Category Archives: Material

Dutch/Tulip Festivals Supporting Schools in Redlands, California (and Related Rhyme/Song)

Nationality: Dutch American
Age: 85
Occupation: Retired Teacher
Residence: Bay Area, California
Performance Date: April 27th, 2021
Primary Language: English

Informant Context:

Meryl is a descendent of Dutch immigrants who immigrated to America around the 1850s. After living in Michigan, she relocated to Redlands, California, where she attended and later taught at a school supported by the Christian Reformed Churches in the area. The school held annual Dutch/Tulip Festivals as fundraisers. Meryl participated in these festivals as a student. She went on to teach her students the associated songs, skits, etc. while working there.

The interviewer spoke with Meryl over the phone.

Transcript:

MERYL: So I grew up in Redlands—Redlands Christian School, attended um… Christian Reformed Church is where I—was where my parents went, and in Redlands there are two Christian Reformed Churches, one Reformed Church, and one Protestant Reformed Church, which is a little more on the Dutch, th—Dutch side. Uh, the Protestant Church also had a school. And so… Redlands… and I went to the Christian School there, and… all supported Red— of all those churches, the four churches, uh… supported the Redlands Christian School. Still do. And there were many Dutch background people, so they, um… in order to support the school they started having—I don’t know just when it started, but—uh, started having Dutch festivals. And I remember, uh, singing little songs, and… heh… at the, at the Dutch festivals. Um… and then, later I taught ‘em to… to… th—the kids that I was teaching. [rustles pages, reading] Um… many… let’s see… many Dutch background people had Tu—Tulip festivals to raise money for the school. ‘Cause they… [unintelligible] always need money. Um…

INTERVIEWER: What would the songs be about? 

MERYEL: Well, let’s see… Well, first of all they had all the… the chorale—you know, they’re kind of like *chorale*—they’re [unintelligible] you know, half notes. [rustles pages] And uh… other songs. But it… the for Tulip Festival. I taught my kids this one little ditty that… [begins laughing] Heh-heh! It was—let’s see, it was… [begins speaking in rhythm (no melody), puts on an accent (t’s and th’s become d’s)]

“Katrina, my darling,

Come sit by my side 

And I’ll told you some things 

That will open your eyes—eyes [unintelligible]

I love you so much 

[Bette(?)]… w—with the love that I got,

That I want… and I’m going to ask you, “Won’t you be my *frau*?”

Frau is like… um, [unintelligible]. She would sing—the girl would sing: [resumes]

Why [seen(?)] yourself, Charlie 

To speak out like that 

Although it is nice what you say, 

And I love you so much with the love that I got

That I’ll be your frau right away.

Oh, ja! [thought that was(?)] fine, 

Char—Katrina, she told me she’s going to be mine… 

And, you know, that’s the chorus. Yeah, heh—*anyway*… and the kids would sing. I taught that to my… my 4th graders later. Um… anyway… 

INTERVIEWER: Did you teach at the same school?

MERYL: Uh, yeah, I’m getting to that. [laughs] Y—Y—let’s see… [if(?)] I can read it [reading] all—so all these churches, these four churches, supported the Redlands Christian School. Many Dutch background people… uh… had, had decided to have a Tulip Festival to bring in money for the school, ‘cause the schools always need money. And uh… so they, uh, they… the *women* mainly, got together [laughs softly], And um… k—kinda started when, when I was in school there. And it’s been kind of a tradition. And later, um… it was still going on when I taught there. Um… they had um… they had uh, uh… dishes of, *food* dishes, and cookies, and all kinds of stuff that was Dutch, and the kids would dress up, or… in uh, long skirts and wear, uh, Dutch—gif you had Dutch shoes, the wooden shoes…

INTERVIEWER: Clogs?

MERYL: [Me and(?)] my parents, they sent for some Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they have… uh, and Holland, Michigan, where they have more Tulip Festivals and… a lot of tulips in Holland. 

INTERVIEWER: Right, so… that’s what I was going to ask. So this specific one that you’re talking about is just the Redlands one, but I was…

MERYL: [Yes(?)]

INTERVIEWER: I was going to ask you are there other ones? 

MERYL: Oh, [yeah(?)]

INTERVIEWER: Other Tulip Festivals around the US? And it sounds like Holland Michigan, there are…

MERYL: Yeah, yeah… and [El Far(?)] California, they have a—a lot of Dutchman there too. 

INTERVIEWER: And they have similar festivals and everything.

MERYL: Yes. The Christian schools do.

INTERVIEWER: But this one was… 

MERYL: Yeah, they… they kind of support the Dutch background. 

INTERVIEWER: Oh, so—so it’s always attached to a school, it sounds like? It’s less of like… like a… 

MERYL: Yeah, it’s—it’s mainly I th—uh, yeah it kind of supports the schools. Helps to support the schools. Uh… Dutch costumes, [rustles papers] and wooden shoes… the wooden shoes are very uncomfortable.

INTERVIEWER: [laughs]

MERYL: You wear about three pairs of socks inside ‘em just so… so you don’t get blisters. I had some. I don’t know where they went. Heh-heh… 

INTERVIEWER: [joins laughing]

MERYL: *Anyway*… 

Informant Commentary:

Meryl mainly connected these festivals to the religious and educational institutions they supported financially. The generations through which this folk practice is passed are not familial generations or ethnic ones, but rather teacher to student generations. Meryl occupied both of those roles, as a student who later became a teacher. The Dutch/Tulip Festivals are also sites of other folklore such as folk songs and folk food, similarly passed down using highly intentional means, for a specific purpose, in a designated classroom setting.

Analysis:

This tradition is an interesting one, mainly because it employs folklore as a means to fundraise for an institution. This conflicts with the usual role of folklore as a set of artistic practices coming into being and perpetuating outside of institutions. The folklore invoked by these festivals (clogs, traditional dress, songs, etc.) likely came about that way too, but were given a new purpose and a new folk group by these majority Dutch churches and schools.

Danish Advent Wreath

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: California, USA
Performance Date: 05/02/2021
Primary Language: English

Context:

Informant JA was a current undergraduate student at the University of Southern California at the time of this collection. Though JA was born in the San Francisco Bay Area, their mom’s maternal side of the family originates from Denmark. Christmas is an important holiday to JA’s family; it is a time of year for their extended family to gather and celebrate a year that is usually spent apart in respective nuclear families. At the time that Christmas decorations begin to go up outdoors, JA’s family decorates indoors and, besides a Christmas tree, has one main decoration: a Danish advent wreath.

Text:

JA described a shared family advent wreath that has four candles on it, and one candle is lit every Sunday before Christmas, starting four weeks before Christmas Day. Each of the four candles represents a value that his family cherishes, like love. A value is commemorated and focused on each of the four Sundays before Christmas Day.

JA mentioned that most advent wreaths are simple with green fir tree leaves and the occasional small, red ornaments. However, JA’s family gets creative with their annual wreath and incorporates purple into the red and green color scheme. Each year, their family takes a trip to their local arts and crafts store for unique decorative accents to put on the wreath, and even though this deviates from traditional wreaths, JA stated that this is what makes their tradition special to them compared to other Danish families. Though Christmas is partly celebrated weeks in advance of actual Christmas Day, JA added that their family’s true celebration is traditionally on Christmas Eve evening with his mom’s side of the family.

Analysis:

Unlink other genres of folklore, this holiday ritual is more explicit in the values it expresses. Since candles are lit to “represent” shared family values, one would not have to speculate what is deemed important for JA’s family. However, further analysis of this holiday ritual could reveal underlying values that go unspoken. By participating in this annual holiday ritual, JA and their family are engaging with a facet of their family heritage. Heritage does not require active participation and is present even when it goes unacknowledged. For JA’s family, this particular tradition showcases the unspoken value of engaging with family heritage while simultaneously providing a means for them to do so.

Elders Eat First

Nationality: Indian
Age: 70
Residence: India
Performance Date: 3/23/2021
Primary Language: Hindi (urdu)

Context and Background:

Food is a big part of Indian culture and here, my informant is almost like my grandmother and my late grandfather’s family friend. She tells me a belief about food in India. 

Performance: (via phone call)

There is a belief that whenever we are making food for the family, the first bite is always eaten by the elder of the family. Elder meaning, the oldest child of the family. In a family of mom, dad, and two children, this means, either the elder child can eat it because they are the oldest sibling, or the mom and dad can eat if they were the older sibling in their family. It excludes the younger sibling for eating the first bite. The reason behind this is because we believe that if the elder eats the first bite, there will be plenty of food for the entire family. But if the younger child eats first, there will be a shortage of food. 

Analysis:

After recording this conversation, my and my friend also had a conversation about her childhood. She told me she had 11 siblings and most families in her village were quite big. At the time she was born, in the 1950s, it was common to have a lot of children because there weren’t many birth control options. These villages could also be poor, so food on the table was something they had to worry about. This folk belief is a natural consequence of their circumstances, they had to make sure there was enough food on the table for everyone. If believing that the older child ate first gave them some peace of heart and so they adopted and spread this folk belief. Even in the 2020’s, my mom always makes me eat first bite because of this belief. 

Main Piece: Red underwear

Nationality: American
Age: 53
Occupation: Family CEO
Residence: CO
Performance Date: 04/01/2021
Primary Language: English

Background: The informant always wears red underwear when she knows she is entering a situation where danger could occur. She believes that the color red has protective powers and is ultra superstitious about wearing it, especially when flying. She is a very spiritual woman, but also particular about what type of folk beliefs she acquires. She does her research before hopping on a trend or swearing by a specific belief. This underwear belief, while sparked by Madona, has become a pillar in her travel experience.  

Context: “I first started wearing red underwear when Madonna became an expert in Kabbalah. She was very famous at the time and I thought it was quite ridiculous that she decided to suddenly become Jewish, I suppose, and pick the sect that she did. Remember those little red bracelets? I wish that I had had a company at that point manufacturing those because they were hot in the 90s. They taught me. Red protects you. Red protects your soul from being attacked by malicious characters. As a 20-year-old girl, I never liked to fly. I always felt so vulnerable so far up in the sky with people I didn’t even know in control of my life.  The pilot, the flight attendants. I thought to myself if I wear red and red underwear I’ll be protected. Red really isn’t my color, so I felt that underwear was the way to go. I didn’t have to match it with anything, just make sure I owned some undies to throw on before any flight”.  

Thoughts: This is a custom and belief that has been passed along to me, as her daughter. I also think that red is a guarding force and I feel the ritual is associated with my mom and that in itself provides a sense of safety. I love following in my mom’s footsteps with her beliefs because I trust her, so this custom is just another way for me to feel that she is by my side in perilous circumstances. I know that she is very particular about her folk beliefs and practices, so her opinion is highly valued. Her superstitions are worthwhile.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake Recipe – From Africa to NY

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: College Student
Residence: California, United States
Performance Date: 04/18/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Context:

Informant KC was a current undergraduate student at the time of this collection. In speaking with them about their childhood and upbringing in the east end of Long Island, NY, they disclosed a family recipe for a gluten-free chocolate cake that has become a staple when the family gathers at their home and eats together.

This recipe was introduced to KC’s family by their sister who did research in Africa. According to KC, their sister was “gluten-free before it was cool.” While researching in Africa, KC’s sister “adopted a local flourless chocolate cake recipe for when she wanted to eat dessert.”

Text:

The recipe:

  • 1 cup of chocolate
  • 1 cup of butter
  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 3 large eggs

Upon introducing this recipe to her family when KC’s sister retired to NY from Africa, KC’s family quickly adopted it as well. KC says the cake “brings back memories of a fond time in her [KC’s sister] past from other places.” Unfortunately, I did not collect information from KC regarding baking instructions (such as temperature and bake time).

Analysis:

After learning about this family recipe from KC, I am left to speculate its significance and meaning. I am lead to think that the simplicity of this recipe not only makes it easy to prepare and share with others but also directs the bakers’ focus to what perhaps might be more important – the people eating and sharing the cake. This recipe is flourless meaning that those with gluten sensitivity can still eat and enjoy it with others. While flourless baking might be commonplace in the African community from which this recipe was originally picked up by KC’s sister, its elimination of flour might inherently suggest that greater consideration be placed on those eating the cake rather than the cake itself. If this is true, then the act of baking this cake could serve as a physical manifestation of family values such as care and inclusion.