Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving

Nationality: American; Korean
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Main Text: 

Chuseok: Korean Thanksgiving 

Background on Informant: 

Currently a student, my informant grew up in a Korean household and has shared with me the many traditions she grew up practicing and experienced throughout her life. 

Context: 

She explains:

“In Korea we have this ‘holiday’ called Chuseok, which translates to ‘Autumn eve’.  It is celebrated on August 15th as it usually is a full moon on the lunar calendar and goes on for three days. It is kind of like a harvest festival and can be said to be an equivalent to the American Thanksgiving. 

Because we live in the USA and not Korea, we don’t follow the tradition to a tee, as it would require us to go to our hometown to visit our ancestors. 

Instead we hang up pictures of our dead relatives and bow down to their pictures as a sign of respect and ask them for guidance or luck. 

After our version of this ‘ancestral worship’ we have a huge feast  which includes: Songpyeon (rice cake), Jeon (Korean pancake), Japchae (noodle dish), and many others. 

Sometimes we have relatives or family friends who give us gifts but this one is more of a modern custom that hasn’t been around for that long. 

I love celebrating it, I think it really helps implement my Korean identity, and it’s a really fun tradition.”

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Before this interview, I did not know much about the Chuseok celebration, but was indeed intrigued after hearing my informant tell me about her experiences. As a first generation American myself, I know firsthand the struggle of trying to retain your cultural identity, and how typical traditions have had to morph somewhat into the American ideals. I love how even though her family can’t be in Korea they have developed their own version on how to celebrate that I find beautiful and heart-warming. I like how they continue to practice this in order to preserve their heritage and customs and how it has played an important part in my informants’ life and her connection to her culture. Overall, I love this tradition and how even though it has a long past, it continues to be practiced and the honor that is given to ancestors as a means of wisdom and remembrance. 

Birthday Soup

Nationality: American; Korean
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: English
Language: Korean

Main Text: 

Birthday Soup 

Background on Informant: 

Currently a student, my informant grew up in a Korean household and has shared with me the many traditions she grew up practicing and experienced throughout her life. 

Context: 

She explains

“I’m not really sure what the history behind it is but every year on your birthday, you need to eat seaweed soup or Miyeokguk (미역국) It’s a tradition that I’m pretty sure every Korean has practiced or at least heard about.

Some typical ingredients include: beef, oysters or clam, sesame seeds, scallions, sometimes shrimp, soy sauce, broth, and many others. 

It is meant to symbolize or rather it means that by eating it you will live another year healthy and prosperous. 

I know that traditionally this type of soup also helps with metabolism, purifying blood, and detoxing which is probably why when you eat it, it’s supposed to increase your health. 

My mom usually prepares it for me but my parents will prepare it for themselves on their birthdays to show gratitude to their mothers. 

Although there is one exception to this — you can’t eat it on a day of a big exam or it mean you will fail.” 

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Food is a great way of preserving cultural identity and tradition. I loved learning about the tradition of Miyeokguk (미역국) and the history behind it. I loved how it serves as a connection to the mother and how much it is valued. I love how it serves to honor mothers and the wisdom behind the prosperous life is one that a lot of other birthday traditions also practice. Overall, I enjoyed learning more about a small part of Korean culture and the importance it places on birthdays, mothers, and prosperous living. 

Szekely Kapu (Szekely Gates)

Nationality: Romanian; Hungarian
Age: 47
Residence: Oxford, Connecticut
Performance Date: 04/25/2021
Primary Language: Hungarian
Language: English; French; Romanian

Main Text: 

Szekely Kapu (Szekely Gates)


Background on Informant: 

My informant is originally from Romania, specifically the Transylvania region that is intermixed with Romanian and Hungarian roots. They came to the United States at 24 and have been here since. They are very knowledgable with the cultural context of Romania and Hungary, having grown up in Szekely tradition (a subgroup of Hungarian people living in Romania). They have graciously shared with me parts of their folklore and heritage. 

Context: 

They explain: 

“Growing up in Szekely tradition, this concept of the Szekely “kapu” gate was a phenomenon we saw everywhere. 

It’s symbolism is as a kind of barrier between the family home and the outside world. Usually these gates are wooden and have important carvings that are meant to either be religious or represent something that the maker found important enough to etch in. 

It’s a connection to the ancestral past, and what’s interesting to note about them is that because in the old days it was so common, you can observe differences from these type of gates in West versus where I grew up in the East. 

But they are unique and an important connection to heritage, I know my parents looked upon it as sacred because it was supposed to be guard our ‘sanctuary’. 

My parents and their parents before them were very religious so I remember ours had a giant Isten Hozott carved into it which means ‘God has brought you’. 

The gates aren’t really created anymore but the ones left have beautiful legacies of rich culture and of course the folklore reflect in them. The carvings have immortalized the period they were created with paintings, visual imageries like crosses and doves, and of course like I mentioned before words of wisdom or associated with religion. But because of how old most of them are, they are fading from weathering. 

People in my hometown take pride in them because it shows off our village identity and it’s our little corner of the world where we get to shine with our cultural traditions. 

I think people still sell them, but it’s lost its sacredness and it’s mostly for tourism or decoration. My family still has ours up in front of the house, but it’s been up for so long that you can barely make out the carvings but still it serves as a reminder and protection of the past.”

Analysis/Thoughts: 

Before this interview I had never even heard of the concept of the Szekely gate and was astounded at how much I was able to learn from it. From researching, I learned that often times these gates were made for the wealthy and as time went on it became a large part of lower households histories as well. It is fascinating how much pride the people of the Szekelyfold hold towards their cultural and folk identity. 

I admire the beautiful carvings and art that are the gates and wish it were still around as much as it was in the past rather than just a relic. I love how much emotional connection the person I interviewed had and overall just the connection the gate has with ancestral past. I love how unique the carvings are and how it can be anything from flowers, to the sun, moon, and angels.  It is also funny to note that oftentimes some of the houses are long gone yet the gates remain as reminders of what was. Overall, I learned so much about the beautiful tradition and past of Szekely kapu and hope to see one in the future. 

Annotations: 

For visual reference: 

https://live.staticflickr.com/6077/6095656579_79e62a1bee_b.jpg

For more information: 

https://wondersoftransylvania.com/wonder/the-szekler-gates-of-marefalva

FIRST RAIN – Festival

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Jose
Performance Date: May 1, 2021
Primary Language: English

Transcript of recorded audio
“Oh my god, I almost forgot First Rain. Okay so, this isn’t like, a legend, so much as it is a holiday. But every um, okay, cuz there are really specific rules surrounding it. So I feel like it counts. So, when first rain happens, um, you’re suppose to strip naked, and run to Overs, where the pool is, and you’re suppose to jump in the pool. But there are very specific, like, conditions that depend on what is first rain. So like it has to rain at a specific time and it has to rain like on a weekday, like it can’t rain on the weekend, or like a Friday, it has to be like Monday through Thursday and it has to rain from like… oh gosh, it has to rain from like, I want to say its like 10 to like 3. Like it has to rain for like 4 hours, I think. And I don’t know why the rules are so specific. Uh, legend says that it’s because, I guess like one year like, there were like, a bunch of like false starts or like maybe First Rain kept on happening like too soon. Um, there were a couple… um, false starts my Freshman year. Uh like, people who were like, oh its first rain, but like it wasn’t. Cuz like the specific rules hadn’t been fulfilled. But Sophomore year, like it like went off without a hitch. And I-I like, looked outside my room and there’s just, naked people running. Um, I never participated because I have a shit immune system. And honestly, I don’t know who started it. But it is like, a legitimate, like holiday, that I don’t think anyone else like celebrates. I bet you it like ties back to the fact that like being in UCSC, like on that campus in the forest, you feel that much more connected to nature.”

Background
The informant providing this story goes to UCSC. They likely heard it from their classmates (or if not that, from seeing a bunch of naked people jump into the pool in the rain. From their perspective they don’t seem to participate in the tradition, however, they also seem very positive towards it as well. There’s a clear point of pride in the way they talk.

Context
This story was given as a set of voice memos. Most of them are more related to legends and magical sights on campus. But this story (which was the last one provided) is about a holiday they have. The nature of the performance, which inherently creates two separate out groups (the ones who jump in early and the ones who don’t jump at all) is something I find interesting. This is also one of the many times that the speaker has contextualized her story through the nearby forest. It seems to act as a centerpiece for a lot of these stories, even the ones where very little relation is bared to the actual woods.

Thoughts
What’s weird about this festival is how obvious it is. Knowing the campus and its culture, this is exactly the kind of thing I would expect from them, to the point where it almost feels stereotypical. I feel like thats the point. In a way, this tradition seems to take the most mockable elements of the hippie movement (a movement which the school was closely associated with) and embraces it wholeheartedly. Another interesting element is the practice of open nudity in relation to autumn (when we might expect the first rain to actually happen). One might imagine that in a more traditional society, this would be more of a springtime celebration. But in a way, this tradition almost seems to mock that, by introducing a lively, outdoors celebration that forces people to jump into cold water. It almost comes across as a dare to thwart the seasonal change.

RESPECT THE FUCKING FOREST – Folk Magic (sympathetic)

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Jose
Performance Date: May 1, 2021
Primary Language: English

Transcript of recorded audio
“Um, it’s funny. Every single adult that I talked to, right before I went to Santa Cruz, told me not to go into the forest at night. But that, like, consensus, isn’t really upheld up by the students at UCSC, mostly because I think the forest is like around us like literally everywhere. Right, there’s no like don’t go into the forest at night, but there are some pretty serious like, respect the forests at night. Obviously there’s a pretty big like Wiccan culture at UCSC, and like I get it, like, when I first went into the forests at night, like you could definitely feel like you’re not alone there. You know, and whether that be like animals or spirits or whatever it’s… it’s noticeable, right? So at UCSC, there’s not this idea of don’t go into the forest at night, but there is this idea of respect the forest, especially at night. Because, you know, like you hear strange shit going on in the forest, you hear laughing and screaming and, just like noises that are very very haunted, but as long as they are reasonably far off, you don’t really have to worry about them, but you do kind of have to be on the top of your game. Right? So like never liter in the forest, never fuck with the forest, always respect the forest and the forest will respect you. Like I said like, cougar attacks happen. People fucking died on campus. Um, so, respect the fucking forest, you know? I guess that’s a legend in it of itself.”

Background
The person telling this story goes to UCSC, and is very into the superstitions and folklore. They’ve provided quite a few examples of legends and magic pertaining to the campus. But what’s interesting is how this story is coming from two separate places: one version from the students and one from the adults. It should also be noted that this same informant has placed a considerable amount of emphasis on how scary the forest is at night in a lot of her other stories.

Context
This story is part of a set of voice memos, sent by a student at UCSC Santa Cruz. Most are ghost stories concerning the campus. For context, Wiccan culture is referencing old pagan traditions. But what’s interesting is that this is the first time I’ve ever heard her mention these traditions on campus. It’s treated as obvious knowledge, but in all honesty, this is the first time I’m really hearing about is specifically.

Thoughts
This story in particular ties together a lot of the notions that have been formulating in my head about Santa Cruz lore. It’s very concerned with nature, specifically with the forest surrounding campus. And in doing so, it’ll often treat nature as a magical entity, one who’s general nature is benevolent, but hold the potential for savagery if the wrong actions are taken. Like with the story about the buddha and the wishing stones, we see what we might expect to be very positive and wholesome rituals take on a more threatening edge. I wonder if this has to do with the idea of ‘nature willing out,’ so to speak. UCSC has a very ecologically conscious environment, so the idea of nature being mostly seen as a force of good, but also as one which can wipe humanity off the face of the earth (say through global warming) doesn’t seem to fall too out of step from these interpretations in their lore.