White Elephant Ritual

Text: “My family organizes a big white elephant on Christmas Day that everyone is involved in. Everyone brings a present and then everyone exchanges it.”

Context:

The Informant is a student at the University of Southern California, speaking with admiration and nostalgic reminiscence as these memories are recounted.

“My extended family on my dad’s side mostly live in New Jersey, and they’ve grown up there. And every Christmas we spend Christmas with them. We have like a designated path where first we go to like this aunt and uncle’s house for the morning, then we hit like this aunt and uncle’s house for dinner. But at the first place, we do the white elephant. And the significance of this is that my family is huge. My dad has seven siblings, so there’s a lot of people involved in this white elephant. And it kind of takes up the entirety of the first half of the day. And these items become recurring things that people will just have with them whenever we see each other.  And they’ll like, kind of have memories from years before, like, oh, remember when this person got this. So it actually is like an event of Christmas. And often times it’ll be like references to family jokes or just like family things. Like my family watches It’s a Wonderful Life every single Christmas. And then one Christmas people got Bedford balls and It’s a Wonderful Life shirts, just like so interesting and niche. I think as I’ve grown older, I liked it a lot more because, I’ve felt a lot more part of my family. And it feels like we’re reinforcing that we’re all part of a group and that we’re actively keeping it alive through traditions, not just seeing each other, but caring about each other, like wanting to have individual connections with each other. That’s a family. I think white elephant can be fairly common, especially with friend groups. I have heard of other people doing this tradition, but I don’t know if people do it as consistently. Like this is my family’s white elephant.  When people are kind of thinking ahead of time of what to bring like what has been mentioned, what has been joked about over the past year at family gatherings, like, yeah, it’s very topical to the year kind of like the past experiences of what’s been happening. So it feels like a recap family thing. I think maybe when I was younger, I wasn’t super aware of it. And then as I became older, yeah, I think we’ve been doing it like every single year.”

Analysis: This white elephant tradition is an example of a ritual that is performed in celebration of a holiday. It is considered a ritual because of its nature of being performed at a certain time, planned, commemorating Christmas, among the same group of people. There is little distinction between the participants as audience and performer because each person takes on each role at certain times. The white elephant ritual specifically is an example of people having ritual license, where they act in ways that are not normally acceptable. This can be seen in how participants are allowed to steal others’ gifts and give ‘gag’ gifts that hold no real value. Despite the white elephant ritual being a widely known game especially in the U.S., many families and groups like the Informant’s can find personal significance in performing the ritual.

Midnight Birthday Candle and Banana

Text: “At midnight every year, I blow out a candle, but I save it for midnight Eastern Time, ’cause that was the time that I was born in. And then I also eat a banana at midnight.”

Context:

The informant is a student at the University of Southern California studying Political Economy and originally from Minnesota, speaking almost in a hurry and without much emotion resembling nostalgia or fondness.

“Apparently I used to coincidentally eat bananas for the first couple of years of my life, and now it’s just kind of become my little tradition for my birthday. I think it’s when I was a kid, my grandma used to always be a really strong advocate for bananas because she said potassium was good for you. And the night before my birthday I would normally spend the night at her house, just because you know, who doesn’t want to spend the night with their grandma on their birthday. And they just sort of started happening. But when I was a kid, I also didn’t really stay up till midnight for my birthday. So it was normally like, right before I went to bed, right when I woke up. Now it feels like I have to do it because it just kind of reminds me of home, I think. And I think that it’s a nice way for me to just kind of remember my childhood a little.”

Analysis: This tradition is an example of a ritual performed in celebration of a commemoration of a significant event, in this case a birthday. In ritualizing a birthday, an individual life cycle is being celebrated which contributes to the formation of one’s identity. This individual life cycle is being ritualized in a manner that puts it on the calendar cycle. This specific tradition occurs at midnight, ritualizing the liminal or the “in-between” which is often considered to be where the magic happens. In the uncomfortable nature of change, the transition is celebrated to make it more exciting and desirable. The sequence of this tradition is also evidently important as many are in rituals, with the candle first and then the banana.

Ghost Story In Abandon House

Cole told me a creepy story during our interview that is in line with local legend about an ancient, abandoned house in his neighborhood. This narrative centers on the genre of folk objects and ghost stories. The spooky mansion serves as a central object imbued with mystery and legend within the neighborhood. As kids, Cole and his friends were fascinated by rumors that the old house was haunted. They heard spooky stories from other kids in the neighborhood, and it really grabbed their attention. In our chat, Cole shared how his older brother used to tell tales about the abandoned house. One story he vividly remembered was about a man who supposedly took his own life in the house after his wife passed away. Even though Cole thought his brother might have been making up the stories, they still got really intrigued and excited to explore the spooky mansion themselves. Cole and his buddies were drawn to the abandoned mansion despite the dangers and spooky stories. Their hearts thumping with both excitement and fear, they would frequently walk to the old house. Inside, the air felt heavy and still, and every creak and rustle made them jump. They thought they saw shadows moving in the dim light and heard strange noises echoing through the empty rooms, but they were too scared to examine the rooms closely. During their adventures, Cole and his friends would almost convince themselves that they saw strange movements or heard mysterious sounds coming from within the house. Looking back, Cole acknowledges that it may have been his imagination playing tricks on him, at the time, the experience felt undeniably real. As I discuss the course of folklore and its significance in shaping people’s lives, Cole reflects on his childhood adventures and recognizes the impact of folklore on their perceptions and experiences. The stories about the haunted home became a neighborhood legend, adding excitement and mystery to their childhood adventures. While Cole now sees those experiences with skepticism, he mentions it was cool story to tell.

Malibu Mermaid

In the coastal town of Malibu, California, my friend B shared some super interesting local folklore that has been passed down to him through his dad. It’s amazing to see the differences in folklore people have, even when they live in the same state as me. I live in California as well!

He told a tale about a mythical creature that was believed to be floating in the ocean waters off the shore, called the Malibu Mermaid. This tale was passed down from his dad as he was first starting to learn how to surf around the age of 7 years old.

In times of danger, the Malibu Mermaid is said to appear to fishermen, providing them with protection and direction.

B mentioned how his dad introduced him to surfing and instilled a love of the sea by telling him the tale of the Malibu Mermaid. He explained how surfers who ride the waves and honor the sea’s strength could relate to the mythology. Surfers find solace and peace in the notion of the Malibu Mermaid, which provides them with a sense of protection while they ride the waves. B later stopped believing in the mermaid but he still believes there’s a special connection with sea and someone who has the opportunity to ride and surf with it.

Petit Souris

I had the privilege of interviewing A as she was visiting from Europe. In the town of Jodoigne, Belgium, A shares an interesting take on how her version of the tooth fairy went. Growing up in a traditional Belgian household, A was raised with stories of the “petit souris,” the tooth mouse, instead of the tooth fairy known in American folklore. According to the legend, when a child lost a tooth, they would place it under their pillow at night, and the petit souris would come to collect it, leaving a small gift of usually $5-$10 in its place. This solely depends on the size of the tooth. Depending on certain families some would receive coins instead of bills.

A first heard about the petit souris from her parents, who used to tell her the story every time she lost a tooth. The tradition has been passed down through generations in A’s family and is deeply ingrained in Belgian culture. For A, the legend of the petit souris was not just a fairy tale but a cherished part of her heritage.

According to Belgian legend, the petit souris has centuries old origins. It is reported that people believed in the magical abilities of animals during the Middle Ages, a time of widespread superstitions. Specifically, mice were considered lucky and prosperous symbols.

In Belgium, the petit souris tradition is still very much in use today. Families preserve the memory of the tooth mouse by passing along the legend to the following generation. There are differences in the legend’s celebrations around Belgium. Children leave their teeth in glasses of water in some places, and in tooth shaped pouches in other others. The petit souris tradition continues in spite of modernization. Belgians of all ages are still intrigued with the narrative, which is reflected in family customs and bedtime stories.