GP’s family is from Hungary. His father is a first generation American, and his aunt collected Hungarian family traditions that she then passed on to GP. They are no longer practiced by anyone in the family, in fact, they stopped practicing most of them after World War II. However, the stories of the traditions and customs are still passed down to family members, and collected by GP’s aunt.

“On the Feast of Corpus Christi, which falls in June and is celebrated on a Sunday, the people of a parish decorate about 3 shelters made of branches of fresh bloomed trees, inside they place a table to make an alter, these are usually right on the parish grounds. During the Mass the priest places the host in the monstrance (which is consecrated) for the adoration of the faithful.  First a group of small girls, in their white dresses and veils with baskets of fresh flowers, leads the procession out of church–altar boys follow with one swinging incense, the priest carrying the monstrance under a canopy supported by four poles and carried by men–the faithful all leave the church singing on their way to the first shelter. A special service is held and they proceed to the next shelter–after the last shelter they go back into church and services are concluded. After Mass they have booths set up outdoors and they sell “Maces Kolocs,” a large cookie that has a colorful paper figure put on with frosting that is shaped like Christ, Mary, Heart etc., which is only sold at this time. In the afternoon and evening they have outdoor dancing and food and it usually lasts all night. This is the first Sunday celebration, after which each Sunday all summer in all the towns and cities they hold their own feasts.”

Catholicism was a very important part of their heritage, and the detailed preparations and processions surrounding the feast attest to this. There is food made only for this event, and then celebrations, making it a very unique celebration of a Catholic event that is also associated with their Hungarian roots.

Game Day Ritual: Apple Sauce

Informant:

D. N. was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri as the fifth of eleven children living under his mother and father. He is one of nine boys and two girls, and played several sports in high school where he eventually matriculated to USC. He studied engineering and now works as a real estate developer living in Palos Verdes Estates, California with my mother. He has three sons, and I am the youngest of the three.

Folklore:

“So this superstition actually is your brother Trevor’s. I suspect he got this from me at a young age, though… I would always tell teams that I coached ‘It’s best to play on a half-full stomach.’ I would suggest eating light meals such as power bars or apple sauce before games. I encouraged your brother to do this, too. For as long as I can remember, actually… Trevor had two cups of apple sauce and water before each football game. From kindergarten through high school, he would have the same meal on game days. When he started to play for Penn… Mom and I had to ship this specific brand of apple sauce to Trevor until we found it on Amazon Prime for him. He ate this meal every football game of his career. You think I’m superstitious?”

Analysis:

This is extremely similar to the “Lucky Underwear” superstition. Again, I believe the placebo effect of feeling that you have done things right and want to continue the same method is very important. However, in this case, I believe that the physical effect could actually be real since it is an ingested food. What I find most interesting though, is that Trevor seemed to have learned this ritual from my Dad. It is passed down, even though my father isn’t the one who started it necessarily.