Tag Archives: children

Saying Told to Children

“If Ifs and buts were candy and nuts oh what a Christmas we’d have!”

The informant says she heard the saying from her parents when she grew up in the 70’s-80’s. The informant grew up in Virginia outside of Washington D.C. It was primarily said to her and her siblings when she was in elementary school after she did something wrong and tried to make an excuse or justify it. It was a common saying according to her that was regularly said by teachers and other parents too

“If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh what a Christmas we’d have!” is a quaint retort to a child’s excuse-making but it can tell us a lot about the goals and culture of parents in America at this time. It is a blend of personal accountability, practical wisdom, and the use of humor in teaching, that parents use while trying to instill important values in their children. This saying is meant to teach kids not to be someone who makes excuses and to instead just act the right way. It is said in a fun and memorable way that a kid would remember. This highlights the American spirit of “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” or not making excuses and just working hard to be successful. This way of thinking was especially prevalent during the 70’s-80’s and this children’s saying highlights that parents goals at the time were to make sure their kids also thought this way too.

Childhood Rebus/Drawing Game: A Story that Makes a Puppy

Text/Transcript: While drawing out the featured image, the informant said this: “There once was a man with no arms. And then he was attacked by bees. And so, to escape the bees, he jumped into a pond. But he had so many stings that he didn’t know what to do, so he ran to the police department, but they didn’t help him, because they can’t help with bee stings. And then he went to the fire department, but they couldn’t help him, cause they don’t help with bee stings. And so they told him to go to the hospital, so he ran all the way across town to the hospital and they put two little bandaids on his bee stings. And then you have a puppy.”

Context: G is a 20 year old USC junior majoring in theater. They are from North Carolina and have been living in Los Angeles for three years. 

G remembers this rebus of sorts from childhood. It’s a simple visual story told while drawing. The ‘puzzle’ begins with an armless stick figure (the nose and mouth), then adding dots as the bee stings (whiskers), the circle as the pond (face), more circles as the police + fire departments (the eyes), a large circle as the hospital (the head), and finally ovals on the sides as the bandaids (the ears). G notes that she is not sure the ears were originally bandaids, and that she improvised that bit. They also added the body for fun – it’s not part of the original rebus.

G remembers being taught this by a classmate at some point in grade school.

Interpretation: Amusement is valued and simplistic in grade school. I think of this folk drawing as something children will do to entertain themselves; to make each other laugh. This pseudo-rebus, in particular, is reminiscent of an elementary school experience either lacking technology or with minimal technology. In the early 2010s, when my informant was in grade school, technology had not entirely taken over learning spaces. It’s especially fitting that this was drawn on the back of her release form, as she mentioned remembering drawing it on the back of worksheets. This is a kind of folk drawing/speech that requires children to be a little clever and, although it looks different depending on the person drawing it, it is intended to look like a dog and is amusing to young children because of that. It’s purpose seems to be both amusement and relationship-building, as it’s something passed to a classmate (presumably a friend) to share in that amusement. There isn’t any intended cruelty to the receiving end of the puzzle, it’s something to enjoy together.

The tale of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller

Nationality: German
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Stuttgart, Germany
Performance Date: 04/03/23
Primary Language: English
Language: German, Arabic

Text: “One popular legend in Stuttgart, Germany is the tale of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller. According to the legend, the Ratskeller (City Hall cellar) was once home to basically a group of goblins or dwarfs known as the Stuttgarter Männle. The story goes that these goblins would steal food, spill wine, and generally wreak havoc. The citizens of Stuttgart tried everything they could to get rid of the Männle, but nothing worked. One day, a cook came up with a plan. He prepared a large vat of stew and laced it with a potent sleeping potion. He then placed the stew in the Ratskeller, where the Männle could smell it from their hiding place in the cellar. As soon as the Männle tasted the stew, they fell into a deep sleep, and the cook quickly sealed the cellar shut with a large stone slab. The Männle were trapped inside, never to cause trouble again. The Stuttgarter Ratskeller is still sealed and people say that the goblins still sleep beneath the city streets.”

Context: BA is one of my closest friends and was very happy to be sharing folklore from his hometown. Apparently, this is a very very popular folk tale that is told even to tourists visiting Stuttgart. BA was told this story by his mother when he was about 8 years old and BA claims he always thought it was funny. He always knew it was not a true story but also thought it was very cool how an effort was made to keep the ratskellar closed. He also recalls how when he was little he was more keen on the possibility of the story being real but now he obviously knows it is untrue. BA believes this is a tale more suited for younger audiences and tourists unfamiliar with the folklore of Stuttgart.

Analysis: This was a very fun tale and I actually found myself to be very intrigued. BA was also very well versed when telling it, which showed me it was an important piece of folklore from his hometown. The story is typically told by locals and tour guides who want to share the city’s rich history and culture with others, but it is kept alive within the community itself usually from a mother or father to their own children. The legend of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller is an example of a classic folk tale that tells the story of mischievous creatures who are eventually defeated by human ingenuity. The tale reflects a common theme in folklore where humans overcome supernatural forces using their intelligence and cunning. The story of the Stuttgarter Männle is also a way for the people of Stuttgart to connect with their past and honor their ancestors. The city has a long and storied history, and the legend of the Stuttgarter Ratskeller is one way for the people of Stuttgart to remember their past and preserve their cultural heritage. Additionally, the legend of the Stuttgarter Männle is a fun and entertaining story that captures the imagination of both children and adults. The tale has been retold in many different forms, including plays, books, and movies, and it continues to be a beloved part of Stuttgart’s folklore. But, from what BA told me, it seems to be more suited for a younger audience.

La Llorona

Category: Legend/Tale (Depends on if the person believes in spirits, but more of a Legend)

Text: 

Summary: If a child cries too much they would be taken by la Llorona. La Llorona is a crying woman who does something bad to bad children. “[I]t’s always a woman and … she’s [always] weeping and generally 9 times out of 10, it was always involving children.”

*for more details read script below

Context:

L is my mom who was born in Mexicali, Mexico and then moved to the US with her family when she was young. She heard about la Llorona from her parents and interprets the story of la Llorona having to do with females crying and children misbehaving.

Interpretation:

This oikotype of la Llorona doesn’t have to do with water like Carbonell says is included in many Llorona stories. Instead this Llorona focuses on females crying and children misbehaving, which are themes in other oikotypes as well. In a sense, this version seems similar to the Boogeyman but with a crying aspect. It does go with what Carbonell says is the more common role of la Llorona since she plays a role as the bad guy.

L implies that la Llorona kidnaps children with the part about the Olympics. This is more common with other oikotypes of la Llorona and the name itself shows hispanic identity since it’s in Spanish. On the other hand, there is the more unique interpretation L takes of la Llorona with her siblings when one of them cries a lot. Instead of calling someone a cry-baby, her siblings use la Llorona instead, which may also be a coincidence since “a female who cries” is literally the same name for la Llorona, the figure in legends. Since L’s family uses it to keep children from crying after a certain time it means that L’s family values one’s toughness and ability to adapt quickly rather than sympathise.

Interesting Side Note:

  • L also implies that la Llorona can be an aspect of God’s punishment on bad children in the latter part of the conversation.
  • As a Mexican American, I know parts of Mexican and Hispanic culture from my mom but definitely not all. I didn’t even know about la Llorona until I learned it off the internet and then asked my mom about her. Having this conversation let me know why my mom didn’t bring up these stories: they’re replaced by other, “American” folklore like “Stranger Danger!”, the Boogeyman, etc. Said replacement is an interesting side note.

Script:

Me: Ok, so what was this about la Llorona, like what-what’s the kind of story and then I guess how did you have it in your childhood and life?

L: So la Llorona, I grew up with it. My parents introduced it to us and I am the youngest of four and generally when the topic of la Llorona came up, it was not a good thing. Ok? You try avoiding having la Llorona brought up and the way it was brought up in my childhood was if… and I am the youngest of four siblings and if you got hurt, there was what parents would deemed an appropriate amount of time for you to sit there and ball your head out and cry and, you know, appropriately, you know, let people know that you’re hurt and you’re crying. But then if you went on beyond that reasonable amount of time and you were just doing a drama and you were just playing it up and you reached the excess point, they would politely say, ‘look enough is enough and if you don’t stop you’re crying at this point you’re going to be visited by la Llorona.

Me: And by they you mean your parents?

L: Your-your- no. My parents would say you’re going to be visited by la Llorona. And la Llorona is always a woman, as implied you know, from the verb, you know, weeping and it’s a woman plural, I mean it’s feminine because it’s la LloronA.

Me: Ends with an A.

L: So it’s always a woman and it’s always- she’s weeping and generally 9 times out of 10 it was always involving children. Ok? So that’s how I heard of la Llorona. That’s how it was used, but even amongst our siblings, even among siblings, it was not a good thing to be nicknamed or to be called out being la Llorona. And you would do this to push your siblings’ buttons, to get them irate. And that was the point where yeah- let’s say you pushed them, or you shoved them, or you skinned yourself playing soccer or-or you got a big bruise and you were just endlessly crying for no, you know, I mean ya it hurt, but then you’d go on and on and on. Well then, we would just nickname them like, you know, la Llorona. ‘If you don’t shut up about this, you know, you’re just la Llorona.’ It was a nickname amongst our siblings. More appropriately among us females because it’s a woman who’s weeping.

Me: So you and Tia [P].

L: Yes, me and Tia [P], and so my parents would use it, not a good thing. I would use it among siblings as a nickname, you know, kind of picking on you… to shut up… stop with the crying when it was excess. You would use it amongst siblings and me as an adult with you, my kids I really never had the occasion to use it. I contemplated it at times… but…

Me: Instead, dad would just be like, ‘No phone privileges!’

L: *laughs* Ya, I mean it-it’s- here in the United States you have other methods of controlling kind of, you know, bad behavior or excess, you know, crying or excess, you know, brooding. The only time I really contemplated it was as- as- a sign when we would go to the Olympics and we were among hordes of people and we really, I mean it would have just been a nightmare if any of you had actually gotten lost at one of the Olympic events with the thousands of people there. To hold tie to always, you know, be by a parent but we never really had to. There were other methods to do it. But that was the one time I kept saying, you know, maybe this is the time to bring out la Llorona just to instill the fear of God in them that they really, really have to hold on to a parent or else they’re going to get lost in the thousands of people…

Me: So like stranger danger.

L: Yeah, but I didn’t have to because we had stranger danger and I even saw that parents would put those little long leashes, I call them leashes and that’s probably not the appropriate name…

Me: *snorts*

L: But the little backpacks, right? With these long cords to attach to the parent or attach to the arm of the kid so the child doesn’t get lost. But we never even had to do that. So again, la Llorona, it was useful when I grew up by my parents, and it was not a good thing, and we used it growing up amongst ourselves as nicknames just to… uh…

Me: Mess with each other?

L: Yeah, push each others’ buttons. And again, as an adult I didn’t really have to use it because I had other methods other ways to try and curb that bad behavior or quiet that behavior we wanted.

Me: Gee thanks.

L: *laughs* Alright any other questions on la Llorona?

Me: Um…. Nope… not really. Gracias.

L: Ok, de nada.

Mr. Magic

Informant AJ is a university freshman from San Jose, California. AJ attended a San Jose elementary school since he was five years old.

Text:

“Unfortunately, after some time, students noticed that one staff member who we called Mr. Magic wasn’t appearing in the classrooms anymore showing off his awesome magic, but we didn’t really think too much of it. I can’t remember if this was in elementary school or after I moved on. I just remember my family was telling me that he was caught stealing money from the PTA and keeping it for himself, so that was a very disappointing story, and it wasn’t really shared with the community. I can’t necessarily confirm this story but this is just what I’ve been hearing from a couple people.”

Context:

“Mr. Magic was a guy who did magic for his students at our elementary school. Some of his tricks were very nice but other tricks were definitely just because we were pretty gullible. Quite frankly, they weren’t the greatest tricks but overall it was pretty fun to see what he had for us students. He was very well-liked by most of the students, and was definitely a people person.”

Analysis:

The fact that Mr. Magic was affiliated with an elementary school contributes to the creation of the quasi-legendary figure of Mr. Magic. As is customary in the United States and in numerous other countries, there is a distinctly separate identity for children than there is for adults. This may constitute what stories, games, clothing, or behavior is appropriate, but especially dictates to what extent a child or adult is allowed access to information. Following the creation of the printing press in 1450 and the emergence of widespread schooling was the emergence of a complementary childhood identity that separated from adults, whereas beforehand, children were seen as small adults and expected to take on many of the same responsibilities. This would explain why students such as AJ were left in the dark at the time, paving the way for folk narratives to emerge both about his dazzling status as a well-liked magician, and of his mysterious disappearance.