Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

Kidnapping the New Members

Nationality: Lebanese-American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Plano, Texas
Performance Date: March 13, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: n/a

“So basically when we were sophomores, we um started this thing, like it was our coach’s idea, and she thought it would be fun for the veteran members, who had been on the team at least a year, to kidnap the new members right before football season started. And this was kind of like an opportunity for the veteran members to have a lot of fun with sneaking into the house and scaring the new members and forcing them to put on different parts of the uniform, like as a joke, over their pajamas, or like blindfold them sometimes, but it was all ok with the parents and everything. We emailed them and they knew about it and let us in without waking up the new members so we would surprise them. But it wasn’t too mean because we took them to breakfast afterwards so it was kind of humiliating for the new members but like fun at the same time.”

 

Informant: The informant is a nineteen-year-old college freshman from Dallas, Texas. While in high school, she was a member of the Jesuit Rangerettes Dance and Drill Team. She attended the all-girls Catholic high-school, Ursuline Academy of Dallas, the sister school of Jesuit Dallas (an all-boys Catholic school). She began dancing when she was three, performing ballet, jazz, and lyrical styles of dance, which eventually led her to the high-school drill team. She currently attends Oklahoma State University.

 

Analysis:

 

The Rangerettes Dance and Drill Team is an extracurricular activity unique to Texas and a few other southern states. The team performs at the half-time of football games on Friday nights, as well as at basketball, soccer, and rugby games. They wear leotards with fringe skirts, fringe and sequin overlays, gauntlets, a belt, white cowgirl boots, and sequined cow-boy hats. The season does not end with football season; rather, the team continues to perform at Jesuit events and participates in two dance competitions in the spring. Because this team is a year-long commitment, there are many extenuating traditions that serve to unify and “bond” the members of the team, in order to foster a spirit of sisterhood.

I believe that this tradition is an important part of the initiation process. Within most teams and organizations there is an initiation process that can be humiliating at times, but the purpose is to essentially assert the dominance of those who have more experience, while also inducting the new members into the group. Because the kidnapping of the freshmen was an event that was meant to frighten the freshmen in a mild manner, it was carried out with gusto by the veteran members. I believe that this was their opportunity to not only be assertive of their prowess as veteran members, but to also remind the sometimes insubordinate new members of who was in charge. While this task was carried in good fun, it had a distinct message of who was in charge.

However, it also promoted a bonding experience for the team. Although the initial element of scaring the freshmen may demonstrate the apparent division in the team between new members and veterans, the ending of the ritual is a team breakfast. When the blindfolds are removed, and the new members are allowed to orient themselves with where they are, they are allowed to realize that the practice took place in good faith. The reconciliation with the team at breakfast, which culminates with the veteran members buying the breakfast for the new members, demonstrates the finality of the initiation process. The timing of this event also reinforces this as well, as it is carried out at the beginning of football season. This means that the practice and training of the new members is over, and that they will be able to finally perform as true team members, while still recognizing the authority of the veterans.

 

Building Model Airplanes

Nationality: Irish/Scottish descent, American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Dallas, Texas
Performance Date: March 13, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: n/a

“We would spend the afternoon assembling these model airplanes, with glue, and then we would paint them and then hang them up on the ceiling in my room, and it was quite frequent. And so we did that a lot, and it was just a really good bonding exercise because I got to spend time with Grandpa, and I ended up with about twenty-five airplanes hung from my ceiling. And while we were working he would tell stories and talk about the airplanes, like what models they were, and it was just nice to spend time with him.”

Informant: The informant is twenty years old, and currently attends the University of Texas at Austin. He has always been interested in airplanes and military history, with a wealth of knowledge about these subjects.

Analysis:

In this instance, I asked the informant to describe how he learned to make the model airplanes that he used to keep hung from the ceiling in his room. He learned how to make them from his grandfather, and the temporal stickiness that seems to linger is connection between the airplanes and his grandfather, who passed away when he was eight years old. I believe that the significance of this practice is the time they were able to spend together. The practice of building the airplanes itself is not as significance without the context of a grandfather teaching his grandson to appreciate the airplanes and how to construct and paint certain models. Each airplane, the total of which is about twenty-five, is different and represents a different airplane model. In sharing this with his grandson, the grandfather was able to pass down his knowledge about and appreciation for airplanes and the military. The grandfather served in the Korean War, and therefore had extensive knowledge in this field from first-hand experience. The informant has since retained this interest in military history, weaponry, and aircrafts of all kinds, which I believe he received from his grandfather. This demonstrates the significance such a small teaching act can have upon a child, as he learns not only how to construct the model airplanes, but his appreciation for the airplanes as well.

Haunted Houses for Halloween

Nationality: American of Spanish, Italian, Bulgarian, Mexican, and Polish descent
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Prescott, Arizona
Performance Date: April 12, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: n/a

“My dad comes from a Mexican and Spanish heritage, his dad was from Spain and his mom was from Mexico, and its interesting because my grandmother and my grandfather never really liked Halloween and my grandmother never really liked the day of the dead but my dad is like an enthusiast about Halloween like every year since he was little he used to build haunted houses for Halloween so when he was little he used to build haunted houses out of boxes or on the playground at parks and now that he’s older he builds them out of our house because its like a big deal and he spends hundreds of dollars on Halloween decorations every year and he makes me and my sister fly to Arizona to celebrate it with him. Its almost bigger than Christmas. Each person is designated to a certain set-up so like one year I’ll do the voodoo set up and my sister will do like the graveyard and he tries to theme it every year, so one year it will be the Caribbean and the next it will be like the classic haunted house like the Disneyland haunted mansion, and my whole entire family comes to his house to celebrate it, and my grandmother when she was alive would dress up like a witch and my grandfather would dress up as the hunchback of Notre dame, and every year no matter what the theme is, there is always a fog machine, and usually it sets off the fire alarm every year and the fire department comes and they help my dad fix the fog machine so it doesn’t give out too much fog. My dad plans Halloween literally after Halloween is over for the next year. To me it has special significance because it’s a time when all of my family gets together because usually at thanksgiving and Christmas your relatives are at different places and usually at Halloween, while my dad takes it seriously, not everyone else does, so we aren’t worried about who is making dinner or seating arrangements so its like a big party every year.”

 

Informant: The Informant is twenty-one years old, and of Spanish, Italian, and Mexican heritage. She grew up in Arizona.

 

Analysis:

This holiday tradition, along with the interest in it taken by the informant’s father, has several interesting attributes. Both Mexican and Spanish traditions place great emphasis upon Halloween and the day of the dead. In Mexico, the day of the dead is very important to the culture, and widely celebrated throughout the country, and Halloween, along with All-Souls’ day is an integral part of the Spanish culture. The main belief surrounding these holidays is that the souls of the dead return to earth during this time, and are to be honored and celebrated.

For the grandparents of the informant’s father to dislike Halloween and the day of the dead festivities could be attributed to fear or superstition or the supernatural, which surround this holiday season. However, it also detracts from the inherited tradition of the family. Therefore, the father’s love for Halloween could come from a subconscious desire to celebrate his heritage through partaking in the tradition that both of the cultures, from which he is descended, place a special emphasis upon Halloween or the day of the dead.

If this were the case, the large-scale celebration that he insists upon enacting through the building of elaborate, themed haunted houses would constitute celebrating the holiday with a special connection to his heritage. In addition, his large celebration brings together the entire family, something that is very special to the informant, as it is the only time of year that her entire family is together. So, a holiday that was once disliked by the grandparents of the informant’s father, now serves as a binding holiday because of the elaborate rituals undertaken by the informant’s father to celebrate Halloween. It brings together the family as they each help out in building the houses, even though they are not nearly interested in the holiday as much as the informant’s father. This also demonstrates that the actual construction of the themed houses serves as a great example of a ritual that brings together a family in celebration of their culture and tradition.

Christmas Eve Festivities

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Dallas, Teexas
Performance Date: March 15, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: n/a

“Our family gathers at our home on Christmas Eve. Um we exchange gifts before Santa comes and usually have a really nice dinner like tenderloin, followed by a birthday cake for Jesus and all the kids gather around and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus and blow out the candles. And they we use, use isn’t a good word, but we use Christmas crackers, and everybody stands around the table and pulls the crackers. Usually in the cracker is a hat and toy and a joke in each cracker. So everybody shares their joke and puts on their hat, and this is usually right after dessert. And we do this just kind of to have fun I guess. And then Kate usually performs a concert and plays Christmas carols. And that began about ten years ago, and all three kids would play in the concert because they played piano, but as the other two dropped out of piano, Kate was the only one who kept it going. And a cousin played once, but Kate is the only one who plays now. It pretty much just adds festivity to the celebration.”

 

Informant: The informant is a fifty-two years old, a mother of three. She is of Irish, French, and German descent, and was born in Chicago. She moved to Dallas when she was three, and she is the oldest of three children, with a younger brother and sister. She is an active member of the Catholic Church.

 

Analysis:

 

This particular holiday ritual is interesting because it is similar to a birthday party. I think that this is due to the fact that the family is Catholic, and therefore recognizes the true meaning of Christmas as the birth of Jesus. Therefore, they celebrate Christmas Eve as they would celebrate the birthday of a family member. Every family member gathers together as they would at a birthday party, and they even have a birthday cake and sing happy birthday to Jesus.

This reaffirms that this time period, Christmas Eve, is a liminal time, as Jesus is brought into the world. The magic that surrounds the beliefs about Santa and Christmas Eve are incorporated in the family gathering and sharing of presents, while the Catholic teachings are kept in mind and celebrated as well. The blowing out of candles by the children can represent making a wish as children would for their birthdays, but doing it for Jesus.

In addition, the use of the Christmas crackers is interesting. Everyone is able to partake in the silliness of this practice by putting on a hat and sharing a joke. This brings the family closer together in celebration. It is also a very childlike performance, reaffirming the likeness of this celebration to a child’s birthday party, which is true to the Catholic meaning of the holiday.

Also, the concert that is put on by the children supports this as well. The children are able to demonstrate their skills and entertain the adults by playing the piano. Although only one child continues, who happens to be the youngest in the family, it is still representative of the festivities of Christmas Eve as childlike. This honors the birth of Jesus as a newborn child, by making the ritual of Christmas Eve as celebrated by this family as like that of a child’s birthday party.

Reina de los Militares — El Salvador independence day

Nationality: El Salvadorian
Age: 35
Occupation: Housekeeper
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/23/16
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

TK: What’s one of the most memorable cultural experiences you remember from childhood in El Salvador?

MC: Independence Day? Over here you guys just do fireworks. Over there you have to rehearse with marching bands. It’s on September 15. If you’re an honor role student, you wear this blue and white sash to represent you’re one of the best of the school.

TK: Were you one of those kids?

MC: One time. But I was a princess so I was a different thing.

TK: What?

MC: They choose, like, a queen from the school and one for the military, and I was a princess from the military and I was marching with the whole military crew. That’s what they do over there.

TK: So the real military?

MC: Mhm, the army over there.

TK: What do you mean queen?

MC: You’re the pretty girl of the whole army and then you march with the military instead of marching with the school.

TK: So how often did you do that?

MC: Well you’re queen for a year, and you do that for Independence Day, and if it’s a holiday, let’s say…. Every city has a party and you dress up and represent the army in every single social event for the city for a year.

TK: Is there a saying in Spanish that everyone says for Independence Day?

MC: Dia de la independence? Queen of the army in Spanish – raina de los militares.

TK: How old were you?

MC: When I was that? I was 14.

TK: You marched?

MC: Yes with the uniform, the army uniform and you go in the front. Like here, like the Rose Parade, like the princess goes in front.

TK: Where do you march?

MC: Around the city.

TK: What city?

MC: Santa Ana, El Salvador

 

INFORMANT: Maria, who has worked in our household for ten years and grew up in El Salvador. Her recollection was happy and nostalgic, laughing a lot as she retold this part of her life.

 

ANALYSIS: This segment shows one of the key differences between how America and El Salvador celebrate their respective Independence Days. Maria used contrasting language to explain that, while in America we just have fireworks, the celebration in El Salvador is more prolonged and involves a military parade and the naming of “queens” from the school and from the military, who retain that title for an entire year after the parade.