Sweeping Ritual – Chinese New Year

Age: 21

Collection Date: 03/26/2026

Context:

During an in-class fieldwork activity, my informant, “R,” told me about a ritual tradition his family practices. The ritual is one of many that his family practices during the Chinese New Year season.

Text:

R: During the Chinese New Year, it’s a very cultural and ritual-heavy period of the year. One of the things that we’ll do, and that a lot of the families will do, is you’ll sweep your house, and then you’ll sweep the things out the front door. So you’re basically sweeping out like, you know, the bad spirits or, you know, all the bad luck. You’re getting that out of your house.. So you’re kind of like cleansing the place. So, like, all the bad luck, all the evil kind of goes out the door, you know. 
It’s kind of like putting a physical touch on a spiritual belief.

Interviewer: Yeah

Interviewer: Yeah. Is that like more of like a, is it a, like a metaphorical thing or are you like actually sweeping out like dust and like cleaning as well? Like, is it kind of like dual purpose?

R: Yeah, it’s definitely dual purpose. Yeah, like Chinese New Year, you’re definitely cleaning the house, you know, putting up like decorations and stuff like this. 
You put out like little clementines and stuff, but. Yeah, you’re definitely sweeping like actual dust out. But with that, you know, you’re sweeping out the evil spirits and all that. There’s more behind it than just like simply cleaning.

Interviewer: So there’s more meaning behind it then just simply cleaning.

R: Double entendre. Exactly.

Interviewer: Is that something that you’d be doing, like your parents would be doing or like the the whole family’s getting involved? What’s that look like?

R: I wouldn’t say that. I mean, I’ve never swept, but like, obviously.

Interviewer: Could you vacuum? 


R: No, like, I’d be cleaning around the house, but it’s my mom that’s sweeping mainly.. But, like, you know, we all help out. It’s definitely, like, a big, big family time. Like you want to help out. You want to spend time with your family. So definitely, yeah. 


Analysis:

The ritual seems to be a form of imitative magic in which the performer performs a physical action that has an “intangible” effect on the spiritual world. The idea, then, is that the change made in the spiritual world would positively impact the real world. The act is also representative. So it would seem to be homeopathic; the performer is literally sweeping the dirt out while also having a profound spiritual effect. This suggests that their culture may view dirt and dust in the house as impurities that do not belong and, like evil spirits, should be dealt with to prevent disorder.

The use of a broom is also interesting. I didn’t get to ask whether it was a special broom, but brooms are seen as having magical elements in English and American culture as well. I’m thinking about the witches’ broomstick, a magical and important element we associate with Halloween. Even in our culture, brooms are symbolic of magic and the spiritual world. But perhaps in Western culture, witches’ association with brooms has more to do with gender norms. Brooms symbolize cleansing and purity, and in most cultures, cleanliness is next to godliness. It seems then that the same idea is kept in Chinese folklore. A clean house has no crevices for demons to hide.

The ritual also functions as a way for families to bond. The ritual and cleaning ceremony bring them close together to achieve a common goal. These are also traditions that are passed down from generation to generation, so all ages are involved and can relate. Older generations might find this a great opportunity to connect with their kids and share some identity. It also seems to help offer some agency over the uncontrollable. My informant explained that it might help prevent bad luck and evil spirits, or smooth out the uncontrollable elements we face in our daily lives.

Based on what I collected, men, women, and children can participate in the ritual. So it is all inclusive and reflects the culture’s view on women and gender roles. Perhaps, this wasn’t always so, but we learn that customs change and adapt to time. The tradition itself has been passed down; my informant views the memory positively. But, it likely isn’t the same ritual his grandparents performed. That highlights the idea that folklore is multifaceted and varied. No two rituals are completely alike, even within the same family.

The Legend of Chang’e and Houyi

Performance Date: 2/26/2026

CONTEXT:

The performance is a telling of the Chinese legend of Chang’e and Houyi told to me by a Chinese international student at USC, who I will refer to as “EY.” We are sitting together outside of Taper Hall discussing legends. EY goes on to explain the legend and its connection to the Mid-Autumn Festival, along with the cultural beliefs associated with the story.

TEXT:

EY: The legend story I’ll be telling you about is called Chang’e’s legend. It is a Chinese legend um that explains where we have or how we have the Mid- Autumn Festival in mid September in China. Umm so the story basically is about like there’s a goddess whose name is Chang’e who kinda like takes a pill and turns into a rabbit that runs to the moon on the day of mid-autumn festival. Nowadays people in China usually have moon cakes on that festival to celebrate Chang’e.

Interviewer: Oh that’s interesting

EY: So if you look closely at a picture of the moon, there’s a shade that’s in the shape of a rabbit and so people often see that shade as the picture of Cheng’e. The rabbit shape is Cheng’e.

The longer version of the story is mostly about how previously there’s a god called Houyi who kinda shoots the sun in the sky. Chang’e and Houyi get married to each other. Bu then, Houyi was originally supposed to take a pill but he refused to and like the person who asks him to take the pill hides in their home. When Houyi is out and Cheng’e is home, Cheng’e has no other options but to take the pill. When Houyi returns home, he finds out his wife is gone and he’s sad… He might be sad… He must must be sad.

Interviewer: Probably, he’s probably sad.

EY: Yeah, and so the two are separated and Cheng’e is in the sky.

Interviewer: Okay, that’s cool. Do you think there’s like a metaphor, like a meaning behind the story. A meaning that you or your family and friends associate with it?

EY: Yeah, so it’s mostly about nostalgia and separation, I guess. There’s a metaphor in China where we compare the moon to reunion and a happily ever after.

Interviewer: That’s pretty cool, I never thought of the moon as associated with that before.

EY: And so we can associate the moon with romance or reunion in some sense. In Western [Chinese culture] ideas.

Interviewer: I don’t think that’s very common over here. We don’t typically associate the moon with romance. I think I got the story and the meaning behind it. Is there a personal meaning for you that you take on specifically to that story?

EY: I just felt like the look of the rabbit is very interesting. Yeah if you google a picture of the moon.

*looking up a picture of the moon*

* not the image referenced, but gets the idea*

EY: For example, this part is the rabbit’s head. These two are the ears of the rabbit.

Interviewer: So, I gotta look at it upside down.

EY: Yeah, so this is something that most people don’t usually observe.

Interviewer: Interesting, is that something you can only see at a certain time? Cause there’s different phases of the moon and seasons. Is this something you can only see in September? [The month of the festival].

EY: I guess yeah, but like that time that day is when the moon is like a full moon.

*end of interview

Analysis:

EY explains the story has a significant meaning not just to her, but her family and culture. The story explains the shapes in the moon, gives meaning to culturally significant foods like moon cakes and serves as a fun story to tell. The story is distinctly Chinese and like any cultural story serves as a great reminder for who you are. Without the legend, the mid-autumn festival is really just another holiday. The legend gives the celebration new meaning and amplifies the significance beyond just a fun tradition.

It also gives a standard story to relate to across generations. The culture as a whole can appreciate and enjoy this story. Parents telling their children aren’t just entertaining them. They’re connecting them to their family and culture giving them an identity. It also creates a symbolic meaning that Chinese people can relate to.

EY explained how the story recontextualizes the moon as a symbol of reunion, romance or “happily ever after.” This is interesting because in my culture, the moon doesn’t really mean anything in particular, it’s just the moon. So, to hear how this legend breathes new meaning into the natural world is quite cool. It gives an “everyday” object new culturally significant meaning. In this case, love and reunion. I’m familiar with the idea of roses symbolizing love and affection. But I actually think the moon is better. Unlike a rose, the moon won’t fall apart over time. It might wane, but it always comes back. That makes the reunion and meaning so much more impactful. The same moon can be seen across cities or continents, so it really does connect family and friends. Also, I think there is some more meaning with the moon in that it represents reunion. Every morning, the moon disappears, but we know it’ll come back. That physical movement and repetition adds to meaning that EY explained.

I think that the ritual of eating moon cakes and celebrating during the festival is a way for people to connect with their family, culture, and partners. It’s something that I’ve heard my other friends do, whether they were in China or here in LA. That makes it a cultural signal and reminder of shared belief and identity. It’s given meaning by the story, and eating mooncakes is a way for people to actively participate in that story and culture. The food, story, and importance of the moon itself are great because they can be transmitted anywhere. People can relate to and appreciate that meaning, whether in China or here in America. That story, food, and connection to the moon a ways for people to share their culture without needing to be “at home” for the festival and celebrations. These traditions can be transported and adapted to new regions or environments while maintaining that unique cultural identity.

It’s very interesting to me because, like Houyi, my informant is away from home, separated from loved ones. This must be a very personal story for her, and maybe a very significant one at this moment as well. The legend she chose to share specifically covered longing, separation, and the desire to be together. Whether she meant to or not, the choice to tell that story seems to have been influenced by her feeling away from home; it is probably a way to process her emotions, which is quite cool.

Seaweed Soup

Collection Date: 02/12/2026

Context:

During an in- class fieldwork session, my informant, “NJ” told me a saying and idea popular in Korean culture. He explains two scenarios in which seaweed soup should and should not be eaten, according to Korean folklore. He is Korean American and as far as I know, has lived his whole life here in America.

TEXT:

“Don’t eat seaweed soup before an exam”

Nathan explains that parents warn their kids not to eat food with seaweed such as seaweed soup before an exam. He explained that the slippery soup will cause the information to slip from their head. NJ explained how the idea of eating seaweed soup doesn’t just apply to parents and schoolchildren, but to other areas of life as well. For example, NJ explained that in Korean culture, pregnant women will eat seaweed soup as well. This is done because performers believe that it will help the women have a smoother, easier birth.

He said this is a popular Korean saying. His parents told him as a kid, passing on the saying.

Analysis:

It is an interesting belief that seaweed soup, a slippery dish, should be avoided before big moments. The idea is that it might cause students to slip up or forget what they studied during the exam. The same idea applies to pregnant women, but in this second case, the slippery quality is actually a good thing.

Logically, this belief makes no sense. But, something about it just sounds right. There’s some kind of pseudo logic or vernacular reasoning. If you eat something slippery, you’ll be slippery. The qualities of a food being slippery or sticky don’t actually have much, if any, effect on students’ exam scores or mothers giving birth. But somehow the saying still makes sense. I could imagine that it is especially helpful in moments that are really stressful (exams, pregnancy, etc). These are moments where we can feel anxiety and maybe powerless.

But, the simple saying acts as a illogical solution to get back that control. How do fix something which logic won’t help? Simple, make your own logic. I can imagine that the belief functions similarly to when athletes wear their favorite socks or shoes on game day. It offers a way for people to manage their anxiety and gain a sense of control in high-pressure situations. These superstitions allow performers to channel their anxiety into an easy action (or inaction) so they can feel better prepared for the task. It also lets them relax. In the test example, students who worry about forgetting what they studied can rest assured they won’t. They didn’t eat seaweed soup, so they probably won’t forget.

It’s also interesting that the same quality and food, slippery soup, can have a positive or negative connotation depending on the context. For exams, seaweed soup should be avoided, but for a pregnant woman, seaweed soup is a blessing. What would happen if a pregnant woman were taking an exam? I don’t think the answer matters much because the logic depends more on the context than any actual rules. The family that told their child, or the person who decided to eat soup that day, chooses the meaning. It doesn’t matter whether the rules are accurate or realistic, so long as they are believed in. Belief is what gives them power. For example, my informant NJ doesn’t encounter seaweed soup often here in LA, but he doesn’t avoid slippery foods. But perhaps if he wanted the qualities, then he would choose to believe in them. Or, if he were stressed about an exam, he might consider changing his diet.

Additionally, this is a fun superstition passed from parent to child. This sharing of beliefs and wisdom can bring families closer together. It sounds silly, but a nervous child might easily be calmed by the saying. That relief they feel will bring them closer to their family and make them appreciate the support. Instead of just saying “don’t worry about it, you’ll do great,” they offer a simple solution to make exams more manageable. This could help the children feel supported and cared for while parents support their achievements.

Chinese New Year Tradition of New Clothes

Age: 19

Text:

“One tradition we have during Chinese New Year is that it is necessary to wear new clothes from top to bottom. So like inner clothes, pajama, and new bed sets, new slippers, new socks, and new everything. 
And then, we have to all clean our room and house by ourselves, since we can’t get housekeepers to do it for us, so it’s necessary to do it by ourselves. Then, at 12 o’clock midnight, you have to eat dumplings.

Context:

The Chinese New Year is celebrated in China for the first two weeks in the Chinese Calendar. Each day is filled with various cultural and familial traditions. The informant shared her family tradition for the first day of the Chinese New Year.

Analysis:

This tradition can be understood through both symbolic and social frameworks in Cultural Anthropology. Wearing new clothes during the Chinese New Year reflects ideas of renewal and transformation. This aligns with what Arnold van Gennep describes as rites of passage, marking a transition into a new cycle. Cleaning the house oneself reinforces responsibility and participation in maintaining social harmony, which reflects Confucian values of family duty. Finally, eating dumplings together at midnight could bring the family into a shared moment that feels special and unifying. This practice allows everyone to mark the transition into the new year collectively, which reinforces a sense of togetherness and connection.

Drum Ritual at School Before Summer Break

Text:

“Every single year before summer break, there is a countdown, and our principal bangs on a big Chinese drum to signify the start of summer. Before that happens, we also sing four different songs: our school song, two songs about our school symbol, which is the tiger, and Sweet Caroline, which serves as our school’s theme song.”

Context:

This text was collected from a female student who attended an international school in China. She described this end-of-year ritual casually. The ceremony takes place at the close of every school year and follows a fixed structure: four songs are sung collectively — the school song, two tiger-themed songs representing the school mascot, and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” — ending in a principal-led countdown accompanied by the striking of a large Chinese drum. The ritual is notably interesting in its cultural composition, merging distinctly American popular culture with traditional Chinese instruments. This reflects the school’s broader institutional identity as an American-style international school operating within China: an institution that consciously positions itself between two cultural worlds. The fixed, repeated structure of the ceremony — the same songs, the same drum, the same countdown every year — gives it the quality of a calendrical ritual marking the boundary between the school year and summer.

Analysis:

This piece is a good example of school lore functioning simultaneously as institutional ritual and political statement. Unlike the horizontal, student-generated traditions typical of school folklore, this ceremony is explicitly top-down, led by the principal and embedded in the school’s official calendar. Van Gennep’s rites of passage framework applies clearly here: the countdown and drum strike function as a formal separation ritual, marking the threshold between the school year and summer and releasing students from their institutional identity. The hybrid cultural symbolism of the ceremony is particularly significant. The Chinese drum and the American pop music “Sweet Caroline” are both involved in the ritual, reflecting what the course identifies as the political work institutions do through folk and folkloric symbols — the school is communicating its identity as simultaneously American and Chinese. In other words, cultural symbols are intentionally selected and staged to construct an institutional identity. The tiger songs further reinforce a shared group identity through esoteric shared symbolism, creating what Turner would call communitas, which is a collective sense of belonging produced through the shared experience of an annual liminal ritual.