Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Dia de los Muertos

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

I interviewed a really good friend of mine who is 19 years old and moved to the United States from Mexico City pretty recently to go to school. I thought he would be a perfect person to interview because I really don’t know much about Mexican culture especially that of Mexico City. Through some research and discovery, I did find that the city was the center for celebration and festivals across the nation and that people come here for the wonderful events. However, I wanted to find out which festivals my friend was a part of during his childhood.

Collector: “Are there any other festivals or holidays that you take part in which I might not know?”

Informant:”Another really important holiday is the Day of the Dead.”

Collector: “What happens during that holiday?”

Informant: “On this day which is on November 2nd is meant to just remember those who have died which I think is really important. My family and my friends’ families gather and we simply just pray for the close one’s who have died and help them during their spiritual journey. We call the day Dia de Muertos.”

It was very interesting to learn about another one of my friend’s traditions. I did a little more research to find out more about where this holiday came from. This ritual in particular has actually been present for about 3,000 years. In Aztec culture it fell on the ninth month of their calendar and was usually celebrated for that entire month. All of the festivals were dedicated to the goddess known as the Lady of the Dead. More recently on November 1st people celebrate the loss of children in whats known as Dia de los Angelitos and November 2nd was known as Dia de los Muertos. Families and friends during this time bring food and flowers to the grave to bring good spirits and tell stories for hours about those that have departed, usually in a humorous manner as they would tell funny stories about them.

Candlemas

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 15
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

I interviewed a really good friend of mine who is 19 years old and moved to the United States from Mexico City pretty recently to go to school. I thought he would be a perfect person to interview because I really don’t know much about Mexican culture especially that of Mexico City. Through some research and discovery, I did find that the city was the center for celebration and festivals across the nation and that people come here for the wonderful events. However, I wanted to find out which festivals my friend was a part of during his childhood.

Collector: “Any other celebrations you could tell me about?”

Informant: “Yes, there is one other tradition that we have that follows christmas called Candlemas which occurs on February 2nd. “This is in celebration of when the Child Jesus came to the temple. People dress up and go to church, then after there is a big party with my family and friends. We listen to music, dance, eat tamales, drink, and eat this soup called stole which is made from corn. It is always a very fun day.”

It was a very cool process to learn more about one of my good friends’ culture. After doing a little research I found out that this tradition is very close with Epiphany where everyone eats the kings’ cake and whoever finds the muneco, or small christ child, in the cake must organize Candlemas. The small child figure is then brought to the church to be blessed. Whoever drew the figure must prepare tamales and the whole family comes to dinner. This is a tradition that is passed down from generation to generation and gives the holiday an aspect of sharing and community.

The Kaguya Princess

Nationality: Japan
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Tokyo
Performance Date: 4/19/16
Primary Language: Japanese
Language: English

SF was born in Tokyo, Japan, and lived there for 10 years. She is a student at USC majoring in Business Administration. SF is in my Introduction to Music Technology class and she had a ton of Japanese folklore to share with me.

“In Japan, there’s a folktale called ‘Kaguya-hime’ (Kaguya princess). There was an old man who was cutting bamboo in the forest, and he found a baby girl inside one of the bamboos. He didn’t have a child and always wanted a child of his own, so he took her back to her house and raised the baby with his wife. She grew up to be super pretty, so all the rich people wanted to marry her but she said she would only marry if they could complete a request, which was always something impossible. But one day she flew away to the moon ‘cause she was actually a moon princess and had to go home.”

My informant grew up seeing variations of this story in children’s fairytale books and in cartoons, but primarily through means of media, as opposed to verbal means.

This tale portrays the archetype of the kind old man who is a loving adoptive father. This story is quite similar to several Chinese myths I have heard before, where a magical figure or deity is born from a plant, such as a peach or lotus. It also shows a sort of reverence the culture has for nature, conveying the idea that here are magical creatures who live inside of “normal” plants.

For another version of this fairytale, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tale_of_the_Princess_Kaguya

Krampus

Nationality: USA
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Tacoma
Performance Date: 4/19/16
Primary Language: English
Language: German

SP is from Tacoma, Washington, and is a USC student majoring in Business Administration. She is of German descent. She is a national champion in Tae Kwon Do and is a passionate member of Oriana Women’s Choir.

“In America children are taught that if you are naughty you will get coal for Christmas…Well the Germans have something similar to that. It’s called Krampus, otherwise known as the satanic form of Santa. Basically good little German children are taught if they behave badly Krampus will come into their home on Christmas night and kidnap them and basically keep them as prisoners or slaves for the rest of their lives. My dad swears that Krampus came into his room, but he promised to be good to his mom in order to avoid Krampus’ punishment. Ah, yes Germans are wonderful people. Did I mention that Krampus was half goat and half demon?”

“Also this legend tends to be more popular in Bavaria where my family lives.”

“Where did you first learn about Krampus?”

“I guess I learned it from my grandma who used to live in Munich. I didn’t really believe in this tale but my dad certainly did. During Christmas time parents tell their kids so they don’t behave badly or else Krampus will come and take them and hold them captive forever.”

Having grown up celebrating the Christmas holiday, I have heard of various adaptations of Santa Claus and superstitions parents tell their children to make them behave better (i.e. coal in the stocking), but I have not heard of Krampus before. Krampus seems like a much more extreme and scarier threat than not receiving your desired Christmas gift, especially for young children.

For another version of this legend, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krampus_%28film%29

Tanabata

Nationality: Japan
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Tokyo
Performance Date: 4/19/16
Primary Language: Japanese
Language: English

SF was born in Tokyo, Japan, and lived there for 10 years. She is a student at USC majoring in Business Administration. SF is in my Introduction to Music Technology class and she had a ton of Japanese folklore to share with me.

“In Japan, there’s a festival called ‘tanabata’ on July 7th. On that day each year, people say that 織姫 (orihime) and 彦星(hikoboshi), a princess and a prince who were separated by the milky way, get to reunite for just one night.”

“How did you learn about this festival? Have you taken part in it before?”

“Yeah, my parents told her about it, and I’ve also participated in it each year. You put a wish on an index card and put it on a bamboo tree.”

“Is tanabata celebrated in certain regions or cities, or is it celebrated everyhwere?”

“It’s celebrated all throughout Japan.”

It seems to be that this festival is based off of an old Japanese myth, as implied by my informant. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to ask her the full backstory behind the origin of the festival. It is interesting to note that the festival takes place all throughout Japan, which suggests that the festival is probably quite ancient. If it was a newer tradition, the festival would probably be celebrated in select regions of Japan instead.