visit, and again when at the fountain.

Analysis:

This is a fun and very specific tradition that brings tourists together and makes them feel more connected to the Trevi Fountain. It also connects them to one another, as they see others doing it, they tell their friends who have done it before and trade stories, etc.

Feeding Birthday Cake

AGE: 21

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 4/19

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: Canadian 

OCCUPATION: Student 

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: Westlake Village 

Text

Interviewer: What’s a tradition you and your family have done during the holidays or certain celebrations?

SA: “One small but meaningful tradition in my family happens during birthdays. I only recently learned that this is an Indian thing–but the person whose birthday it is feeds cake to the people closest to them, and they get fed cake by those same people. It’s a simple act but deeply rooted in affection and closeness.”

Interpretation

A lot of the rituals, superstitions, and other traditions that SA had described to me in her family and her culture surround concepts of love, devotion, and affection. I think it’s so beautiful that there are so many distinct rituals that surround the concept of love and adoration. The only rituals or traditions I can think of at the moment in American society is either Valentine’s Day or someone’s anniversary. But on the topic of birthday rituals, in Korean culture it’s typical that the person’s family will make them birthday soup. The next chance I get to interview SA, I would love her to expand on how she found out it was an Indian tradition and whether she would like to continue this tradition with her family in the future. Since it involves cake, did this tradition begin as the modern world developed or has cake replaced something else used in the past? Either way, what a beautiful and familial tradition.

Minor Genre: Gesture – The Moutza

  1. Text: Gesture of someone thrusting their open hand forward at someone else, all five fingers spread out. Used in Greek culture.
  2. Informants Context: I come from a family of Greek immigrants who haven’t necessarily chosen to teach me about this gesture, but I’ve inevitably learned it from them. The moutza is the Greek equivalent of the middle finger, for better or worse. It’s definitely less offensive than the middle finger and can be used more playfully. It’s ultimately a confrontational gesture though, meant to be displayed as a form of disagreement. The sign also has some superstitious connotations as technically the person giving the moutza is sending a curse to whoever is receiving it. This curse generally just means bad luck. The place I most often learned and observed this from was with my Papou (grandfather). He’s an entrepreneur, completely self-made from the villages and may rank among the smartest, most boss guys I’lve ever known in my whole life. That said, sometimes he has been known to blow the fuse a little bit, and when he does, it’s the moutza that he whips out (laughter). If he wants to double insult someone, he might throw his other hand behind the one that is already thrust open, layering the two of them like pancakes. That’s the ultimate disrespect. This gesture is recognized by Greeks globally but rarely in other cultures. An open hand like the moutza might even be misunderstood as a friendly gesture by certain cultures, including in America where it could be seen as something like a high-five. I personally use the moutza in a mostly fun way, in the kinds of spaces where I could get away with that kind of offensive joke. For example, when I’m with some Greek friends and we’re having a laugh, I might throw it one of their faces to get a reaction. They’ll understand I’m being funny and play along.
  3. Collectors Interpretation: The moutza is firstly a demonstration of power by Greek people. When used in a non-playful context, the gesture is clearly rooted in a show of force or intention to shame people. This might reflect a greater value on the part of Greek people about personal pride and their eagerness to defend it. Moreover, as a potential way to “curse people”, the practice could be seen as a form of contagious magic. It functions on multiple levels as a demonstration of folklore. The fact that the gesture is not universally understood, reflecting different contexts in different parts of the world, continues to demonstrate its folklore roots. It is a practice specific to Greek people, inside the country and abroad, but nonetheless specific to culturally attuned Greeks. This might also reflect a broader culture within Greece surrounding how its people perceive confrontation. If the purpose of the moutza is to pass shame onto someone who has done you wrong, perhaps this reflects a value towards honor. Shame cannot be of value without dignity simultaneously being a high-priority as well.

Fields

AGE: 21

Date_of_performance: May 9, 2025

Language: English

Nationality: American/Greek

Occupation: Student

Primary Language: English

Residence: United States of America

Ritual – Christmas Morning

Nationality: American
Occupation: USC Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Christmas Morning in my informant’s Catholic family

“Every Christmas Morning my family takes a family photo. The guys wear one color of pajamas and the girls wear a different color. Then we get to open one present before having breakfast. After breakfast, we open all the gifts in our stocking before moving on to the rest of our presents”

My informant’s Christmas morning tradition is a good example of a ritual that combines family and religious values into a meaningful, structured sequence of events. Rituals tied to annual events help reaffirm groups cultural identity and shared cultural meaning. This ritual starts with the pajamas, all wearing the same color depending on gender, and represents the symbolic visual unity of my informant’s family. The color difference distinguishes gender roles within the family while also reinforcing that sense of unity and tradition. The family photo is a performative ritual that makes the passage of time and captures the moment. Folklorists would call this a “ritual documentation” that summaries a point in time and can be references across generations. The order of the events is very structured and creates a rhythm and sense of anticipation for Christmas morning. Though there is no religious content in this ritual, it still reflects the Catholic family values of unity, joy, and the celebration of special events. By repeating this structure every year, the family creates their own kind of folklore, passing down an informal tradition that can be shared across generations. In summary, this Christmas morning ritual seeks to strengthen family identity and mark the celebration of a special holiday.