Tag Archives: tradition

Special Dinner

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“Every Christmas, or other important days like graduations and stuff, we go to Riptide for dinner to celebrate. We’ve been doing this for a while now and we always look forward to it.”

CONTEXT:

Riptide is a high-end teppanyaki restaurant, and the informant began this tradition because she only wanted to spend the money on special occasions. Now, it has become a regular component of her Christmas celebration, to the point where it is just expected that the family will be going.


ANALYSIS:

This ritual showcases the ritual license effect. This term refers to how people get a pass on holidays or special occasions to act differently than they would any other day. On an average day, the informant would not pay for the expensive dinner, but when it is a holiday, the expense is much more justifiable. Additionally, this ritual follows a calendar cycle as it is scheduled to occur on specific days of the year. This means the family anticipates when it is going to happen and gets to look forward to it as another part of their Christmas celebration.

Ornament Ritual

Nationality: American
Age: 23
Occupation: Waitress
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“So every year, on Christmas, my parents buy me and my siblings an ornament that is supposed to represent something we did that year. This year I got an ornament of, like, a little blender, which is a reference to how I have to make shakes at Ruby’s for my job. Then, the next year, we get to hang them up and reminisce over what we did the year before”

CONTEXT:

The informant later clarified that the tradition began when her oldest sibling was born and her parents wanted to purchase an object that reminds them of their child’s birth. This then continued with each child getting one year after year. The most enjoyable part of the tradition, according to the informant, is when they get to hang up their personalized ornaments when decorating a Christmas tree. 

ANALYSIS:

This tradition is an example of a ritual tied to a holiday – it is considered an important part of the informant’s Christmas celebration. Many holidays and their corresponding rituals emphasize the passing of time, and this ritual is no different. The ornament is meant to be representative of some event that happened during the year so the family can reflect on what changes or milestones they experienced with the passing of time. It celebrates the growth each child has had, starting from their birth. It also adds another component to the traditional decorating of a tree, as each year the kids grow they will have more ornaments to decorate it with. Thus, the tree itself would be representative of the years the family has been together. 

This ritual can also be seen as symbolic of the family unit. Each child gets their own unique ornament that reflects their personal growth. However, the ornaments become a unit when they are hung up together on the tree. It illustrates how each member of the family has their differences, but they share a common identity with each other by being members of the same family. In addition, the ornaments working together to make the tree visually appealing can be seen as a reflection of how the family supports one another with the ultimate goal of building a successful life for each other.

Grandma’s Indian Food

Nationality: United States
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Language: English

Text: “Whenever I visit my grandma’s house in Seattle, she always makes a plethora of my favorite Indian foods. She will begin cooking several hours before we even arrive as the dough has to be made by hand. She makes traditional north Indian foods such as aloo sabzi (broken potatoes), raita (yogurt sauce), gulab jamun (syrup dough balls), and pooris (a ball of fried dough used as a vessel for everything else). Despite how she is feeling or when we get there, she always has food waiting.”


Context: This ritual was shared by the informant, D, during a discussion about family and food traditions. D emphasized how her grandmother in Seattle consistently prepares traditional Indian dishes whenever they visit. D shared how even when her grandma isn’t feeling her best, she always cooks, making the experience a meaningful act of love and care. 

Analysis: This is a food-centered ritual that reflects themes of hospitay and cultural continuity. By cooking traditional Indian food, especially labor-intensive dishes like pooris, D’s grandmother is both expressing her love and maintaining the family’s cultural identity. Given that she will prepare the food regardless of circumstances, this ritual turns food into a symbolic gesture of love that further strengthens familial bonds. This example shows how culinary traditions can help both deepen familial relationships and also preserve heritage. 

Filipino Wedding Cord

Age: 35
Occupation: Nurse
Residence: Yorba Linda, CA
Language: English

Text

“When I got married, I included the Filipino wedding cord ritual. Not everyone at the wedding had heard of it, so I made sure we included a note in the program and had the officiant explain it too. It’s one of the traditional wedding customs in Filipino Catholic ceremonies, along with the veil and coins rituals.

The cord, or yugal, is typically a large decorative loop; it is usually made of silk or a rosary and shaped into a figure eight. This shape symbolizes infinity, endless love, and commitment. During the ceremony, two people called cord sponsors, who are usually a married couple chosen by the bride and groom, to drape the cord over the couple’s shoulders. 

One loop goes around the groom and the other around the bride. Then it rests gently across both of us, physically connecting us.

This is done after the vows and rings. It’s used to represent unity and the idea from that moment forward, we’re bound together not just legally or emotionally but also spiritually and communally too. 

In traditional Filipino culture, marriage isn’t just about the two people. It is also about the families, community, and even the ancestors who came before. The yugal is a visual symbol of that commitment. It says: we’re in this together, and we’re surrounded by support.”

Context

This narrative was shared by a Filipino American woman based in Southern California who recently got married and chose to include the yugal (wedding cord) ritual as a part of he wedding ceremony. The informant is second-generation, with her parents who immigrated from the Philippines. She explains that while she grew up seeing photos and hearing about traditional Filipino Catholic wedding customs, this was her first time directly participating in the ritual. She saw it as a meaningful way to connect with her cultural heritage and to educate non-Filipino guests attending her wedding.

She chose to have the officiant explain the ritual aloud during the ceremony and also included a brief description in the wedding program, since many guests were unfamiliar with Filipino customs. Her interpretation of the ritual highlights the spiritual, communal, and intergenerational dimensions of Filipino marriage traditions. To her, the yugal represents more than a decorative act. It visually affirms the idea that marriage is a bond supported by family, faith, and history.

My interpretation

The Filipino wedding cord ritual, also known as the yugal, is a traditional practice commonly performed during Filipino Catholic weddings. It is one of three primary unity rituals, alongside the veil and coin ceremonies, that serve as material and symbolic expressions of marriage as a sacred, communal, and culturally grounded institution. 

The yugal ritual is best understood as a life-cycle ritual and a form of performative tradition. It marks a moment of transition in the couple’s identity, not only as individuals becoming legally married, but as members of a broader cultural and familial system. Rituals like these are symbolically special acts that represent continuity with the past while actively shaping present social identity. In this way, the wedding cord ritual is not just decorative since it functions as a symbolic performance of cultural values, particularly those around unity, family, commitment, and faith.

The yugal also demonstrates the vernacular dimensions of religion. While it is part of Catholic wedding ceremonies, it is not a universal church practice and is instead deeply embedded in Filipino cultural contexts. It shows how religious expression can be shaped by folk practices passed down through community knowledge, rather than dictated by official religious institutions. This aligns with folklorist definitions of vernacular religion, which is a lived religious experience expressed through tradition, objects, and ritual enacted by ordinary people.

The cord ritual is also an example of intangible cultural heritage (ICH,) which is a form of tradition that is not a fixed artifact but a recurring, dynamic practice. Its meaning is carried through action, symbolism, and intergenerational participation rather than text or formal canon. However, as it becomes more frequently included in diasporic weddings (in this case, a Filipino American wedding), it also raises questions about heritage vs folklore. When the ritual is scripted into programs or explained to unfamiliar audiences, it edges closer to heritagization.

Debut (18th Birthday)

Nationality: Filipino American
Age: 23
Occupation: Student
Residence: Cerritos, CA

Text 

“When I turned 18, I had a debut. It is basically a Filipino coming-of-age celebration. It’s like a quinceañera but at 18. For Filipinos, it’s a big deal. Turning 18 means you’re entering adulthood, so you’re presented to your family and community with all the grace and glamor of a princess. 

The most memorable part of my debut was the 18 roses and 18 candles.

The 18 Roses are dances. 18 men, usually dads, cousins, and guy friends, each danced with me one by one. They handed me a rose and sometimes say a short message. It can get pretty emotional.

The 18 Candles are when 18 girls or women light a candle and give a short speech about me. Some speeches were funny, and others were mini love letters from my closest friends. It was a way of seeing myself through the eyes of people who had known me my whole life, and it really stuck with me. 

I didn’t grow up in the Philippines, but doing the debut made me feel connected to that part of me.”

Context 

The informant is a second-generation daughter who celebrated her debut at age 18 with a full program including traditional elements like 18 Roses and 18 Candles. She emphasized that while she was raised in the United States, the debut helped her feel connected to her Filipino heritage. 

My interpretation 

The debut functions as a coming-of-age rite that is both performative and symbolic. In folkloristic terms, it marks a liminal moment, a passage from girlhood into adult social identity that is celebrated through structured ritual acts. 

The debut reinforces intergenerational values, especially within diasporic settings where tradition must be actively chosen and adapted. The event also serves as a space of collective storytelling as speeches and dances become public affirmations of the debutante’s identity, relationships, and future. Through these performances, the community participates in shaping the celebrant’s transition, offering both affirmation and expectation.