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“Every year or New Year’s day my entire extended family, on my Dad’s Japanese American side, get together at my aunt’s house. We all live relatively close to her house in San Pedro, so everyone drives up to her place. It is tradition for everyone to coordinate with her on what to bring so there is a feast with a variety of foods. We always eat mochi soup, spam musubi, and sushi along with many other dishes and desserts. Each year after we eat, everyone gathers in the living room to do a toast with the adults having some sort of alochol such as champaigne and the kids with juice. Unfortunately I still have to drink the juice for a couple more years. Then, usually an older man of the family, like one of my uncles, gives a toast to the new year with wishes of health, love, and fortune and ends the speech with yelling “Banzai” three times. After each ‘banzai’ we repeat it after him while raising our glasses, and after three times we all drink.”
Context
“I think this family tradition manifests connection and love for the new year and makes the day feel special. As far as I know, the tradition started at my great uncle’s house and following his passing, my aunt also his daughter, continued the celebration at her house. From my memory we have been gathering and performing this tradition as far as I can remember in my 17 years.”
Analysis
Family folklore often is passed down throughout generations in the form of traditions. In this particular family, the tradition that began at her great uncle’s house is carried on by his daughter to keep the family’s identity on New Year’s alive and also maintains the memory of her father. Often times, folklore is maintained across generations to preserve what the folk before us created with minor changes in tradition along the way. The annual tradition of this event along with the Banzai toast make it a ritual because of the same foods and actions performed for each celebration. The shared drinking and eating foster connection and give this folk group their own unique identity.