Drunk Christmas Carolling

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

Main piece:

“Christmas eve everyone comes to my house and we have a huge dinner, and then we fake kind of getting tired and kick our family out and then we go to our best friend’s house, and then we all.. Well when we were younger all the adults would get drunk and then as the kids got older the kids got drunk too, and we’d go around our neighborhood, and even after we moved we went back to our old neighborhood, and we drunk Christmas caroled. And we’d pick up family after family, and so even if the whole family didn’t want to come, if someone wanted to come like the kids then the kids would join on and then we just end up going to everyone’s house Christmas caroling.”

Background:

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

Context:

The informant and I were talking about our Christmas traditions one evening, and this is what she shared.

Commentary:

Holidays are often associated with spending time with extended family, but for this informant the most important part is the time she spends with her friends and neighbors. This is also in some ways a rite of passage, because as the children become adults they get to participate in the drinking as well. It is a bit of an unconventional take on the classic act of Christmas caroling, but it has become a beloved tradition in this informant’s family.

A Toast

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 14, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“May we get what we want, may we get what we need, but may we never get what we deserve!”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana. She originally found this toast on the internet, and liked it so much it has become her signature saying.

Context:

The informant and I were at dinner with other friends, and she shared this as a toast.

Commentary:

This toast is used to poke fun at friends while simultaneously making them laugh. It is meant as a joke at the expense of the people present, but it is delivered in a way that seems uplifting, and ultimately is humorous.

 

British Dite

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

Main piece:

“Don’t be silly, wrap his willy!”

Background:

Informant is a first year student at the University of Southern California who grew up in Henley on Thames, England. 

Context:

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

Commentary:

The informant uses this dite as a joke whenever one of her friends is going to be alone with a boy, even if they do not have a sexual relationship. There are definitely many forms of this saying in other cultures, and it is interesting to see how the different shorthands for words lead to different rhymes, and therefore different phrases as a whole.

 

“You don’t ask, you don’t get” Proverb

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Excecutive Search
Residence: Mill Valley, CA
Performance Date: April 15, 2018
Primary Language: English

Main piece:

“You don’t ask, you don’t get.”

Background:

Informant is a mother of three living in Mill Valley, California. She was raised in a family of 10 children and a single mother in Key Biscayne, Florida.

Context:

I asked the informant if she knew any proverbs, and her response was this saying that she always tells her children.

Commentary:

The informant came up with this proverb to teach her children the power of simply asking, as opposed to going through life passively. She is a firm believer that if you are polite and persistent, good things will follow. There are many proverbs containing the same general meaning, but the informant likes the streamlined effect of the repetitive nature of this saying.

Celebrating Christmas on December 24th

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

Main piece:

“So, Christmas in Latin America is celebrated on December 24th. In the evening is when we celebrate baby Jesus’ birth. So we wake up in the morning and we say “Feliz Navidad” or “Happy Christmas,” and we have usually a large party of my family, it’s about 200 of us, and then at night we sing and we welcome baby Jesus into our home. And then Santa comes on a horse with a big basket with all the presents for all my cousins and I, and what we do is Santa’s helpers, which is my brother and I, we assist Santa Claus, or “Papa Noel” in Spanish, and we give out all the presents to all of my baby cousins… and me as well. Also on December 24th, we have a feast. This feast involves, potatoes, a turkey, a pork leg, lots of desserts like dulce de leche, cranberry sauce… it’s kind of like the traditional Thanksgiving. And then also right before we have steaks, little bits of chorizo, and ribs… and drinks are flowing.”

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 how she celebrates Christmas, and this was her response.

Commentary:

While most typical Christmas celebrations happen on December 25th, the informant shared that her family’s biggest celebration happens on Christmas Eve. Her celebrations are centered around her family coming together and celebrating the birth of Jesus, and some of the traditions draw from other holidays, like Thanksgiving, as well. There are still the commercial aspects of Santa bringing presents and the family coming together to share a big meal, but aspects like Santa riding a horse and her family eating dulce de leche show the mix of her Colombian roots. While presents are a part of the experience, it is interesting to see that most of the excitement occurs leading up to the gift-giving, and afterwards there is not much of a celebration.