Christmas struffoli (honey balls)

Age: 50s Hometown: Bronx, NY

Performance Context: I experienced this recipe and performance firsthand every December/ around Christmas time as the informant is my father. He comes from a large Puerto Rican and Italian-American family from the Bronx. His Italian family’s side are from Sicily and Naples.

Recipe/Description:

According to my father (the informant) – dough is hand mixed with orange zest and it cools a large gathering, usually the kids/cousins, roll the dough into strips called the ‘snakes’ of a certain thickness of a finger. The snakes are then chopped into squares which are then rolled by hand. They are then deep fried and left to cool in a pot of honey with a splash of sambuca as the secret ingredient. This is usually done in huge batches meant to be tinned and given to neighbors, friends, extended family, and people like doctors, teachers, dentists, etc.

The rolling technique along with the size of the balls are highly specified as the smaller the piece the crispy they end of getting fried. The informant states that nowadays their family (myself included) “does not create the proper sized dough pieces” and that back in the day the informants grandmother would make them “re-do entire batches of them if they weren’t up to standard” .

My father mentions there were a staple among his childhood and grew up sitting at a table rolling dough all day in the weeks leading up to Christmas. He remembers the act so vividly because his hands would start cramping and he would be so bored when the younger cousins would give up and leave the ‘rolling’ table.

Analysis:

This is a classic example of family/holiday foodways. The making of the Struffoli becomes a whole day and entire family affair. Once the day is decided to be dedicated to making honey balls, nobody can escape the kitchen. I think the fact that it’s such a labor intensive process, repetitive and boring, keeps the memory of this tradition so vivid. “It’s a very unique tradition”, even among other Italian-American traditions, according to my Father.

The specific snake rolling technique is a perfect piece of kinetic folklore, it’s a physical skill passed down through imitation, using the “thickness of a finger” as a marker. My father’s grandmother, and then his own, role in ensuring the quality shows how this specific tradition is policed and ensured to be passed down consistently generation to generation. The act of gifting the honey balls also serves as social currency, showing appreciation and love as well as signaling those in the community of their Italian heritage.

Rubbing an egg as a cure for illness/injury

Age: 20s Location: Los Angeles

Context: Participant and I in were anthropology class discussing various means of folk medicine from our childhoods. She is Mexican-American with both her parents having been born Mexico.

Text: Rubbing an egg on an area of the body to ‘cure’ it. Regardless if its a physical injury or an illness like the flu. The participant mentioned that her mother and her mothers family were more likely to do this, however her father never seemed to question the act and accepted it easily, likely encountering in his life as well. She mentioned it is a common thing to do in Mexican-American households.

Analysis:

The practice illustrates the normalization of ritual healing within Mexican-American households and a good example of folk medicine practices. By passing the egg over the body, the family performs a “cleansing” that validates communal beliefs and provides psychological comfort regardless of the specific medical diagnosis. There is value in the act of care and attention provided with this likely soothing act of rubbing the egg.

The Legend of the Purple People

Location: Lafayette, CA

Context: The informant ( initials ET) and I talking about hometown legends and the concept of growing up in small, suburban towns. That’s when she brought up a well-known ‘cult’ or group called the Purple People in Lafayette.

Text:

ET: There’s a cult in my town. Well, I don’t know if their cult or if they’re still around, but they’re called the Purple People.

Me: How do you know about them

ET: Well, I think it’s mostly my parent’s generations that talk about them— my parents not as much because they’re not from Lafayette— but my friends parents definitely.

Me: Have people ever seen them or like what do you know about them?

ET: Well there’s supposed to be a purple house they live in but I’m not sure where it is or if it still exists, but I know there’s a specific field in town people go to try to see them.

Me: Okay so was this a dare type of thing or what?

ET: Yeah exactly, people would be dared to go run up to the ‘Purple People’ house and try to maybe interact with them.

Me: Why was running to see them a dare, or what made it kind of higher stakes?

ET: Ok so I think they were said to be sex cult and participated in group sex frequently, or at least that’s what my friends parents would say! But I’m not sure if that’s made up or not.

Me: Oh wow, so there was definitely a stigma then? Or what was the rhetoric around them?

ET: Yeah they kind of kept to themselves and people just thought they were weird I think. But like the other thing is that as a kid, I feel like half the people believed in them and the other half didn’t. It was like a big debate.

Analysis:

This narrative is a classic example of a suburban legend, where a small truth regarding a likely communal living group was transformed by local gossip into a neighborhood myth and word of mouth legend. The ‘taboo’ subject of sex and communal living likely fostered the spread of gossip and was ignited by anxieties of the people at the time. However, later on for the subject’s generation, the Purple People functioned as a rite of passage where kids could get dared to go ‘find the house’ or have an encounter with the Purple People.

Indian money-giving superstition

Context: The participant, my roomate (intials NS), comes from an Indian family that now lives in the Bay Area. Both her parents were born in India and partake in the pra

Text:

NS: Anytime you give money to someone for a wedding or birthday, let’s say around $100, you’re supposed to give $101 or else it’s bad luck.

Me: Who is it bad luck for: you or the person getting the money?

NS: the recipient

Me: And what is it about adding $1 that’s ‘good luck?

NS: It’s not really the $1 but when a number isn’t whole or even its harder to divide mathematically. So it symbolizes growth and prosperity.

NS: Whole numbers are like ‘flat’ and ‘finished’ so by giving a indivisible number you’re giving out wishes of growth and endless possibilities to the person.

Me: Wow, so do you partake in this or have you just grown up with people who have.

NS: Well, I don’t really give a lot of people money haha but for the Indian holiday, Raksha Bandhan, my brother gives me an uneven amount of money?

Me: Can you explain this holiday?

NS: Yeah, so a sister ties a bracelet around her brother and in return, the brother gives her money. It’s supposed to be before the brother goes off to war, and the money would help her survive if he happened to die at war. The bracelet is also supposed to be for good fortune and symbolizes their bond.

Analysis:

The practice of adding a single dollar is a type of blessing in Indian culture. In this form of numerology, a round number represents completion or a closed cycle, which can symbolically suggest the end of a relationship, wealth, or growth. By adding one, the giver creates an uneven and indivisible number that is hard to find an even split of. This acts as a catalyst for continuity, ensuring that the gift remains open and invites future prosperity to follow. It effectively shifts the transaction from a commercial payment to a sacred offering, signaling that the bond between the giver and the receiver is meant to be undying and ever-expanding.

Stepping on paper superstition

Age: 20s Occupation: Student in Los Angeles Hometown: Kansas City, MO Genre: Folk Belief

Text

The participant believes in the idea that if one steps on paper or a book that will give them bad luck. The only way to ‘get rid’ of this bad luck is to touch the paper, touch your heart, and effectively ‘repent’.

Context

The participant mentioned that she learnt this from her parents and grandparents. The part where they mentioned the repenting they also said that their family is quite religious and practice Hinduism.

Analysis:

The fact that the participant learned this from parents and grandparents highlights the intergenerational transmission of folk beliefs within the family. Because the family is religious and practices Hinduism, this specific superstition acts as a daily reminder of their cultural and spiritual identity. The ritual serves almost as a socializing tool, teaching children from a young age that knowledge is sacred and must be handled with care. The counter-charm being to touch your heart also reinforces this idea by representing atonement between the individual and the divine.