Send It

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 5/1/21

Overview

The informant is 21 years old and from Long Island, NY. He describes a saying he and his friends use often, which is “send it”. He describes the contexts in which this saying is used, which usually include the moment when someone is making a decision. To “send it” is to go full-speed ahead, to fully commit to a decision, and to ignore the consequences or risks of committing to this decision.

Analysis

I asked the informant about the meaning and origin of this phrase. He said that he and his friends had spoken about it before, and while they’re not sure of the exact origin, it reminds them of the confidence needed to send risky/bold text: you make the choice to send it, and you press send without looking back. 

Thoughts

I’ve heard this phrase a lot throughout high school and university, too. Interestingly, it’s used by every social group I’ve interacted with within my age group, but I’ve never heard someone more than five years older than me use it. I think it’s funny how much discrepancy there is between small age brackets, which we can see in the extreme difference between Gen Z and Millennial lingo. I love using the phrase “send it” because it embodies the spirit of youth, similar to the phrase “YOLO” (You Only Live Once). At this point, I want to live boldly and take risks, so I choose to send it!

Pickle in the Tree

Overview

The informant is Norwegian-American and lives in Long Island, NY. He describes his family’s tradition of hiding a pickle in the christmas tree. He says that when he was young, his parents would bury a pickle ornament deep in the tree and he and his siblings would race to find it. Whomever found it first got to open presents first. 

Analysis

I asked the informant about the history of this custom. He explained that his family has other German relatives and that they adopted this custom from them. When his father and his grandparents were young, they hid actual pickles, but the custom has evolved so that most people just hide pickle ornaments now. I then asked the informant about the significance of the custom, and he shared the story he’d been told: “I heard that for generations, German parents would reward the most observant child with an extra present. So, they found the most observant child by hiding a pickle among the other ornaments.”

Thoughts

What’s interesting to me about this custom is that, upon further research, it doesn’t seem to exist in actual Germany. Instead, it appears to be a custom exclusive to German-Americans (read: https://www.german-way.com/history-and-culture/holidays-and-celebrations/christmas/the-christmas-pickle-ornament/). This reminds me of the Italian-American tradition of the Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, which similarly seems to exist mostly in America.

Norwegian Sweaters

Nationality: Norwegian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Long Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/27/21

Overview

The informant is Norwegian-American and lives in Long Island, NY. He describes the Norwegian custom of special-knit sweaters which are symbolic of, and unique to, each individual family. He says that in Norwegian culture, every family member has a distinguished stitching pattern, so people identify their roots and origins through their sweaters. 

More Details

I questioned the informant further about occasions when he would wear the sweater and about what his family’s stitching pattern looks like. He replied that he would only wear his family’s sweater when he visited the local Norwegian Hall or when he would visit Norwegian family members. He said that the sweaters were special and not something to be worn casually. He said that each stitching pattern would be too intricate to describe verbally, but that they all generally look like the “christmas sweaters” that companies now sell. 

Thoughts

It seems that family name signifiers appear across most cultures, but it’s interesting to witness the different ways that they take form. The Norwegian distinguished stitching pattern reminds me of other forms of family crests– an icon that takes a general shape but is modified to each specific family name. Further, the way that the informant described the occasion of wearing the sweatshirt reminds me of church clothing: it’s special and only to be worn in more formal circumstances. 

7 Fishes on Christmas Eve

Nationality: Italian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Staten Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/23/21

Overview

The informant is Italian-American and lives in Staten Island. She describes her family’s Christmas Eve tradition of cooking seven types of fish every Christmas Eve. She says that it doesn’t matter which types of fish are cooked, so long as there are exactly seven different types. Popular choices in her family are squid, lobster, and crab.

Analysis

I asked the informant about the significance of seafood and the number seven in this tradition and, upon checking with her family, she replied, “In ancient times, Roman Catholic custom didn’t allow the consumption of meat or dairy on the eve of important holidays. So we turned to fish. None of us were too sure about the number seven, other than that it is a number that crops up a lot in religious text. If you couldn’t tell, this tradition is heavily steeped in religion.”

Thoughts

Growing up in Long Island, myself, a place full of Italian-Americans, I’ve heard a lot about the tradition of the 7 fishes. I wonder if it is practiced mostly by Italian-Americans or if it is also practiced in Italy. 

Lentils on New Years

Nationality: Italian-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Staten Island, NY
Performance Date: 4/23/21

Overview

The informant is Italian-American and lives in Staten Island. She describes her family’s New Years tradition of eating a cup of lentils. They are not cooked in a stew or spiced up at all. Rather, they are boiled plainly and then taken like a shot out of a cup. The informant says that lentils “bring good luck on new years,” and represent luck and prosperity among Italian people. So, taking them like a shot is a purely pragmatic tradition over a culinary one. 

Thoughts

Lentils are a type of bean, and beans are a well-documented symbol of fertility and prosperity. Therefore, it makes sense for them to represent similar values in Italian folklore. I wonder if every family eats them so pragmatically, or whether other families cook them into entire meals.