Main Text:
New Year’s Kiss

Background on Informant:
My informant is my younger brother, who graduated from UC Davis. While in college, he was part of a fraternity and regularly attended social gatherings and parties. I asked him about any traditions he could think of, and he brought up the New Year’s kiss at midnight. He explained that it is something he first experienced and learned about during his time at UC Davis but he truly believed in it.

Text:

Interviewer: Do you have any traditions you follow on New Year’s Eve?

informant: Yeah, the New Year’s kiss at midnight.

Interviewer: What is that exactly?

informant: When the clock hits midnight, you’re supposed to kiss someone.

Interviewer: Where did you learn that?

informant: The first time I really learned about it was at Davis. Everyone was talking about who’s going to be your New Year’s kiss, and I was like, “what?” Then my friend told me you got to kiss a girl at midnight to start the new year right or you’ll have bad luck with girls next year, like a serious dry spell.

Interviewer: Did you get a kiss that night?

informant: Of course, and let me tell you my freshmen year was outstanding! After that I always made sure to set up my new years kiss.

Interviewer: have you ever not had a new years kiss?

informant: yes, sometimes it just doesn’t work out, and those years I definitely notice a difference.

Interviewer: I wonder how much of that is maybe manifestation from belief?

informant: Hmm, that’s a fair point. I don’t know but I notice a difference for sure.

Analysis:

This is customary folklore due to a certain behavior that seems to repeat during a specific event, New Year’s Eve. It is believed to bring good luck, especially in relationships, which shows symbolic thinking. The tradition is learned through horizontal transmission, since the informant picked it up from friends in a college. He believes in it because of the experiences he has had, such as the difference he noticed in years when he wasn’t able to follow it. It also functions as a way of stimulating social interaction and increasing the bonding between individuals on New Years through shared beliefs.