Tag Archives: tradition

Reindeer Food

Content: On Christmas Eve, when her kids were young, D mixed up glitter and oats and called it “reindeer food.” Her children would sprinkle the mixture on the front yard, and repeat the following: “Sprinkle on the lawn at night. The moon’s light will make it sparkle bright. As Santa’s sleigh flies and roams, this will guide the reindeer to your home.” 

Background: D was born in Richmond, Virginia in 1963. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1981. She raised three daughters in Atlanta in the 1990s and 2000s. 

Context: This story was told to me over a phone call. I found the variations online. 

Analysis: After I spoke to D, I found several different variations of the saying that goes with reindeer food. Below are a few examples.

  1. Make a wish and close your eyes tight. Then sprinkle it on your lawn tonight. As Santa’s reindeer fly and roam, this food will guide them to your home.
  2. Come December 24th as Santa flies here from the North, here’s what you do, it isn’t hard ~ just sprinkle this stuff in your yard…the sparkles draw old Santa near and oats attract his reindeer…then you just wait ~ they’re on their way.
  3. Sprinkle this reindeer food outside tonight. The moonlight will make it sparkle bright. As the reindeer fly and roam, this will guide them to your home.

I found it interesting that all the different poems that go along with the reindeer food use some of the same words: sprinkle, sparkle, flies. Additionally, I found that some websites called it “reindeer dust” instead of “reindeer food.” The recipe seemed to be about the same, although some substituted sprinkles for glitter.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something, blue

Nationality: American
Age: 51
Occupation: Admissions at a private school
Residence: Durham, NC
Performance Date: 4/29/21
Primary Language: English

Background: The informant is married herself, but also worked in a bridal store for years and knows a lot about wedding traditions. She specifies how this tradition ties in with wedding dresses and how the store incorporated them.

LR: I know the whole, something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new as being like good luck for brides, and, so, I think there are several things associated with weddings. I don’t know where the reference came from, um but i think it’s the idea that you have meaningful things with you, or that had been passed down when you get married that sort of, um, bring good luck, good feeling, good energy, or positive vibes. So I think for most people something new is sometimes the wedding dress, sometimes that’s something borrowed, sometimes that’s something old if you wear somebody else’s dress. Ya know, people borrow vails, but usually, and again, I don’t know where the original reference came from for the blue or why blue would be associated or connotate good energy, but, um, people used to wear garters that would have like a blue ribbon in them, that would be taken off. So just like the bouquet would be tossed to the girls, or the single women, the garter would be shot to the single men. So that was something that was more prevalent like when i got married, and we used to sell the garters at the bridal store I worked in. But, we changed it because I think, I don’t know, it sort of became like people didn’t really wear garters, they were at one time I think women wore garters right? To hold up their stockings, and then of course with, I don’t know, more modern times we wore pantyhose or whatever and then you’d put a garter which was an elastic band with lace and a ribbon and you’d wear that up and it was this big thing like that the husband was going up his wife’s leg to get htee garter off and then he would like shoot it like a rubber band. So I always thought that was funny. At least at the store I worked at, I think moree post-2000, fewer and fewer people wore garters or did that with the bride, and so they still did the bouquet toss to indicate, you know, who was likely gonna be the next person to get married, but what we did at the store was to tie the blue ribbon in the bride’s hem, or her wedding dress, as a symbol of good luck that was always there. And then they didn’t have to worry about trying to find a way to wear something blue so to speak?

Me: Why do you think the tradition of shooting garters has decreased?

LR: Honestly, I think most modern brides would be like what the hell is a garter. I don’t know how easy it is to find them anymore.

Me: Do you think garters have the same meaning as bouquets, like do you think it was the next guy to get married? Or what do you think shooting the garter into guys signified?

LR: I mean I think that was sort of supposed to be the equivalent, instead I think for them it was like oh you’re going to be the next lucky schmuck who’s gonna get tied down. You know, you used to have all the bridesmaids or all the single women clamoring for the bouquet, and yet, it was like the opposite for the guys, it was a sign of shame or something to actually come forward to get it. Nobody wanted to get it because it meant they’d be tied down. I don’t think as many guys embraced the idea of looking like they wanted to get married.

Context of performance: This was told to me over a Zoom call.

Thoughts: This is a super popular saying, although I don’t know firsthand how many people follow it. I like the sentimental quality it brings to a period of transition in someone’s life as getting married can be seen as a rite of passage and these are the items that push you through the threshold, or liminal space. It’s interesting that these things bring you good luck moving forward in your life, more so because to me it suggests that it’s its own period separated by the wedding and these items merge the two stages of life, especially with something old and something new.

The Christmas Pickle

Nationality: American
Age: 22
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/18/21
Primary Language: English

BACKGOUND: NH is a friend of the interviewer.
CONTEXT: NH describes his family’s “Christmas Pickle” tradition.
TRANSCRIPT:
Informant: “Every Christmas Eve, my grandma would hide a green pickle ornament somewhere in our Christmas tree. My three cousins and I would compete to find it first. She usually hid it deep in the tree somewhere. Whoever found it first got $10 or so.
While it does have German-American roots, and my family is of Luxembourg origin – so it kind of tracks – I also think we might do it because our last name is Heinz, like the infamous pickle-makers. You know, 57 Varieties of Pickles?”
Interviewer: “Yeah, of course. Any known relation to the company?”
Informant: “No, unfortunately.”
ANALYSIS: The Christmas Pickle is a known, semi-practiced Christmastime folk tradition originating, as NH described, in German-American households. The use of a pickle ornament could be a reference to pickles’ prominence in Germany, Poland, and Eastern Europe cuisine. The cash prize associated with the tradition goes along with the idea of Christmas as a time for gift-giving, even though there is slightly more work involved to get the cash than with a usual Christmas gift. For another version of the Christmas Pickle tradition, one that delves into the tradition’s history, see:

Churchill, Alexandra. “The Untold Story of the Christmas Pickle Ornament.” Martha Stewart, 10 Dec. 2019, https://www.marthastewart.com/1097532/decorative-past-tradition-christmas-pickle-ornament.

Tarof

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Bay Area, California
Performance Date: May 2nd, 2021
Primary Language: English
Language: N/A

Main Piece: 

Tarof is basically a form of etiquette in Persian culture that’s extremely important, especially when you are dealing with older generations of Iran— in the younger generations it’s not as important, but in the older generations especially it’s much more important. [laughs] I never know what the first way to introduce this is. So in Iran, hosting is a very important part of the culture. Having people over and offering them food, and tea, and snacks, and a place to sit outside or do they want [to sit by a] window. It’s a very important part of the culture and Iranians take as many chances as they can to offer that kind of service to people, especially if it’s family or a respected elder, or peer like a boss per se, or a teacher. Its very important but in Iran— and I’m sure other cultures as well— but in Iran it has a very specific name. 

The polite thing to do in that situation when you’re offered something is actually to decline, not to be like “Thank you, this is so wonderful you made these delicious cookies!” Or “This dinner you made is so good!” It’s to be like, “No, no, no thank you, but no,” even if you want that thing. The polite thing to do is be like, “I really don’t want that.” But the thing is in that scenario, the other people who’s offering up whatever it is, the polite thing is not to go, “Okay, I respect your wishes,” it’s “No, no, no, I want you to have this.” So every time that interaction happens it’s kind of like a battle every single time. And it can be over something as small as “I’m passing this bowl of peanuts, would you like some?”

Background: 

My informant is of Iranian heritage, and this is a custom that he grew up experiencing within his household. The reasoning behind this tradition is a demonstration of respect to your elders, peers, and anyone with a higher status. He further explains that even within his own family, the custom is still practiced between them. To him “it’s almost like second nature,” and so ingrained in him that he’ll even practice tarof with his friends. However, he does say that this custom is usually only practiced around other Persians, and not as much with outsiders. 

Context: 

This piece was brought up when I was giving my informant examples of folklore, such as traditions or proverbs. I then listed customs as an example, and asked if he knew of any customs within his own culture, to which he then provided the above piece. 

Thoughts: 

I like how my informant expressed how crucial tarof is to Persian culture, to the point where he realized that he has a tendency to practice it around people outside of his cultural group, and that he was able to provide a thorough explanation of the custom. In this piece it’s very clear that tarof is a demonstration of status between the host and the invited guest, and is especially practiced by the older generations, indicating that the tradition is passed down through families. Additionally, the fact that it’s only practiced around other Persians shows that this is a custom that takes place within a certain peer group, and as such, to be considered part of the group, one has to know that there’s an expected way to conduct oneself. For example, if a non-Persian were somehow to be in this scenario and offered food, they would not know that the correct response is to decline the offer, and would expose themselves as an outsider to the group. Lastly, I think that this piece is a good way to determine the values of the culture, one of which being respect and hospitality. 

Deceased Insect – A Fighter Pilot Bar Game

Nationality: American
Age: 54
Occupation: Aerospace Engineer/Retired USAF Fighter Pilot
Residence: Lancaster, CA
Performance Date: May 2, 2021
Primary Language: English

Context:

The informant, GW, is the interviewer’s father. He was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force during the late 1980s/early 1990s and participated in operation Desert Storm. I have heard him tell many stories from his time in the Air Force throughout my childhood, so I asked him to tell me some of his traditions to collect for my project. This was an informal interview in our household. The interviewer is indicated as SW in the text.

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Main Text:

GW: “The object of every fighter pilot game is to get other people to buy you beverages, mostly of the alcohol variety. Um, there were short games uh like, deceased insect, which uh, that was the code name because if you said the exact words for deceased insect… then everybody within earshot had to lay on the floor on their back as fast as possible, put their feet and hands up in the air to imitate the dead cockroach on the floor, and the last person to make it all the way to the ground was then the actual deceased insect and was responsible for buying everyone in proximity the beverage of their choice.”

SW: “Where does one learn deceased insect, who teaches it to you?”

GW: “Well usually you learn it by being the one guy standing after somebody yells “dead bug!” and then everybody else hits the floor and you’re sitting there standing… you’re standing in the middle of all of it going ‘what just happened?’ and everybody goes “ha ha! You have to buy everybody a round.’ … That’s how that works.

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Analysis:

As GW mentioned, many fighter pilot traditions center around drinking culture and who owes who the next drink. However, the game of deceased insect also serves as an initiation ritual and a prank to pull on new members who are not aware of its existence. By making new members of the group buy everybody a round, they are paying the penalty for being new. At the same time, they are now in on the joke and have a shared knowledge with other members of the group, and can later play the same prank on other new members of the group. In this way, deceased insect actually serves to create social bonds and obligations to other members, which is of utmost importance in a group that will be sent to war together.