Tag Archives: tradition

Chinese New Year Tradition of Making “Dern”

Text:

“On the 15th of the Chinese New Year, my grandma would make something called “dern.” “Dern” is like a bun shaped in the form of our Chinese Zodiac. She would make the “dern” for all family members. She would make seven of them, and they are all in our corresponding Chinese zodiac. So, if I’m born in the zodiac of the chicken, then she would make a chicken. This is practiced on the last day of the Chinese New Year. All of our animal characters would be on the same big bun; there are usually three big buns in total. She would also make two fish on one of the big buns, corresponding to the proverb “May you have abundance/surplus year after year.” After I got a boyfriend, my grandmother started making his “dern” as well. It is referred to as “dern” in the Shandong dialect. To be honest, sometimes it is hard for me to recognize which animal is which after she made them. Another thing is that we have to eat it. We have to bring this gigantic bun back to our own house and place it on our table for a day, and then you eat it. I’m not sure why we put it on the table for a day, but if you eat your zodiac, that just means that you are safe and good, and you have to eat the parts with the pieces of gold as well, which means that you can earn a lot of money in the upcoming year.”

Context:

This text was collected from a Chinese international student from Beijing, China. She learned this tradition through direct participation in her grandmother’s annual practice and shared it with me in a casual conversation as she spoke from personal memory. Her grandmother was from Shandong province, and dern is also a word describing decorated buns in the Shandong dialect. The tradition takes place on the 15th day of the Chinese New Year (the Lantern Festival), which marks the final day of the celebration period. The grandmother serves as the sole maker of the buns, crafting zodiac-shaped figures for every family member. A significant detail is that after the informant began dating her boyfriend, the grandmother started making a bun for him as well, suggesting the practice functions as an informal way of welcoming new members into the family. She interprets eating one’s zodiac as ensuring personal safety and prosperity in the coming year.

Analysis:

This piece exemplifies material culture, more specifically when it functions as a family lore, which shows how a broader regional tradition becomes personalized at the household level. This reminds me of Carl von Sydow’s concept of oicotypes: in this case, the family’s specific variation — seven individual buns, three large bases, fish for prosperity, a one-day display — represents a local adaptation of a wider Shandong practice. The variation is shaped by this family’s particular values and composition. Moreover, the ritual also aligns with Frazer’s theory of homeopathic magic: eating one’s zodiac animal and the golden pieces embedded in the bun not only symbolize safety and wealth, it also enact them. Corresponding folk beliefs like those exemplified through the shape of the “dern” collapse the boundary between representation and outcome. The grandmother’s decision to include the boyfriend’s bun is especially interesting, as it functions as a vernacular act of admitting family membership, which comes before any official social recognition of the relationship.





Chinese Birthday Tradition of Longevity Noodles

Text:

“For everybody’s birthday, we have to wear new clothes from top to down. And then we also need to eat noodles each morning, and your whole family also needs to eat noodles with you. And then you also need to like use a chopstick to drag the noodles as long as possible (like hold it as long as possible). And say something like “live forever” or something like that. So that can like represent that you are going to be healthy and have like a good life for a very long time. Everyone has to take pictures as they hold the noodles. Even when we are apart, my family still does it and sends it to me on my birthday.”

Context:

The informant describes a family birthday tradition centred on eating 长寿面 (longevity noodles). This is a common practice in many Chinese households. She grew up participating in this ritual with her family, where eating noodles on one’s birthday symbolises wishes for a long and healthy life. The informant explains that this is not only done in person but continues even when family members are physically apart, as they take photos and share them with each other. For her, this tradition is both a symbolic ritual and a way of maintaining family connection across distance.

Analysis:

This tradition can be understood through Mary Douglas’s idea that everyday practices carry symbolic meanings that reinforce cultural values. The emphasis on the length of the noodles reflects how physical actions are used to represent abstract ideas like longevity and health. The act of carefully holding and eating the noodles shows intentional participation to express these wishes. Other than carrying symbolic value, the shared participation (whether in person or through photos) reinforces family bonds and continuity.


Halluchila Sickness Remedy

Age: 23

Interview:

“In both TCM and ayurvedic practices there is the notion of hot and cold foods. Not to do with temperature In real life, they loosely map to inflammatory/heavy and anti-inflammatory/light foods,

hot: deep fried foods, avocado, chocolate, meat
warm: rice, corn, bread
cool: onion, mushroom, cheese
cold: watermelon, mango, bok choy (typically watery foods)

In cold weather you wanna eat hot/warm foods, in hot weather cold/cool.

When i was sick my parents would make the most gnarly combo of cool/cold foods to make me feel better. One called Halluchila, hallu=turmeric, chi=hot, la=water. It would be turmeric water with salt, black pepper, ginger, honey, garlic, sometimes onion, and some other stuff. It was genuinely awful but unfortunately it did make me feel better”

context: The informant is a 23 year old friend attending USC. They are Nepali, and grew up in the DMV area, specifically Maryland. When interviewed they gave this interesting home remedy for sickness.

Analysis: This Folk Medicine is a remedy that is learned within the informant’s family, and use ingredients that are commonly associated with “healing” across a lot of other cultures. It is a form of family folklore, since it was specifically passed down from the informant’s parents to the informant. It also demonstrates how a medical understanding of the body isn’t only demonstrated in western medicine, but has been demonstrated through these traditional remedies that have been passed down multiple generations over a long period of time. This specific remedy is also, in a way, a reinforcement of the informant’s Nepali cultural identity, since Ayurveda is so embedded in Nepali culture. This is also an example of social norms within a Folk group, like specific foods being associated with hot and cold, even if the food items themselves aren’t typically served hot or cold.

College rite of passage Tradition

Informant: “One of the traditions I remember most from Yale happens on Class Day, when we all sing the alma mater, “Bright College Years.” Toward the very end of the ceremony, everyone pulls out these white handkerchiefs and starts waving them during the final line: “For God, for country, and for Yale!”

It’s kinda the moment where you realize everyone around you is about to go their separate ways. You’re all doing the same thing, singing, waving these white handkerchiefs, and kind of holding onto that shared experience for just a little longer. It’s simple, but it really sticks with you.”

Context: The informant attended Yale University in the 80s and attended the Class Day celebration the day before graduation at the university. She recalled this tradition after being prompted if there were any traditions at her university. 

Analysis: This tradition is a clear example of institutional folklore, where a formal organization (Yale) sustains and transmits a ritual that becomes meaningful through repeated student participation. The act of waving white handkerchiefs during a specific line of “Bright College Years” acts as a ritual, tied to the incoming graduation.

This is also a rite of passage, marking the shift from individuals being students to alumni. The waving creates a visible sense of unity and collective identity, while the lyrics reinforce shared values. Even though the handkerchiefs have been officially distributed since 1984, the meaning of the tradition comes from its performance and emotional resonance, not just its institutional origin.

Tamales at Christmas

Text: Making tamales every Christmas in an assembly-line style with family.

Context: The informant, who is Mexican American and grew up in Texas near the border, participates in a yearly Christmas tradition where family members gather to prepare tamales together. Each person takes on a specific role in the process (spreading masa, adding filling, wrapping), creating a collaborative, assembly-line system.

Analysis: This is a strong example of foodways folklore, specifically a holiday-based family tradition rooted in Mexican and Mexican American cultural practices. Tamale-making at Christmas is a tradition, but the assembly-line method highlights its communal nature, turning food preparation into a ritualized family activity. The repetition of this practice each year reinforces cultural identity and the intergenerational nature of the practice. Knowledge and roles of the activity are passed down within the family.