Category Archives: Rituals, festivals, holidays

“It’s all about parking karma.”

Language: English

MAIN DESCRIPTION:

CH: “When I was a kid I would drive around with my mom looking for a place to park. Whenever we searched for parking in busy areas she would always say “It’s all about parking karma.” She would say it with a smile and ask me to wait patiently. At first I didn’t really get what she meant but later I understood. She thought that if we stayed calm and had a positive attitude a parking spot would eventually become available for us. She used that method to maintain a positive atmosphere when the streets were crowded. I began using this habit as I got older saying “parking karma” every time I looked for a parking space. It became my method to remind myself to stay calm, positive, and hopeful no matter how annoying things got.”

INFORMANT’S OPINION:

JL: What do you think this phrase means?

CH: “Looking back, I think it really means that I should remain optimistic and be patient even when things get tough. My mom always thought that if I stayed calm and didn’t get upset, good things would come my way in the end. She thought that sharing positive energy even in little things like parking would help everything work out in the end. As time went on I realized that this saying could be used for other aspects in my life too. It could be used to face life with the same attitude. If I remain calm and keep an open mind, situations might improve even when it feels like everything is against me.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

I personally have never heard of this phrase so it is new to me in a sense. However, hearing the informant’s story presented me with this new mindset in life. Life does get pretty tough sometimes whether it’s trying to find parking in a crowded space or any other difficult scenario. It is truly important to step back, remain calm, and keep an open mind. Majority of the time, we get worked up in situations because they are stressful. It’s important to stay positive and let it run its course because in the end you will be fine. 

Apple Fortune Telling

Material:

One apple with the stem on top

Procedure:

  1. Form a group.
  2. Twist the stem of the apple and chant one letter from the alphabet.
  3. Pass it to the next person and repeat step 2.
  4. Til the stem breaks, whichever letter it lands on, it is the capital letter of your future spouse’s name.

Context:

The informant played this game a lot during elementary school. They will get apples at the end of a school day, but no one wants to eat them, thus, they play this game with the apples.

Analysis:

Fortune-telling for future partners is a very popular game among children. This game specifically is very easy to set up and start, it is a form of ritual. The result of this game always brings more rumors among children and further spreads the ritual itself. It allows interactions between friends while also satisfying the human nature of wanting to gossip.

La Befana

fields:
AGE:23
Date_of_performance: 13 century – present
Language: Italian + English
Nationality: Italian
Occupation: USC Masters Student
Primary Language: English, Italien
Residence: Los Angeles

Quote: ““Okay, so in Italy, we have this super cool tradition on January 6th called La Befana. Basically, she’s like Santa, but make it a broomstick-riding grandma witch. She sneaks into houses at night and leaves candy for good kids and ‘coal’ (which is usually just black sugar candy) for the naughty ones. Legend has it, she was invited by the Three Wise Men to see baby Jesus, said ‘nah, I’m good,’ and then regretted it forever—so now she flies around looking for him and dropping off presents. It’s chaotic but iconic.”

Historical context: this has been around in italy since the 13 centuary, in some tuscan villages they burn large statues of la befana; it is both a pagan and christian tradition; thus very italian folkloric. it is a custum entrenched in the national identity of italians local and abroad like my friend who grew up in the bronx in new york city. But his grandmother who immagrated to the US. Italian-American families keep La Befana alive by adapting the tradition to city life. Instead of chimneys, stockings are hung by windows or doors, and in the morning, kids find a mix of Italian treats like panettone and torrone alongside American candies. Some families tell the legend of La Befana the night before, while others celebrate with a big meal on Epiphany. Though it’s not as widely recognized as Christmas, it remains a special way for the community to stay connected to their Italian roots while blending in with New York’s diverse culture.

mother daughter proverb

fields:
AGE: mother and daughter current(50/23) when used (40/15)
Date_of_performance: 02/15/25
Language: English
Nationality: Canadian
Occupation: Artist/ retail worker
Primary Language: English
Residence: Toronto, canada

Quote: “For beauty you must suffer”

A folk phrase used by mothers to their daughters when teaching them the grooming rituals of a grown woman. from shaving, to waxing, to tight heels, or spanks its a way to acknowledge the effort one must put in to meet the beauty standard.

This phrase is was used by my mother and her mother before her, they were british woman so i don’t doubt that this is a folk phrase that can be traced back to the creation of the corset.

the folk that use this are woman and sister or motherly circles.

Family Nicknames

AGE: 53

DATE OF PERFORMANCE: 02/19/2025

LANGUAGE: English 

NATIONALITY: American 

OCCUPATION: Attorney

PRIMARY LANGUAGE: English 

RESIDENCE: New York 

For context, I am the youngest daughter out of two girls, and my mother is the oldest daughter out of three girls. Ever since I could speak and act, I have been consistently compared to my mom’s youngest sister, my aunt Janis. In interviewing my mother, I sought to answer why.

Interviewer: Is there a running tabooistic joke or joke in general that runs among our family?

TL: “Well, I can’t think of anything off the top of my head, but we did use to call you Lil Poo Poo or Stinker! To be honest, we still call you that now. We never really had a nickname for Nicole [my older sister] though.”

Interviewer: Is there any particular reason that you called me that?

TL: “I can’t quite remember, but one day it just came out and it stayed. I think it’s because you’re the youngest and the baby of our family.”

Interviewer: Was there any other jokes that ran in our family?

TL: “Well your Aunt Janis also had a nickname when she was younger. We used to call her Gani [가니], which means little jokester in Korean. She was always running around and had the reputation of a jokester… plus her Korean name is Eunhae [은헤] so we used to combine the names together. She’s also the youngest like you.”

PERSONAL INTERPRETATION:

It’s completely natural for families to joke with each other and give each other nicknames. Especially in Korean culture, there are designated titles that we call someone depending on their age, their relation to us, and down to what side of the family you’re on. However, I think that the youngest of the family always earns a certain reputation and thus, receives a nickname from it. Being completely honest, when I was younger I was known to have smelly feet (I am fine now, I promise). So even though my mother might not remember, that could be the possible inspiration behind my nickname. As for my aunt, because she, too, is the youngest and was known to be silly and a trickster, she was named Gani.