Tag Archives: festival

Madonna Della Cava Feast

“Growing up in Boston we had a lot of festivals, and a few jump to my mind–there’s an Italian feast that everyone goes to in late August, like in middle of the streets in Boston, and you can get Italian food and listen to live music! It’s great. It’s called the Madonna Della Cava Feast, and my whole neighborhood (the North End) is totally transformed during the festival. I think the festival coincides with one in Pietraperzia, Italy, which is cool because an immigrant community halfway across the world has this intimate thing in common with its roots!”

Context:

This conversation was conducted in person at a dining hall, and I transcribed as faithfully as possible our conversation into written form.

Interpretation:

This also highlights how festivals can have a cultural element where even in another nation, similar aspects are celebrated. Boston has a significant Italian population, so this isn’t surprising, but it does illustrate how these immigrant/motherland communities might be closer than one may imagine, given that immigration to a new cultural context might induce changes in the way festivals are celebrated.

Dia de los Muertos

“I think you know about the Day of the Dead, Dia de los Muertos, which is a big deal in Mexico. Usually it happens in late October or early November, and the whole day is a celebration of those who aren’t with us–when I was back in Mexico, there were a lot of rituals, like how we’d build altars for the deceased and offer flowers, drinks, and food. Otherwise, it was a nice moment of celebrating rather than mourning the dead, which I don’t see an equivalent for in American culture.”

Context:

This conversation was conducted in person with my roommate in our shared room, and I transcribed the text from an audio recording of our conversation.

Interpretation:

This conversation reveals a bit more about the origins and function of the festival—the origin stems from the Catholic church, and then due to other political and social factors in Mexico, became separated from that and eventually became its own separate thing, as a way to honor ancestors. The idea that there isn’t really an equivalent celebration in American culture further contextualizes in Mexican culture and tradition.

Topsfield County Fair

“In middle school and high school, I really enjoyed going to the local county fair, Topsfield County fair. The fair is in Mid-October, around Columbus Day, so we’d have the day off from school to go. I enjoyed it, and my friends and I made it a sort of tradition to go to the festival! There were a lot of good food options, a lot of fried food, exhibitions in barns, etc. Also, there was a pumpkin weighing contest, where people, usually farmers, would bring in pumpkins that were outrageously large (weighing hundreds of pounds) and everyone loved to stick around and check out who won!”

Context:

I had this conversation with a friend of mine over the phone, through video call, so I was able to record and later transcribe what was said

Interpretation:

County fairs or state fairs are quintessentially American, and usually happen sometime in the summer, acting as a perfect ritual to transition from the school year to a relaxing summer, for students. It’s also a way for entertainment and commercial endeavors to be exhibited together (in the forms of merchants, rides, and other forms of amusement) to reach a wide audience! This particular fair is the oldest in the US, being a few hundred years old, standing as a testament to the long history of these events in American culture.

Tomb Sweeping Festival

Informant: N.N

Nationality: American

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Age: 19

Occupation: Student

Residence: Burbank, CA

Performance Date: 04/26/2024

N.N is 19 years old and is from Burbank, CA. I am close friends with his brother, so N.N is an acquaintance of mine.  I asked him if there are any festivals or rituals he participates in regularly. He tells me about the Tomb Sweeping Festival that his family participates in every year as well as the funeral customs they do during the festival. 

“Every spring break, around March or April, my family and I go to Thailand to celebrate the Tomb Sweeping Festival. It’s a tradition that’s been part of our family since I was thirteen. During the festival, we visit the altars of my great grandparents and clean them meticulously. It’s not just about tidying up; it’s a whole ritual. We bring offerings for my ancestors—my grandma’s parents. These offerings usually include their favorite foods and flowers. One of the most vivid parts of the festival is when we light firecrackers and sparklers on their altars. We then pray in Thai because our ancestors, grandma and mom used to live in Thailand. My mom and grandma always remind us, “If they weren’t alive, you wouldn’t be here”. I think they say this to instill a sense of respect and gratitude towards our ancestors. To them, and now to me, it’s important that we acknowledge and remember where we came from. Honestly, I think it’s a beautiful way to remember and pay respects to those who have passed away.”

Their Tomb Sweeping Festival reflects deep cultural values of respect, remembrance, and family ties. It emphasizes the importance of honoring one’s ancestors and acknowledging their contributions to our current lives. This ritual also shows the value of continuity and connection across generations, which reminds us of our heritage and the cycle of life. It’s a way for them to bond over shared history and instill a sense of gratitude for the past even in younger generations. The festival also embodies Chinese cultural values such as filial piety, showing their cultural roots.

Chinese New Year Festival Foods

Context: AT is a 22 year old student at USC. Her family is Taiwanese, and they celebrate Chinese New Year by cooking a variety of specific foods. AT listed these for me, along with the reasons behind why.

Text: “For one, we eat fish, because in Chinese, there’s a lot of words that sound the same and fish sounds the same as wealth. There’s a saying that every year you get more fish, you get more wealth. We also make this like fortune? cake? Or prosperity cake? It’s called fa gao, you can look it up. We make it because the word for fortune sounds like the word for rise, like bread rising. It’s really good! There’s also sweet rice cake, because it’s sticky, and the word for sticky sounds the same as the word for year. Oh, and of course, dumplings, because they look like the old fashioned coins or like ingots of gold they used to use. Let me think… oranges too, because one of the ways to say the fruit orange sounds like the way to say good luck”

Analysis: AT gave me a list of foods, all that are made and eaten due to a perceived relationship with something they sound or look like. The choice of food seems very sympathetic-magic based, specifically homeopathic magic based. Since the word for the item of food sounds like the word for another preferred item or outcome, engaging with that imitation is thought to produce said item/outcome, in this case, producing fortune in the form of money or in the form of luck. Making a food that either sounds or looks like luck/fortune is equated to making luck/fortune for oneself.