The informant is a college student. She referenced a folklore ritual she was taught from a young age in a preschool setting that was used for birthday’s. Each time it was a student’s birthday, they would sing a song saying, “Kings and queens and princesses too, want to wish the best for you, so wish day wash day what do you say birthday! Happy birthday to you!”
2. Context
“Now anytime I celebrate a birthday that song pops into my head and sometimes I will sing it because it was such a core memory for me.”
“Singing this song reminds me of preschool and all the memories I created there, it gives me nostalgia.”
3. Analysis
This is a ritual that the informant learned at a very young age. It was folklore shared by her community in preschool, among other young students, an artistic expression to wish a good birthday to each other. This example shows how folklore can be used to reflect on the past and incite feelings of nostalgia and reflexiveness of one’s past experiences.
The informant is a college student. She referenced the lighting of the four advent candles during the traditional Christmas season in December. It was a religious practice for her and her family and a way to celebrate their annual winter holiday.
2. Context
“Like the four advent candles that lead up to Christmas. You light one each Sunday before Christmas and it symbolizes hope, peace, joy and love.”
“It was just a way to celebrate with family and come together. We would sometimes go to church to do it but mostly just the sweet sentiment is what made it tradition for us.”
“Kind of for as long as I can remember. Yeah, I think we’ve just always done it no matter where we are on Sundays in December.”
3. Analysis
This is a ritual that is rooted in religious context from the Bible. It is meant to represent a different aspect each Sunday in the preparing for the coming of Christ. For this informant, it was adjusted to have religious undertones, and yet become more rooted in the familial aspect and honoring Christmas tradition. The informant clearly values the large morals reflected by the practice, and how it brought together her family to celebrate a holiday.
The informant is a college student. She referenced a festival honoring the Saint of Lisbon in Portugal, where she grew up. Her family used to celebrate the festival with little parties and elaborate decorations to honor their Portuguese nationality.
2. Context
“You celebrate with little parties and you decorate with a specific flower called manjericão. And you dress traditionally and do a Portuguese dance with flower arches.”
“I’ve been doing it since I gained consciousness. I liked it when we did it at school. They would make us learn the dance with a boy and you got to do it with him for all the parents.”
“I would be like ‘ooooo who’s my partner going to be this year.’ But in the street you have to be part of like a neighborhood group to be in the real parade.”
“But the little parties are for everyone and each neighborhood sets one up. Just like beer and food trucks and live music.”
“Some people call the whole thing ‘santos populares’ because sometimes there is more than one saint.”
3. Analysis
This is a festival that honors the informant’s nationality and provides an opportunity to celebrate with friends and family and engage in patriotism through folklore. It engages tradition and a variety of folkloric practices to honor Portuguese saints and build city pride. It is folklore in that it is artistic communication in the broader community and none of the festival practices have authored ownership.
‘Growing up in China, my family and I always celebrated the Dragon Boat and Zongzi Festival. Basically we would go into town and watch dragon boat races, which involved teams rowing decorated boats to music, while eating sticky rice dumplings which are called zongzi. This is a really big souther Chinese tradition with lots of festivities, praying, and it’s all about good luck. The festival celebrates Qu Yuan who was a prime minister in China centuries and centuries ago. I remember every year we would go to the river and dump the zongzi in to feed Qu yuan as a superstition. We also would hang a type of plant on our door called Chinese Mugwort to avoid mosquitos and bad luck as this is the hottest time of year.” – AS
AS grew up celebrating this holiday with her family each year as long as she can remember. It always signified a very fun time of year for her, even though it was the hottest days ever! AS emphasized that the biggest role it had, and still has, in her life, was not the history of the festival, but rather how delicious the zongzi is. While she no longer celebrates it, as she has moved to the US, she still makes and eats zongzi often, even for breakfast. Additionally, during the summer in the US, she hangs a fake plant on her door, that looks similar to Chinese Mugwort, to commemorate the Dragon Boat festival and keep her tradition as best she can in a new environment.
Zongzi: sticky rice dumplingsChinese Mugwort hung on a door
The Dragon Boat Festival is a very important festival in the region of China AS grew up in, as it highlights the cultural significance of Qu Yuan, and the traditions that grew because of it. The festival also incorporates multiple superstitions, as much folklore does, as many of the rituals they perform are to avoid bad luck and bring in success for themselves and their family during the hottest time of year. Additionally, the dragon boat races are a tradition of Chinese folklore and mythology, as they correspond to a legend that dragon boats were used to save Qu Yuan from drowning in the river, hence throwing in dumplings to feed him. Also, the zongzi are a form of folk food, as they are many times offered as a tribute and also to ward off any evil spirits and bad luck. Many prayers and traditions are also important to this festival. With the huge celebrations the Dragon Boat festival brings, the Chinese culture and heritage of this southern region of China is shared and spread to all. AS, who recently had a baby, also shares these traditions of zongzi and mugwort with him when they days get hot! There is rich folklore characteristics all throughout this festival that allow the culture and traditions to continue.
Collector: “Did you participate in any specific rituals or festivals growing up?”
Informant: “I grew up attending the Festival of Lights in Downtown Riverside, California. It’s always around Christmas time. They cover the entire downtown city in Christmas lights. It’s beautiful. There are musicians, usually solo artists, that come out they’ll put a bucket right next to them to collect tips. There’s a guy who brings his dog with him every year while he plays banjo. There’s a lot of different vendors, like there’s one specific hot cocoa stand that’s usually there. I forget the name. Some people sell glow stick toys to kids. The crowd is mostly families and couples.”
Collector: “Is there a main ceremony or is it just seeing lights?”
Informant: “There is like a main ceremony where they turn all the lights on. You know, the first night that’s when it’s the most crowded. Everybody goes downtown and they wait for them to turn on the lights.”
Context
The informant is a twenty-year-old male from Riverside California.
Analysis
I found the informant’s description of the Festival of Lights interesting, as I also grew up in Riverside but rarely participated in this downtown tradition. The Informant spoke fondly of the festival with warmth and smiled as he remembered small details from his childhood. I took the festival for granted, but his perspective made me see the tradition in a whole new light. The Informant feels very connected to the city of Riverside because he participated in community events annually. I felt disconnected from the community in my childhood, as I wasn’t involved in many hometown traditions. Local festivals have the power to create a sense of belonging in communities and build a strong emotional connection to a geographic location.
