Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Qingming – Tomb Sweeping Festival

Nationality: Chinese-American
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/19/16
Primary Language: English
Language: Cantonese, Mandarin

Text (I is the informant, M is the collector)

I: There’s this festival called “Qingming” or, like, tomb sweeping festival. And, basically, it’s where we go to a cemetery, or.. Um… what do you call those other thing?

M: A graveyard? I’m not sure

I: Just cause cemetery and graveyard sounds like too dark and gloomy, but like, it’s on a grassy hill with flowers, it’s chill. Anyways, we kind of just cleaned up the graves… and the tombstones — hence tomb sweeping day. And, I — I think it’s supposed to be like a family reunion type of thing, because that’s how it was, where all my aunts and uncles and stuff would come and clean up the graves and eat some pork and stuff. But, now it’s just been like two — yeah, two families at a time or something.  I missed it, ‘cause I was at school this year, but yeah…. Um, oh yeah. And during the festival week, we kind of sweep the other tombs around — like the neighbors of my ancestors grave. Out of respect, I think. And, I think my mom told me, so we don’t piss off the neighbors. Also, during that time, we kind of burn these…. Patterned paper? It’s cut into shapes of like shoes and clothes and stuff for, um, my great-grandpa. And there’s also, like, fake money called hell money and then… these two other similar hell currency

Thoughts

The informant seemed to focus mainly on the social/familial aspect of this tradition. This makes sense as the informant’s parents are from China, but she is herself American and has never visited China. She says that she views Chinese traditions as similar to family reunions, as they are times where her family gets together to celebrate. It seems that the meaning of this festival for her has less to do with the traditions themselves, and more to do with the people she performs them with.

The Baby Jesus gave me my presents

Nationality: Venezuelan
Age: 19
Occupation: Chemical Engineering Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/8/16
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish

Background

The informant spent the early years of her life in Venezuela, but her family moved to the United States when she was 9 years old. She only remembers some of her life in Venezuela.

Context

The informant shared this story while having a lunch break during a leadership retreat. People were discussing when and how they discovered that Santa Claus wasn’t real and she laughed and explained that at the age we were finding out that Santa wasn’t real, she was just learning that the idea of Santa even existed.

Text

[I was unable to get a direct transcription of what was said]

The informant said that she had never heard of Santa Claus until she got older when talking to other American children. Instead, on Christmas, her parents told her that her presents were given to her by the Baby Jesus himself (Niño Jesús). She would have to place her shoes in front of the nativity scene, and the next morning her presents would be on top of them.

Thoughts

The informant talked about this tradition as if it was humorous because of how different it is from American tradition, but in a way that celebrated that difference rather than making fun of it. It seemed like she is able to use her Venezuelan Christmas traditions as a way differentiate herself from her purely American peers and connect herself with her Venezuelan upbringing, even though she seems very much American now, having spent over half of her life in the U.S.

Zog Nit Keynmol – Yiddish Song

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 71
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Mexico
Performance Date: 9/25/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Yiddish
Original Yiddishזאָג ניט קיין מאָל, אַז דו גייסט דעם לעצטן וועג,
כאָטש הימלען בלײַענע פֿאַרשטעלן בלויע טעג.
קומען וועט נאָך אונדזער אויסגעבענקטע שעה –
ס׳וועט אַ פּויק טאָן אונדזער טראָט: מיר זײַנען דאָ!פֿון גרינעם פּאַלמענלאַנד ביז ווײַסן לאַנד פֿון שניי,
מיר קומען אָן מיט אונדזער פּײַן, מיט אונדזער וויי,
און וווּ געפֿאַלן ס׳איז אַ שפּריץ פֿון אונדזער בלוט,
שפּראָצן וועט דאָרט אונדזער גבֿורה, אונדזער מוט!ס׳וועט די מאָרגנזון באַגילדן אונדז דעם הײַנט,
און דער נעכטן וועט פֿאַרשווינדן מיט דעם פֿײַנט,
נאָר אויב פֿאַרזאַמען וועט די זון אין דער קאַיאָר –
ווי אַ פּאַראָל זאָל גיין דאָס ליד פֿון דור צו דור.

דאָס ליד געשריבן איז מיט בלוט, און ניט מיט בלײַ,
ס׳איז ניט קיין לידל פֿון אַ פֿויגל אויף דער פֿרײַ,
דאָס האָט אַ פֿאָלק צווישן פֿאַלנדיקע ווענט
דאָס ליד געזונגען מיט נאַגאַנעס אין די הענט.

טאָ זאָג ניט קיין מאָל, אַז דו גייסט דעם לעצטן וועג,
כאָטש הימלען בלײַענע פֿאַרשטעלן בלויע טעג.
קומען וועט נאָך אונדזער אויסגעבענקטע שעה –
ס׳וועט אַ פּויק טאָן אונדזער טראָט: מיר זײַנען דאָ

Zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho,
S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

Fun grinem palmenland biz vaysn land fun shney,
Mir kumen on mit undzer payn, mit undzer vey,
Un vu gefaln s’iz a shprits fun undzer blut,
Shprotsn vet dort undzer gvure, undzer mut!

S’vet di morgnzun bagildn undz dem haynt,
Un der nekhtn vet farshvindn mit dem faynt,
Nor oyb farzamen vet di zun in der kayor –
Vi a parol zol geyn dos lid fun dor tsu dor.

Dos lid geshribn iz mit blut, un nit mit blay,
S’iz nit keyn lidl fun a faygl oyf der fray,
Dos hot a folk tsvishn falndike vent
Dos lid gezungen mit naganes in di hent.

To zog nit keyn mol, az du geyst dem letstn veg,
Himlen blayene farshteln bloye teg.
Kumen vet nokh undzer oysgebenkte sho –
S’vet a poyk ton undzer trot: mir zaynen do!

 

English Translation

Never say this is the final road for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message: we are here!

From lands so green with palms to lands all white with snow.
We shall be coming with our anguish and our woe,
And where a spurt of our blood fell on the earth,
There our courage and our spirit have rebirth!

The early morning sun will brighten our day,
And yesterday with our foe will fade away,
But if the sun delays and in the east remains –
This song as motto generations must remain.

This song was written with our blood and not with lead,
It’s not a little tune that birds sing overhead,
This song a people sang amid collapsing walls,
With pistols in hand they heeded to the call.

Therefore never say the road now ends for you,
Though leaden skies may cover over days of blue.
As the hour that we longed for is so near,
Our step beats out the message: we are here!

Zog Nit Keynmol (translates to Never Say, also known as Hymn of the Partisans), is a traditional Yiddish/Jewish song that is considered to be one of the main anthems of the Jews that managed to survive the Holocaust. It was written during WWII by a Jewish prisoner of the Vilna Ghetto, after which it quickly became a symbol of resistance agaisnt the Nazi occupation. Sang to the tune of a traditional military march, the over time came to symbolize the memories of those lost during the war. It is often sung at annual Holocaust memorial ceremonies.

The informant, Reyna Babani, is a 71-year-old Mexican Jew who lives in Mexico City. Because she grew up in such a close-knit community, Reyna considers herself an expert on Jewish culture. She was taught the song as a young girl in a Yiddish elementary school in Mexico City. Beginning at the age of 13, all students were made to participate in a yearly Holocaust memorial ceremony. Because of this, at that age Reyna quickly became familiar with the song and the heartache that was associated it. Although the song was considered quite sad, she insists that it also had a hopeful tone, as the lyrics called for courage and strength during difficult times.

Songs like this are great indicators of what life was like for Jews after the war. Clearly, they were very distraught over what had occurred. But somehow, they managed to stay positive and move on through the inspiring songs sung by the youth. It appears that children like Reyna were instrumental in keeping Jewish communities alive and strong.

The Australian Dawn Service

Nationality: Australian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Australia
Performance Date: 9/26/2016
Primary Language: English

According to the informant, there is a traditional service that occurs during the annual Anzac Day holiday (Australian equivalent of Veteran’s Day). Every year, it is traditional to attend a Dawn Service (named after the time of day when it occurs) at one of the many WWI soldier memorial shrines located across the country. The ceremony begins with the playing of a military tune by a bugle player. This is followed by two minutes of silence and several commemorative speeches made by various military officials. Although it is not required, many wear red Poppy flowers on their chests, which were originally meant a sign of respect for the soldiers that were lost during the WWI Gallipoli Campaign. These now honor the deaths of all Australian soldiers, however. Others like to leave wreaths at the shrine to honor the sacrifices that these soldiers made.

The informant, Angus Guthrie, is a 20 year old student who was born and raised in Australia. Because he and his family have been in the country for a very long time, he believes that he is quite familiar with Australian folklore and traditions. Angus claims that it is impossible for any true Australians to be unfamiliar with the Dawn Ceremony, as it is a national holiday that is instrumental to Australian identity. All parents are expected to teach their children to respect the holiday and to participate in its ceremonies. Even when Angus was not in Australia one year for the Anzac Day holiday, he was still encouraged to find and attend a Dawn Ceremony nearby. Angus felt a deep desire to express his strong emotional connection to the ceremony and to the holiday in general, as it is a yearly event that unites all Australians and incites a strong sense of national brotherhood. This is because the ceremony is now used to honor the soldiers that perished during all Australian battles, not just during the Gallipoli Campaign.

The Dawn Ceremony is interesting because it seems far more revered and complex than the Veterans Day ceremonies us Americans usually experience. While we do attend parades and memorial services, we do not wake up early in the morning and travel to shrines in mass numbers like the Australians do. It would also seem strange for an American to attend a memorial service in a different country. While the reasons behind these differences may be difficult to find, what is certain is that national events like the Dawn Ceremony are essential for unifying the Australian nation.

Keyn eyn-hore and Wearing Blue

Nationality: Mexican
Age: 71
Occupation: Teacher
Residence: Mexico
Performance Date: 9/25/2016
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English, Yiddish

According to the informant, it is traditional for young newborns to wear clothing and accessories that have the color blue on them for about the first two years of their lives. The idea is that by wearing blue, the weak and helpless infants would be protected from the evil eye, which in Yiddish is known as keyn eyn-hore. This blue protection can come in many forms, including blue clothing and blue jewelry.

The informant, Reyna Babani, is a 71-year-old Mexican Jew who lives in Mexico City. Because she grew up in such a close-knit community, Reyna considers herself an expert on Jewish culture. Although she does not remember who taught this idea to her or when it was learned, she claims that it is a staple of Yiddish culture because everyone she know participated in it. She enjoys this tradition because it helps her feel that the newborn children are safe, especially since they are at such a vulnerable stage in their lives. She also acknowledges that other colors, like red, have been known to work in the past.

What is strange about this tradition is that the color blue has been chosen out of all of the colors that humans can see. Why was blue chosen to protect these children? Why is red not used universally? What other colors are used around the world for a similar purpose? These are questions that would be quite interesting to research.

For more research on the evil eye and Judaism, look here: Brav, Aaron. “The evil eye among the Hebrews.” The Evil Eye: A Casebook 2 (1981): 44-54.