Category Archives: Holidays

Holidays and holiday traditions

Special Dinner

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“Every Christmas, or other important days like graduations and stuff, we go to Riptide for dinner to celebrate. We’ve been doing this for a while now and we always look forward to it.”

CONTEXT:

Riptide is a high-end teppanyaki restaurant, and the informant began this tradition because she only wanted to spend the money on special occasions. Now, it has become a regular component of her Christmas celebration, to the point where it is just expected that the family will be going.


ANALYSIS:

This ritual showcases the ritual license effect. This term refers to how people get a pass on holidays or special occasions to act differently than they would any other day. On an average day, the informant would not pay for the expensive dinner, but when it is a holiday, the expense is much more justifiable. Additionally, this ritual follows a calendar cycle as it is scheduled to occur on specific days of the year. This means the family anticipates when it is going to happen and gets to look forward to it as another part of their Christmas celebration.

Ornament Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Waitress
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“So every year, on Christmas, my parents buy me and my siblings an ornament that is supposed to represent something we did that year. This year I got an ornament of, like, a little blender, which is a reference to how I have to make shakes at Ruby’s for my job. Then, the next year, we get to hang them up and reminisce over what we did the year before”

CONTEXT:

The informant later clarified that the tradition began when her oldest sibling was born and her parents wanted to purchase an object that reminds them of their child’s birth. This then continued with each child getting one year after year. The most enjoyable part of the tradition, according to the informant, is when they get to hang up their personalized ornaments when decorating a Christmas tree. 

ANALYSIS:

This tradition is an example of a ritual tied to a holiday – it is considered an important part of the informant’s Christmas celebration. Many holidays and their corresponding rituals emphasize the passing of time, and this ritual is no different. The ornament is meant to be representative of some event that happened during the year so the family can reflect on what changes or milestones they experienced with the passing of time. It celebrates the growth each child has had, starting from their birth. It also adds another component to the traditional decorating of a tree, as each year the kids grow they will have more ornaments to decorate it with. Thus, the tree itself would be representative of the years the family has been together. 

This ritual can also be seen as symbolic of the family unit. Each child gets their own unique ornament that reflects their personal growth. However, the ornaments become a unit when they are hung up together on the tree. It illustrates how each member of the family has their differences, but they share a common identity with each other by being members of the same family. In addition, the ornaments working together to make the tree visually appealing can be seen as a reflection of how the family supports one another with the ultimate goal of building a successful life for each other.

Thanksgiving in Chicago

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Every Thanksgiving, my family and I celebrate thanksgiving in Chicago. My mom, brother, and I will always travel to celebrate with my Uncle, aunt, and cousins who live in Chicago. We have been celebrating Thanksgiving in Chicago for as long as I can remember. Our family has a typical thanksgiving dinner with traditional foods such as a smoked turkey, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, rolls, etc. As an Indian family we also often have traditional Indian foods as well.”

Context: The informant, D, shared this ritual during a conversation about holiday traditions. D explained that she and her family always celebrate Thanksgiving in Chicago with their extended family. As D is Indian, her family also includes Indian dishes along with traditional Thanksgiving foods. To D, this ritual represents family unity and cultural blending.

Analysis: This is an example of a life-cycle calendar ritual that combines both ethnic and national traditions. Despite Thanksgiving being an American holiday, D’s family adapts it to reflect their own cultural identity by serving traditional Indian foods. This blending shows how traditional holidays can be adapted to specific cultures, allowing families to celebrate their heritage in all settings. The annual trip to Chicago emphasizes the importance of family connection, while the inclusion of Indian food showcases how ritual meals can be adapted to reflect cultural identity across generations. 

Halloween Costumes

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Ever since I was little, I have always dressed up for halloween. When I was a little kid, it was always something fun like Rapunzel or Dorothy. As I have gotten older, I have put more effort into more creative and funny costumes, often matching with my friends. Even now I still dress up, just this last Halloween my friends and I all dressed up as the Powerpuff Girls. Even though I’m not trick-or-treating and often going out with friends, I always have to be in costume for Halloween.”

Context: This ritual was shared by the informant, N, during a conversation about holiday traditions that continue into adulthood. N explained that regardless of her age she will always continue wearing a costume for Halloween. While wearing a costume may seem rather simple, it helps set Halloween apart from a regular day. N also noted that the process of planning a costume often involves friends, adding a social element to the tradition. To N, this ritual is less about trick or treating and more about the feeling of celebration and self expression.

Analysis: This is an example of a calendar-based ritual tied to seasonal celebration and self-expression. In the U.S., dressing up for Halloween is quite common and allows individuals to express their identity through costume. For children, it often represents imagination and fantasy, while for teens and adults it becomes more of a creative and social outlet. The continuation of this ritual into adulthood shows how folk traditions can evolve with age. As N grew, she didn’t abandon this ritual but instead adapted it to fit her changing identity.

Passover/Seder – Holiday

Nationality: Israeli-American
Age: 17
Occupation: High School Student
Residence: Bellevue, Washington
Language: English

Text:

The celebration of Passover starts with the Seder which is a big community event where a bunch of people get invited over. It is a very long event where there is structured text with a melody that retells the story of Jewish people being enslaved in Egypt. The entire dinner is choreographed, the text tells you when to drink, refill your wine, when to drink, when to lift the matza, etc. There are symbolic foods, such as a hard boiled egg which symbolizes the way Jewish people went from being soft to being hard due to pressure. There is a part where a glass of wine is meant to be left outside for someone from the story. At the end, there is a lot of singing after everyone has drunk four glasses of wine.

Context:

The informant was raised Orthodox Jewish and grew up engaging with their family’s Passover and Seder traditions. They say they enjoy it but the kosher matza that is used tastes bad. There is also a moment where the youngest child (which they are) has to stand on a chair and sing, which they also dislike. The informant says that the reason that the glass is left outside is because historically, people who were antisemitic would leave bodies outside the homes of Jewish families because they believed Jewish people drank blood. By opening the door in the middle, the group can check if someone had left a body outside. The informant mentioned that their grandmothers would argue about which melody was correct because each family had a different tune for the words.

Analysis:

This holiday is a community event, meant to bring people together. The purpose is to remember the past and commemorate the strength and perseverance of the Jewish people. Remembering the past of a culture is a way of remembering who the people are. In the case of Passover and slavery, remembering the past is a way of preventing it from happening again. As the Seder dinner is a historical retelling of the events, the purpose is to commemorate the people who came before while celebrating the survival of the people now.

Since the event happens at sundown (the start of the Jewish day), it is centered around food. The story itself incorporates the food into the process, connecting it to events or people. This entwines what people are eating with the story they are telling, allowing them to still eat during the event.

The modern addition of checking outside the house for a body is a result of antisemitism. Before, people wouldn’t have to worry about checking outside so that wasn’t part of the story. As it became necessary though, it became part of the celebration as the glass of wine was left specifically for a character in the historical story. The needs of the people were incorporated into the traditions of the ritual so well that if someone doesn’t know the context of opening the door, they might not realize it came from antisemitism.

The melodic element of the retelling comes from how Hebrew is spoken from the Torah which is in a singing-like manner. This is extended to the Hebrew spoken during this event because it is also a religious text. Melody allows for a text to be better remembered. By connecting words to a melody, it allows people to remember what to say for the whole three hour event better which would have otherwise been practically impossible. The informant’s own family had two different melodies that were used and they argued over which was correct. These melodies can become part of family identity and religious identity. This makes it hard for people to use a different melody because of how important their version is to them. Changing it would feel wrong and incorrect.