Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Warning From a Ghost Father

Nationality: American
Age: 18
Occupation: College Student
Residence: Norristown, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: November 29, 2024
Primary Language: English

CONTEXT:

The informant holds this story as a memory from her childhood as she has now begun college. Her father passed away from cancer months after she was born and has been raised by a single mother. She has a close relationship with her mother and often learns about her father and his character. The story is a close connection to her family that her and her mother reminisce on. She is my lifelong best friend, and this story was told to me by her and recorded with the details she provided.

STORY:

“When I was really little my mom had a ghost encounter. I had a nanny for a while who would babysit me and take care of me when my mom was still working at her current job or if she was out late. Well, one night she was out pretty late and came home after I was asleep. She heard a bunch of footsteps or noises coming from upstairs where my bedroom is.”

“…I obviously don’t really remember this because I was still a baby, but my mom remembers it well and told me when I was older. But after hearing the noises, she walked upstairs to go to my room, and she thought she saw my dad, who died a year or so prior, in the area outside of my room upstairs. She said it was like an outline of him whose arm and finger were pointing into my bedroom, almost urging my mom to go in. She was caught off guard and entered my room.”

“…From there, she found a hat on top of the lap in the corner of the room. The light was on and the hat was scorching hot, like it probably would’ve started burning or catching fire within minutes. It most likely would have turned into a fire if she didn’t think she heard someone or something happening upstairs when she came in. The hat situation happened because my nanny made a dumb mistake and put the hat on the lamp while it was on and it got hotter and hotter. My mom fixed the situation at almost the perfect time after seeing the sight of my dad at the entry of my doorway.”

INFORMANT’S TAKEAWAY

“The sighting of my dad has to be connected to the problem with the babysitter. Considering it wasn’t very long since my dad passed away, I think he was definitely giving my mom a warning sign and kind of reconnecting with us in a sense during that moment. My mom hearing the noises right after entering the house also shows how she was meant to go up just in time. It’s genuinely such a crazy story and experience. My dead dad helped stop our house from catching on fire!”

PERSONAL THOUGHTS:

Ghosts tend to connect to superstitions or real-world events in unique ways like this. I think the sighting of the father’s ghost figure really brings together the concept of family and security. The ghost showing up to the mom not long after passing reveals the authenticity of the story, especially considering how he showed up during a time of danger with the burning hat. It also makes sense that he was there for his daughter since he died shortly after her birth. Overall, the mom’s experience underscores how ghosts appear to their families at certain important times.

A Ghost Friend in the New House

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Investment Company Employee
Residence: Blue Bell, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: November 28, 2024
Primary Language: English

CONTEXT:

The informant, my aunt, has one daughter and she and my uncle raised her in the same house for years. Their daughter became close with the neighbors and their daughter who was about five years younger than her. The couple next door also had a little boy a few years later. Eventually, the neighbors and their two kids decided to move, and the various ghost encounters occurred at their new house. The parents stayed in touch and told the informant all about the creepy events that were occurring. The informant provided me with the details of the story and I recorded it.

STORY:

“When the two of them moved out with both of the kids, some of the first things we heard from them afterward were about how they think the new house is haunted. Creepy things started to happen in the backyard, and the kids both started mentioning stuff about a woman. After looking into it more, they discovered that a previous owner had committed suicide in the house. The pieces started to make sense and creep them out even more.”

“…There were so many different instances where the mom noticed the ghost or something about it. First, the kids would act strange when they were outside playing in the yard. The two of them would tell her that they were talking to ‘the woman’ and it confused her. She was concerned, but it wasn’t anything conclusive yet. Then, she would notice the swings or other things in the yard moving with nobody there, and their dog would just sit and stare or bark occasionally. She started to conclude that the house must be haunted.”

“After she kept noticing little things, the kids would again tell her that they were talking to ‘the woman.” Their mom remained freaked out about the ghost of the woman who was most likely roaming around outside. I’m not exactly sure what else happened after that, if they ever saw the ghost directly, or if anything else came of it. It must have been a harmless ghost who was finding ways to stay in the house.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION:

“The new house was definitely haunted. The previous owner committed suicide and was most likely haunting the house. Since the kids were still pretty young at the time, it’s also possible that the ghost was making herself known to them and even communicating with them. It was so interesting to hear about from the mom after they moved. She always joked about us coming over and seeing the ghost.”

PERSONAL TAKEAWAY:

This is a very straightforward ghost story that was very interesting to hear about since it was so connected to me personally. It embodies so many traditional motifs of ghosts. The haunted house is a classic and is one of the most common instances of ghost sightings or supernatural experiences. The ghost connecting with the children and alarming the dog is also common and makes the story a lot more eerie. It may just be a case of overthinking or disorientation due to them having just moved, but I think all of this coming together and knowing the previous owner died tragically, there has to be some supernatural elements present. I wonder if anything else happened or if the ghost is still there today!

Burmese Water Festival

TEXT:

This is a tradition that I have some experience with and that my aunt told me more about. When I was little, every April we would go to our local Burmese temple to celebrate Burmese New Year. After sitting through Buddhist religious services, us children would be handed little squirt guns. We were encouraged to go outside and shoot each other with water. There were often blow-up water slides and sprinklers outside, too. It was a lot of fun, so I never questioned what the meaning of all the water was. We called it the “water festival”, and I learned from my aunt that getting sprayed with water symbolizes a cleansing of the year’s sins and a clean slate for the year to come. She told me that in Burma the celebration is much more involved. Burmese people get inside open vehicles, like Jeeps or pickup trucks and form a parade. Each car passes by small stages where dancers perform in Burmese style. My aunt remembers them dancing to a song specifically relevant to the water festival. Other people on the small stage are tasked with throwing water at the passing parade of open vehicles so that everyone on them can be cleansed. 

CONTEXT:

My aunt noted that this was a tradition that Thai people also do, creating a sort of cultural bond between the two countries. She acknowledged that a lot of Southeast Asian countries share common cultural elements. 

My aunt also said that in Burma, teenage relationships were frowned upon. Dating wasn’t really a thing for her and her siblings growing up. The expectation was that they’d eventually bring someone to their parents and ask if they could marry. It wasn’t about the child’s romantic feelings as much as it was about the parents’ feelings. This relationship was subverted when the whole family came to the U.S., but that’s a different story. 

The reason I bring this up is because, strangely enough, the water festival marked one of the only times when flirtatious behavior was not only allowed, but even encouraged. Older children would chase their crushes around with water guns, trying to get water on each other. For children in general, the festival is more about having fun than it is about cleansing the past year religiously. 

My aunt acknowledged that in her generation she only remembers going to one official wedding. Everyone else eloped to marry someone their parents didn’t approve of. My aunt said a lot of them went to Shan state, a part of Burma that is known for its natural beauty.

ANALYSIS:


The water festival once again displays the ideals of community and neighborhoods in Burmese culture. Most holidays or events revolve around large groups of people that aren’t all blood related. It also displays the inseparable integration of the Buddhist religion into culture, but asserts that religion is more important the older you are. The water festival contains Buddhist services and food offerings are always brought to the monks who lead them, establishing respect for them as well as restating their central purpose to Burmese society as religious guides. Finally, my aunt’s generation of the family is very interesting because they seem to subvert lots of the traditional Burmese expectations for marriage and family. A few of my aunts and uncles aren’t Burmese at all (including my dad) – something that might be frowned upon back in Burma. However, they all had official, parent-supported weddings. I do know that my grandparents didn’t exactly follow their parents’ wishes and eloped, so they might be part of the transition to more romantically-motivated marriage too.

Htamane Puay – Burmese Glutinous Rice Festival

TEXT:

Every year, in February, small neighborhoods will gather and participate in “Htamane Puay”, or the Glutinous Rice Festival. Traditionally, the women of the neighborhood will prepare large quantities of sticky rice ingredients (rice, nuts, coconuts, seeds, etc.) and throw them into an enormous pot. Then, it is the men of the neighborhood who must be constantly stirring the pot so that the rice doesn’t stick or burn. They use enormous paddles to do this because anything else wouldn’t be large enough. Many men gather around the same pot to continually stir at the same time. The rice is offered with prayer to Buddha at dawn and is distributed to everyone in the community throughout the day. It is all done in the spirit of prosperity to come while giving thanks to what they have.

CONTEXT:

My aunt told me about this event and participated in it when she was younger, along with the rest of my extended family. The “neighborhood” was an important unit of people to them, just one step larger than family. Much of their lives when they lived in Burma revolved around those that lived nearest to them. They took care of each other, ate together, went to school together, and played with each other in the streets. Festivals like these were moments to remind a community to appreciate each and every one of its members. Also, the pictures we googled seemed much smaller than how my aunt remembered it. She thinks the pots have grown smaller over time, possibly due to the diminishing importance of the “neighborhood”.

ANALYSIS:

There’s a lot going on here for a folklorist to analyze. Most obvious is how closely knit a community can be compared to communities in other parts of the world. They rely on each other in times of hardship and celebrate together in times of prosperity – they work as a team and have responsibility towards one another. Second, it’s clear that common religion plays an important role in the daily lives and traditions of the community. They give offerings to Buddha and he gives back. Finally, there’s the assumed gender roles in the community. Men are expected to do manual labor while women are expected to do the more general parts of cooking. Both are equally important and the food would not be ready without one or the other.

Family Musical Performance at Get-Togethers

Text: 

“Whenever we have a family gathering, everyone brings their instruments and we put together a big family music performance – usually bluegrass or some symphonic ensemble piece. This ritual serves as a bonding experience for us. It’s something we’ve done for generations. Whenever we have a family gathering, everyone brings their instruments and we put together a big family music performance – usually bluegrass or some symphonic ensemble piece.”

Context: 

The informant is a 21-year-old university student from the United States, of Irish descent. The aforementioned family event happens annually, usually in summer. The informant came from a family of musicians: her grandparents taught music education at the university level, her mother is a composer and a professional trumpet player, her father directs marching bands, her aunt and uncle are percussionists, her cousins sing, play fiddle, and study guitar at university, and the informant herself play horn and piano. The informant considers this musical performance a significant bonding experience among family members.

Interpretation: 

As a family-specific identity marker, music distinguishes the informant’s family and is a characterizing trait shared across generations. To celebrate the family’s reunion and each family member’s musical heritage and accomplishments, it’s natural to arrange and perform a symphonic ensemble piece that may be only applicable to the informant’s family, for each family specializes in a variety of musical instruments and different related skills. On a personal level, being a musician is a part of the informant’s identity that gives her a sense of belonging to her loved family.

It’s worth noting that the family musical event happens annually in summer, which is likely due to the beginning of summer break when the youngest generation of the family returns home from their universities. This highlights how the musical trait is a heritage passed down and will likely be continued as the torch is handed over to the youngest generation, with most of them pursuing music-related education. Correspondingly, hosting the event in summer is not only due to factually it’s when all families reunite, but also because of the focus on the youngest generation and the expectation that they will continue the family’s musical professionalism like their parents and grandparents.