Burn Remedy

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Washington, D.C.
Performance Date: April 23, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“I burned myself with oil when I was cooking, and I put white toothpaste, like it can’t have any stripes or any green or anything it has to be white. And I got it from my friend… she used to work in a restaurant and that’s what she said the chefs were always doing.”

Background:

Informant is a third year pre-med student at George Washington University who grew up in Mill Valley, California. A few years ago, her arm was badly burned while she was cooking, and her friend told her about this remedy. She has used it ever since, and has passed it along to some of her friends and family as well. 

Context:

I asked the informant if she had any home remedies, and this was her response.

Commentary:

This practice, like all folk medicine, has no real basis is science but is still commonly accepted to have healing properties. The informant was desperate to relieve the pain of her burns, and as this was corroborated by both her friends and professional chefs, she believed it to work.

 

Remedy for Hiccups

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“When I was younger, in like elementary school, I was at my friend’s house and I got the hiccups and they wouldn’t go away and my friend’s dad told me to get rid of hiccups you have to drink water out of a cup with a paper towel on top of it upside down. It was really confusing, but I mean the thought of it actually made it work.”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Pleasanton, California. She learned this method from a childhood friend’s father, and has used it ever since.

Context:

I asked the informant if she had any home remedies that she likes, and she shared this cure for hiccups.

Commentary:

The folk belief that hiccups can be cured by drinking water upside down is quite common, but it is interesting to see the variation in this belief with the addition of placing a paper towel on top of the cup. It was most likely added as an attempt at keeping the water from spilling while the children struggled to drink the water upside down, but the informant still follows this to this day.

As a piece of folk medicine, it is evident that this practice is not based in science. It is interesting to see that not only do so many people follow this belief, but also the informant herself even seemed to recognize that this practice does not actually make scientific sense, admitting that just “the thought of it actually made it work.”

 

British Drinking Song

Nationality: British
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 23, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“We like to drink with (person’s name), cause (person’s name) is our mate! And when we drink with (person’s name), she gets it down in 8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1!”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Henley on Thames, England. As the drinking age is 18 in England, she has experienced the British bar scene with her friends.

Context:

The informant shared this song one night that she sang back home with her friends.

Commentary:

This song is well-known in England, and while it might not be as common in American culture, its simple nature makes it quite easy to join in even without knowing it. Since “mate” is more of a British term, it allows the song to rhyme in a way that wouldn’t be possible using “friend” or any other variation, but it is still understandable across cultures.

 

Baby Jesus Bringing Christmas Presents

Nationality: Colombian
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2018
Primary Language: Spanish

Main piece:

“We go to bed, and we have to go to bed early so that baby Jesus puts our biggest present under our bed. Yeah, baby Jesus puts the big present under our bed, that’s the big one. Like, if you wanted a GoPro, baby Jesus comes down and puts it under your bed. So you go to bed, and then the next morning is also exciting, so it’s a two day experience. So the 25th, we wake up… I usually wake up at like 5:30-6 to milk my cows, but before that I check under my bed, and like one of my happiest memories was getting a Wii, and I ran into my parents room and I tell them that baby Jesus brought me a Wii. And then that’s pretty much the day.”

Background:

Informant is a first year acting student at the University of Southern California. She was born in Medellin, Colombia, grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, and at age 12 she moved to Paris and later Hong Kong. She spends her winter and summer vacations with her family in Colombia.

Context:

I asked the informant about how she celebrates Christmas, and this was her response.

When asked how she celebrates Christmas, the informant shared that in her family, the belief is that baby Jesus himself brings you one present, typically the biggest one you asked for, and he leaves it underneath your bed. She still said Santa brings other presents, but the biggest one comes from Jesus.

Commentary:

Unlike the typical belief that Santa Claus comes through the chimney and delivers all the presents under the tree, the informant added onto this and said that for her family in Colombia, baby Jesus himself is responsible for bringing the biggest or most important presents. Santa is still responsible for bringing other gifts (see also “Celebrating Christmas on December 24th”), but her family wanted to emphasize the fact that Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Jesus by having him bring the present that they most looked forward to. Christmas seems to get more and more commercialized each year, and this addition is a simple reminder of what the holiday is about at its core.

 

New Pajamas on Christmas Eve

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 22, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“One of my Christmas family traditions is every Christmas Eve everyone gets to open one present, and the one present that you get to open is your pair of pajamas, and you wear those pajamas the night of so that you can wake up and you get to open all your presents in your new pajamas.”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Pleasanton, California.

Context:

The informant and I were discussing Christmas traditions, and this is what she shared.

Commentary:

This is a tradition that I have heard from many families, and I have even participated in it with my family as well. It allows the children the excitement of opening one present the night before Santa supposedly arrives, and also adds a special element to Christmas morning because they get to enjoy one gift as they open their others.