A friend of mine in class offered to read me my fortune. I was ecstatic to have her read me my fortune–which she says is legitimate due to her Gypsy heritage–and when she came she had a deck of cards neatly wrapped in cloth and a little book. “I use playing cards that have never been played with before, or else it won’t work.” I didn’t ask her why it needed to be specifically unplayed cards, but before I had the chance to she had formed a star out of playing cards. She told me to use the four that formed a cross first and pick a direction, explaining to me that one of the four is destined to occur. After I finished that, she told me to go the other way and pick the remaining cards, which looked like an X. She said the same thing about how only one will actually occur, but explained that two may be intertwined together. Each time a row of cards was revealed, she would look into the little book she had and read their interpretations which depended on the order of cards and whether one was upside down or not. I asked her where she got the meanings from, and she said she had collected them over the years from her grandmother and compiled them into the little book. Amazed that she’s been able to do that, she read me my fortune (which only had one positive fortune each) which didn’t look good. So I took it with a grain of salt and thanked her for giving me my fortune. Let’s hope none of it happens.
Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays
Look good, Play Good
Every football game my friend J would make sure our clothes were clean, shirts tucked in, everything in order, etc. Josh sticks to this ritual today; whenever he has an exam he’s nervous for, he will wear nicer clothes because he thinks he will do better. And he typically does.
I can believe that this ritual, since it is comforting that it would make him perform better. It probably would make me perform better due to the pseudo effect.
We Say “Yay”
A family ritual this informant has is to say “yay” instead of saying “grace.” Informant explained it as so: “Every time we sit down to eat, we all join hands and yell ‘1 2 3 yay’ as loud as we can and then we start eating.” Informant mentioned that her mother grew up very Catholic. As a result, when she left home she decided to rebel and that instead of saying “grace,” she’d say “yay.” Doing this is supposed to be a symbol for pure positive energy with no political or religious connotations and supposed to bring together the informant’s family for a moment of gratitude and love. The informant mentioned that she and her brother were both going to pass along this ritual, and that she likes how anyone can enjoy doing this ritual since it is so non-denominational. This ritual is always done when friends or family come to the informant’s house for a sit-down meal. The reaction to this is positive from all that have done it with the informant and her family. Doing this ritual makes the informant feel closer to her family and happier, since it is something unique to her family. I think this is a great way of remaining unbiased about religion and a good way to raise children. It is not specific enough to really focus on any sort of deity or religion but it is also wholesome and teaches children good morals and how to have gratitude for things in life; it’s not about thanking a higher being but appreciating the things that are present in your life, and this is something I greatly respect and think overshadows most premises of religion.
Christmas with the Academy
Every Christmas, the informant and his family goes over to his cousin’s house where they watch screeners with the whole family. His uncle is a lifetime member of the Academy and the whole family gets to watch all the major films on DVD before they come out in theaters. This is an annual thing that the informant and his family do. The informant had explained that typically he hates spending time with his family but every Christmas is the one time of year he actually looks forward to because of this holiday ritual. He also went on to mention that his “family does not operate well in general,” so watching these movies is a great way to bring the family all together to coexist with one another during this peaceful time of year. The family goes beyond immediate into extended as well so it’s a very big event for the informant and his family, since his mom has six brothers and sisters. It’s at this time of year where they put their differences aside to enjoy movies and focus on all the children. The informant said that if he were every in the Academy, he’d continue this ritual with his own family. But since his profession isn’t leaning towards the movie industry, he still wants to continue this ritual in some way or another, whether it be with old movies or television shows. The informant mentioned that it’s during this time of year that he feels super relaxed and happy around his family and hopes that this will continue for the rest of his life. I personally enjoy how movies bring together families, despite the context of the past and their present relationships. It’s very nice to hear that a group of people can put aside their differences to enjoy each other’s company through this annual event of watching films.
This folklore was collected via telephone call.
Niu Lang Zhi Nu
Folklore:
This folktale is titled Niu Lang Zhi Nu and is focused on a man who is a poor, ordinary cow herder and a woman who is a daughter of a goddess. In the story the man and the woman fall in love but their love is forbidden because of their different social statues. To prevent their relationship the woman’s father banishes both to opposites sides of the planet. However the bugs feel pity for the lovers and once every year build a bridge across the planet so they can meet. The day they meet every year is considered the origin of Chinese Valentine’s Day.
Background & Context:
This story was collected in a casual lunch setting. The informant was a 21 year old junior at USC. She is ethnically Chinese but has grown up in New York her entire life. The way she found about this folktale was by watching a popular Chinese drama from several years ago, that is a remake of the tale with the same name.
Final Thoughts:
My thoughts on this tale is that it is tragic and romantic origin story for the Chinese Valentine’s Day. This tale is also similar to other East Asian folktales I have collected. What I also found interesting is how the informant originally heard about the folktale through mass media. I think it is unique and good how the media is teaching the newer generation of old traditional folktales that in the past were passed down through other methods.
Annotation:
For another version of this piece of folklore, see the Chinese television series Niu Lang Zhi Nu.