Category Archives: Holidays

Holidays and holiday traditions

“Please Take One”

Context: While in class, a student and I discussed creepy Halloween events that occurred when we were kids. They shared with me that there was one old house that always had a bowl of candy in the front, but it never looked like anyone was in the house.

Text:

“During Halloween, we would always go to my friend’s house — this was in middle school — she lived near a swamp in Connecticut. All the houses were very spaced out, and so trick or treating would be really fun because we would always chat and play music in between each house. But it would be scary because it would get dark and we’d have to sprint from one house to another.

There was always one house that was haunted on the walk because it had a basket outside. It was probably an old lady that didn’t want to come to the door, so she’d leave some candy outside, but it was always good candy.

So each year, we would force someone to go and we’d always stand outside like ‘Okay…who’s going to do it?’ And they would sprint up to the house and grab the candy as fast as possible. We’d make them go for everybody, and we’d always look in the windows because we were scared. The basket had a sign that said “please take one”. So we’d take one and then we’d be like [to the person who’d been selected] you have to get another one.”

Analysis:

This was a humorous tale that reminded me of Halloween kids in movies, who always naturally name the house that doesn’t look like the others as “haunted.” It’s so interesting how children can come up with monsters and their own cautionary tales. Despite knowing the risk, they still advocate for the cause, which in this case was the candy. On the flip side, I’m curious whether the possible adult in this case recognized the repetitive initiation and played along by letting the kids be kids. Additionally, our discussions about popular culture’s influence may have encouraged kids to test this theory more often during a scary event (movies like Scooby Doo and Goosebumps).

The Caroling Party

Age: 22

Context: My friend told me about a sweet tradition her and mother started that eventually evolved into an event shared in the community around the holidays.

Text:

“My mom and I throw it every year. And, um, we bring together, like, neighbors, friends, and we started off like, it was only maybe 30 people. And now it’s upwards of, like, 75 people that come every year. Everyone looks so forward to it. And we go up and down the street, and we collect, like, the neighbors, we sing to them, and then they join us for the next house.

And then we all come back and have drinks and desserts, and we sing songs and play music. I think it’s just really nice. It’s like my mom’s colleagues and her old piano teacher. And all of my childhood friends. And then they bring, like, their favorite people. I think that like, it’s just nice. These people from all walks of lilfe, in all areas of our lives, just come together for this one massive, this party, and everyone contributes to dessert. We always have 2 full tables now that we set up for the dessert.”

Analysis:

Caroling has been around for decades and has evolved over generations in various forms. Instead of going door-to-door and leaving, they collect people over time. Most of these songs tell stories of Jesus and other significant aspects of Christmas; however, I find it interesting that even if these people don’t align religiously with Christian beliefs, the songs and collaborative singing make it a staple for them to participate.

These songs do not carry the same political intensity as Depression-era labor movement songs or the ones we discussed, carrying warnings or stories of those lost. However, as folk music sometimes does, it brings people together to sing in unison. This celebration also ties into our in-class discussion of foods and how recipes are passed down or shared within families. In this case, food is part of a specific celebration, and it’s fun to learn how it’s grown over time with each new group of people who have joined them.

Christmas struffoli (honey balls)

Age: 50s Hometown: Bronx, NY

Performance Context: I experienced this recipe and performance firsthand every December/ around Christmas time as the informant is my father. He comes from a large Puerto Rican and Italian-American family from the Bronx. His Italian family’s side are from Sicily and Naples.

Recipe/Description:

According to my father (the informant) – dough is hand mixed with orange zest and it cools a large gathering, usually the kids/cousins, roll the dough into strips called the ‘snakes’ of a certain thickness of a finger. The snakes are then chopped into squares which are then rolled by hand. They are then deep fried and left to cool in a pot of honey with a splash of sambuca as the secret ingredient. This is usually done in huge batches meant to be tinned and given to neighbors, friends, extended family, and people like doctors, teachers, dentists, etc.

The rolling technique along with the size of the balls are highly specified as the smaller the piece the crispy they end of getting fried. The informant states that nowadays their family (myself included) “does not create the proper sized dough pieces” and that back in the day the informants grandmother would make them “re-do entire batches of them if they weren’t up to standard” .

My father mentions there were a staple among his childhood and grew up sitting at a table rolling dough all day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. He remembers the act so vividly because his hands would start cramping and he would be so bored when the younger cousins would give up and leave the ‘rolling’ table.

Analysis:

This is a classic example of family/holiday foodways. The making of the Struffoli becomes a whole day and entire family affair. Once the day is decided to be dedicated to making honey balls, nobody can escape the kitchen. I think the fact that it’s such a labor intensive process, repetitive and boring, keeps the memory of this tradition so vivid. “It’s a very unique tradition”, even among other Italian-American traditions, according to my Father.

The specific snake rolling technique is a perfect piece of kinetic folklore, it’s a physical skill passed down through imitation, using the “thickness of a finger” as a marker. My father’s grandmother, and then his own, role in ensuring the quality shows how this specific tradition is policed and ensured to be passed down consistently generation to generation. The act of gifting the honey balls also serves as social currency, showing appreciation and love as well as signaling those in the community of their Italian heritage.

Indian money-giving superstition

Context: The participant, my roomate (intials NS), comes from an Indian family that now lives in the Bay Area. Both her parents were born in India and partake in the pra

Text:

NS: Anytime you give money to someone for a wedding or birthday, let’s say around $100, you’re supposed to give $101 or else it’s bad luck.

Me: Who is it bad luck for: you or the person getting the money?

NS: the recipient

Me: And what is it about adding $1 that’s ‘good luck?

NS: It’s not really the $1 but when a number isn’t whole or even its harder to divide mathematically. So it symbolizes growth and prosperity.

NS: Whole numbers are like ‘flat’ and ‘finished’ so by giving a indivisible number you’re giving out wishes of growth and endless possibilities to the person.

Me: Wow, so do you partake in this or have you just grown up with people who have.

NS: Well, I don’t really give a lot of people money haha but for the Indian holiday, Raksha Bandhan, my brother gives me an uneven amount of money?

Me: Can you explain this holiday?

NS: Yeah, so a sister ties a bracelet around her brother and in return, the brother gives her money. It’s supposed to be before the brother goes off to war, and the money would help her survive if he happened to die at war. The bracelet is also supposed to be for good fortune and symbolizes their bond.

Analysis:

The practice of adding a single dollar is a type of blessing in Indian culture. In this form of numerology, a round number represents completion or a closed cycle, which can symbolically suggest the end of a relationship, wealth, or growth. By adding one, the giver creates an uneven and indivisible number that is hard to find an even split of. This acts as a catalyst for continuity, ensuring that the gift remains open and invites future prosperity to follow. It effectively shifts the transaction from a commercial payment to a sacred offering, signaling that the bond between the giver and the receiver is meant to be undying and ever-expanding.

Diaz de los Muertos and One’s Ancestral History

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Age: 28

Text: CB – “Known well as Diaz de los Muertos or day of the dead, its a very important holiday in the Hispanic calendar. It has a lot of crossover with the Americanized Halloween, but it’s distinctive differences go far beyond the costumes and candies. The point is to remember our dearly departed. During it, we bring out all the old photos from my grandmother’s family and my grandfather’s family, my mother side (Nana, and Tata respectfully). Specifically what we do is help my Nana and Tata arrange all their family photos on the banister and dining room table so that they may join us for one last meal. We offer our prayers to them and little candies of their favorite and light candles in their honor. As the photos come out, my grandparents and my aunts and uncles will begin telling stories about these people Somehow, we’ve heard 1000 times and never interrupt. Others are new to us and add another source of identity to where we came from.”

Interviewer – “What is the most memorable story you’ve heard about your ancestors?”

CB – “My big Nana (great-grandmother) was a loving, but firm woman. All her children learned to dodge at a very young age, for she was proficient with wooden chanclas. One time my mother snuck out at night to go see a movie when she got back they had closed and locked her window This wasn’t that unusual. Typically they would just spend the night on the roof at this time, however she went to big Nana‘s house, knocked on the door and gave her a sob story about my grandfather locking her out. This caused my great grandmother to storm over to their house (my Nana’s family lived very close to each other) and hammer on the door. When my mother’s father opened it, he was immediately hitting his head with a wooden chanclas. She chased him around the property for about an hour while my mom darted to her room and laughed from her window.”

Context: Diaz de los Muertos is an annual Hispanic holiday to celebrate the dead of one’s family. Typically it involves large gatherings, bringing together members of extended family to celebrate and share stories about those who have passed. In the case of CB and their family, some stories pop up and stay the same each year, and each year each family member listens on with respect and fondness. Besides, the candy, feasts, and decorations this holiday is additionally anointed with, at the heart of it rests the tales of those gone to show that they are and never will be forgotten. CB has been told this story about his mother sneaking out a number of times, year after year, and it never gets old.

Analysis: Being both an annually calendrical holiday, there is an air of spiritualism, belief, but also prolonged familial ritual for Diaz de los Muertos for CB and their family, as is with most families who celebrate it traditionally. The art and act of gathering around to tell stories about those who have passed to allow their spirits to not fade into obscurity is a prime example of continued tradition and using a holiday as the medium to come together to do the sharing. This family-based festival, where food is offered and made, candy is eaten, stories are exchanged, and to take pride on those who have passed is a wide mixture of many folk group mediums, from foodways, to folk belief, to folk speech and narratives, and finally this annual holiday which encompasses it all. Diaz de los Muertos is a rich example of folk culture for the Hispanic community, and continues to shine on for each family regardless of how they celebrate it.