Tag Archives: labor

May Day in the Midwest

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Residence: Vacaville, CA

Text: In the Midwest, especially in places like Iowa, May Day is celebrated on May 1st as a fun, lighthearted way to welcome spring. Kids make small “May baskets” filled with candy, popcorn, and flowers, often using simple materials like construction paper or Dixie cups with pipe cleaner handles. These baskets are left on friends’ or neighbors’ doors, and if the person catches the one who delivered it, they’re supposed to give them a kiss. The tradition is more about celebrating spring and community than the labor-related history of May Day.

Although the global version of May Day has ties to labor rights and political activism, the Midwestern American version is far more centered on themes of renewal, creativity, and community. It marks the arrival of spring after a long winter, offering an opportunity for neighbors, friends, and classmates to connect through small acts of kindness and thoughtful creativity.

Context: Oh, May Day was so fun growing up. I’m from Iowa, and every year we’d make these little May baskets for our classmates or neighbors. We’d use construction paper and just roll it into a cone or sometimes Dixie cups with pipe cleaners for handles. You’d fill them with popcorn, candy, maybe some flowers if you had them. Then you’d sneak over to someone’s house, hang the basket on their door, knock or ring the bell, and run. If they caught you, they were supposed to kiss you! That was always the funny part—sometimes it was just silly, but other times it was your way of letting a boy know you liked him. I definitely remember leaving a basket on a boy’s door I had a crush on. It wasn’t about the real meaning of May Day ready for color and fun again. It was this sweet, creative little tradition that everyone got into.

My Analysis: I find this variant of the celebration of May Day to be particularly interesting because it really has nothing to do with labor or politics in any obvious way. The heart of the celebration is simply kids getting creative, having fun, and building community with one another. It reminds me of a tradition I and many other used to do around Halloween, Boo Baskets, where you’d leave the basket full of candy and toys on a neighbors door, ring the doorbell, and run. These fun traditions are meant to create special moments for the children that participate that last in their memories for life. That is why they are so encouraged by the parents that make them happen. It’s all about reliving that fond memory through seeing your children experiment it and in that way their joy creates joy in you. On a separate note, I do believe the themes of rebirth and rest harkened to in this celebration are evocative of the celebration of labor advancements. Without the push for a larger share of leisure time made in the early 1900’s, we would not be able to enjoy the beauty of springtime in the way we can today. This welcoming of flowers and new growth reminds those local to these celebrations to take time to smell the flowers and enjoy the simple pleasures that come with the changing seasons.

“I put my foot in it”

Nationality: African American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Texas
Performance Date: 2/16/23
Primary Language: English

Text: I put my foot in it.

Context: My informant, an African American female from Texas, heard this metaphor from her father after he made a peach cobbler that he considered outstanding. In simple terms, the phrase means to have put in effort and have greatly succeeded, similar to saying “I crushed it.” My informant remembers this phrase in particular because she was so confused by it initially, having taken it literally, but ultimately found it comical following her father’s explanation of the phrase. Since then, she has used the phrase in the same context her father would: following an earned achievement. 

Analysis: Hearing my informant’s explanation of this song surprised me, as, in my experience, to put one’s foot into something is typically a negative situation having to do with embarrassment or blunders. However, obviously, in folklore, the same phrase can have any number of meanings depending on contextual elements, including but not limited to location, race, and time period. I speculate that her father’s use of the term stems from the pride associated with his identities as a male, a Texan, and a minority, in which, broadly speaking, what you have is what you earn. Along these lines, the term “I put my foot in it” harkens to the labor involved in creating something good, specifically acknowledging the intentional and personal effort he has put into the creation process.  

Full moons, storms, and women in labor

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Residence: Lancaster, CA
Performance Date: April 23, 2021
Primary Language: English

Context: 

My informant, RW, is my mother. She was a labor and delivery nurse in a Dallas hospital in the 1990s. I asked her to tell me if there were any superstitions or rituals she learned working as a nurse. This piece was collected during an informal interview at home. I refer to myself as SW in the text.

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Main Text:

RW: “If you were ever working during a full moon or a stormy night, you knew it was going to be a busy shift.”

SW: “Why?”

RW: “I don’t know why the full moon. The thunderstorms was probably because of barometric pressure. I don’t know… And you never, ever, EVER say ‘it’s slow tonight’. If anyone started to say it was slow everyone starts screaming at them going ‘Ah noooo! Why?’ And it always happened, there’d be a giant influx after that.”

SW: “Who was the first person who told you about the full moon thing, or the thunderstorm thing?”

RW: “My nurse preceptor at Parkland. They thought it was something to do with the gravitational pull or something I don’t know.”

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Analysis:

The fact that saying something can make it come true is an example of performative speech. It’s interesting that even in as scientific of a job as working as a nurse, folklore is still very prevalent and spreads. Despite everything they know pointing to the lack of influence of full moons on how many women go into labor, the belief still persists. This probably is a very old belief having to do with lunar cycles and how they have been tied to menstruation and fertility for many cultures. There is also still an element of labor that is uncontrollable despite all the scientific knowledge we have, so folklore fills the gaps in what science can’t explain.

Ways to Induce Labor

Nationality: American
Age: 52
Occupation: Retired Nurse
Residence: Lancaster, CA
Performance Date: April 27, 2021
Primary Language: English

Context: 

My informant, RW, is my mother. She was a labor and delivery nurse in a Dallas hospital in the 1990s. I asked her to tell me if there were any superstitions or rituals she learned working as a nurse. She told me there were lots of different ideas about how to induce labor. This piece was collected during an informal interview at home.

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Main Text:

RW: “I learned a lot of this during my nursing residency at Parkland hospital. And there’s a whole giant hispanic population there, and there’s lots of things they do to induce labor. Well the midwives will tell you that perineal massage with olive oil, or any kind of essential oil will help. Um… you know rose hips, drinking tea with rose hips will induce labor. Um… of course, any time on a full moon, if you’re lucky enough to do that, will help. You know, walking obviously helps. Sex helps. Um… oh nipple massage or stimulation, that helps. And because that actually does make your body produce pitocin, on that one. There’s some things that the hispanic women would do… weird things like laying metal spoons across their belly. Not sure why they thought that would help, but…”

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Analysis:

Working in a labor and delivery unit, it’s not surprising that my mom picked up lots of folk medicine surrounding how to induce labor. As she mentioned, some of it has been scientifically proven. However, there’s also probably an element of wanting to do what you know culturally, or what has been repeated by your own mother. Childbirth can be stressful, and having rituals that your family has said would help may help women to relax and calm down more than any medical effect it may have. This can be shown because, as RW said, many of this practices are associated with a specific culture.

El que madruga, Dios le ayuda.

Nationality: Cuban-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: California
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: Spanish
Language: English

El que madruga, Dios le ayuda.

The one that rises early, God aids.

(Similar Proverb: Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.)

My informant, who is bilingual, remembers hearing this proverb from her grandmother, born in 1915, and who moved to the United States from Cuba in 1976. (My informant’s mother came to the United States at the same time in 1976).

My informant said that her grandmother would say this to her while she was growing up in reference to her sleeping habits most of all and how they differed from her grandmother’s sleeping habits. (My informant said that she usually goes to bed at 2 AM and sleeps in until 12 noon).

The use of “Dios,” or God in the proverb might imply the influence of the religion and belief of my informant, although of all the proverbs my informant provided me, numbering at around 14 or so, this is only one that references God. And when my informant translated, she referenced the similar proverb noted above, not a direct translation. The influence of her American upbringing explains why she would not use a direct translation and the proverb variant in America seems to be the product of capitalism by mentioning wealth, whereas the Spanish proverb does not mention wealth as a reward for rising early.