Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Chinese New Years Attire

Informant: N.N

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Burbank, CA

Performance Date: 04/26/2024

N.N is 19 years old and is from Burbank, CA. I am close friends with his brother, so N.N is an acquaintance of mine. I asked him if there are any festivals or rituals he participates in regularly. He tells me about a specific dress code / costume his family wears every Chinese New Year. 

“Every Chinese New Year, it’s all about wearing red in our family. It’s a tradition that’s been around since I was born. We did this because red meant good luck. As a kid, all I thought was “Damn, I gotta find red,” haha. My mom taught me early on about this ritual—it’s supposed to ward off bad luck and bring prosperity. I personally don’t believe in the effects of this ritual but I don’t mind doing it either.”

Wearing red for Chinese New Year is deeply rooted in cultural and historical beliefs about prosperity and protection. I believe his family started this to ward off bad luck, specifically negative energies and misfortunes. This tradition also reflects their value of family importance, since everyone comes together in a shared practice to start the year positively. I interpret this custom as a beautiful way to wish for the best for your family while looking forward to a hopeful future.

Eating Haroseth for Passover

Informant: M.M

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Age: 20

Occupation: Student

Residence: Denver, CO

Performance Date: 04/25/2024

M.M is 20 years old and is from Denver, Colorado. She is my friend from USC, and I asked her if there are any festivals or rituals she participates in regularly. She tells me about a holiday custom his dad does for Passover. 

“During Passover, which is this big Jewish holiday we celebrate every year, my dad always makes this special dish called Haroseth. It’s kind of a mix of fruits, nuts, and spices, and it tastes amazing. What’s cool about it is that the recipe has been passed down in our family for generations. Passover is pretty much the only time Dad ever cooks, which makes it extra special for me because Mom usually handles the kitchen. It’s kind of a treat to see him in there, taking over for once. This tradition has been around since I was a kid, and I interpret it as a way for us to connect back to our Jewish roots and kind of remember our ancestors through this longtime, shared recipe.”

Personally, this recipe keeps a part of their history alive. Culturally, it connects them to their Jewish heritage, celebrating freedom and resilience, which is what Passover is all about. Their passed-down recipe signifies how long this celebration has stood in their family and ancestors. So I assume this holiday was really important for them. It gives them a chance to remember where they came from and strengthen their identity.

Guy Fawkes

Folklore:

“Ok so in around the 1580s the King of England was on the throne —I think it was King James— and this man called Guy Fawkes was a protestant who was leading a revolt against the king because treatment of the Catholics. They filled the cellars with gunpowder to destroy the parliament, but they were discovered and caught before they could light the powder. He was hung, drawn, and quartered. They hung him by the neck and cut his chest and stomach. So now, every November 15th, England celebrates the attempted murder of the King with the Guy Fawkes Festival of mainly fireworks to recreate what would have happened. 

Even in France we celebrate Guy Fawkes, there are fireworks all night, and people get together and party. As a kid we would go to the countryside and all of the families would go to this big field and the parents would light a bunch of fireworks. There is food and music and drinking (we French will take any reason to drink haha) and it was one of my favorite celebrations as a kid. When I learned that the man we are celebrating was hung, it was kind of bittersweet. It is a fun day but a sad story”

Context:

CD is a French woman in her early 20s. She was born and raised in Paris (and lives there now) but her family is originally from England. In her family, because of their British roots, Guy Fawkes is one of her family’s main celebrated holidays. Every year, her uncle who grew up in England taught her the history of the holiday.

Analysis:

This Festival is different from traditional folk festivals as, aside from the fact that it happens yearly, it does not commemorate a change of sorts. Instead it is in remembrance of a significant event in the cultures history. It uses symbolism, in this case the fireworks, to represent the revolution and celebrates the cultural ideals and passing on their history.

Homecoming Ritual

Ritual:

“Well this is moreso of just a family thing but in my family, we have a lot of people who either live, work, or study internationally. So when someone comes home it is tradition for them to make the rounds at all of our relatives’ houses —whoever wasn’t able to meet you at the airport— and then someone will make you your favorite traditional food. Honestly it’s kind of annoying, especially if you just finished exams or whatever, but I’ll never complain when it comes to free food. It’s those moments that I think about when I’m away, and I never regret them. The food I normally ask for is these things called “Magwinya” [translated to Fatcakes] which is basically a sweet fried dough treat. You can buy them at the corner shop but my aunt make the best ones and always has them fresh ready for me when I get to her house.”

Context:

KG is a 23 year old man from Botswana, Africa, who is currently studying in Paris, France. It is customary in Botswana culture to heavily cherish and value family and community, and to express that through quality time and food. 

Analysis:

As with Folklore at large, the ritual KG’s family partakes in encourages and fosters community and culture. The emphasis on community is by making sure that people who have been “away from home” for long are somewhat forced to reconnect with their community by visiting relatives face to face and spending time with them. This custom reinforces culture as well, for it is not just any food that is offered to those homecoming, it is traditional food of the culture, to connect them with their past and passing down/over history and knowledge through food and taste.

Lewes Bonfires

Festival:

“The Lewes Bonfire is a really interesting tradition that my uncle also told me about. There is a city called Bristol in England, Lewes is a small town near Bristol. Every year for an entire day everything gets shut down. Even the police, so there are technically no laws for that day, and you cannot enter or leave the town for the entire day. It started because in history, there were protestants murdered by catholics by burning them to death. This made people really mad and so every year they now celebrate the day with a lot of bonfires. It is so big that there are 7 committees just to organize the celebration. During the day there are floats that go through the streets and at night they all get lit in the bonfire. It is really weird because you will just wake up and there is a huge parade and no buses or trains are running.”

Context:

CD is a French woman in her early 20s. She was born and raised in Paris (and lives there now) but her family is originally from England. Many people in Europe know about the Lewes bonfires because it is such a large celebration. It is one of my British uncle’s favorite days. He grew up in England and in his youth he would go to Lewes with his friends solely to experience the celebrations. CD learned the history of this holiday from her uncle.

Analysis: 

This folk festival is cyclical as it happens once yearly. It also exhibits symbolism through the ritual of building and subsequently burning the floats and it represents the appreciation of the protestant religion and their unjust persecution. The festival is very exemplary of the country’s identity as it emphasizes the revolution and political landscape of the culture and people both in the present and in the past.