Tag Archives: tradition

Lifting your feet over the drawbridge

Interviewer: “Ever since I could remember, whenever we drove over a drawbridge, you always told my brother and me to lift our feet over a drawbridge. Could you please explain why?”

D: “It’s always been that way. My dad had told me my whole life as well; it was just a thing, you cross over a drawbridge, so you lift your feet. I had to pass it on to my family as well.”

Interviewer: “Do you have any idea what it means, why you do it?”

D: “It’s for luck, not necessarily luck for your day, but more so luck for your future drives. You don’t want your feet touching the car floor when you feel the bumpy road from the texture of the bridge. Even I lift my feet up. Sure, I’ll have a little bit on the gas pedal, but otherwise I’m lifting my feet until the road is flat again.”

Context: Ever since I was a little kid I remeber driving with my dad. Anytime we would pass over a draw bridge, you had to lift your feet up. No matter how long or short the bumps of the bridge lasted. He would start with a warning by saying “ok get ready to lift your feet up!” and then when we hit the bridge said “Go!” and everyone in the car would lift both their feet off of the ground. Sometimes it would be difficukt to hold them up for a while – as an impatient child, but it would be over soon enough, and no way was anyone letting their feet touch the car floor. As soon as the car left the brdige he would say “good” and everyone would put their feet back down immediatly. I am unsure where this supersition came from, but from the interview I gathered my dad had done it his own life and took it on from his dad. My grandpa would say it to all of his 9 kids whenever passing over a draw bridge. This would take place most often from the drives from upstate NY to NYC, but happened anytime there was a drawbridge.

Analysis: This tradition is a form of family folklore that uses superstition and ritual to create a shared sense of meaning during an otherwise ordinary activity. The act of lifting feet over a drawbridge, framed as bringing “luck” for future drives, reflects how belief does not need a clear origin or logic to feel important. This supersition not only prvoides luck for the rest of the drive and future drives, but acts as a shared identity within the family.

Opłatek

CL: “Me and my family are very Polish. Though, despite that, we don’t really have many time-long Polish traditions that usually correlate with it. We don’t speak any Polish other than certain phrases, um, for certain occasions. Though one thing that we have done for the majority of my life is that around Christmas, um, in a pseudo-religious fashion, sort of an extension of Thanksgiving, to share thanks with our family members, and with those close around us we would break this sort of, like, wafer called opłatek, um, and give it to another family member that then you both would basically trade pieces. You would eat them, and then you would say something thankful about the other person. And, like, we’ve done that for the majority of my life, and, yeah, it’s just always been, like, a very time-honored thing.

Interviewer: Is that a rite of passage for your family?

CL: “It’s more so like a… It’s sort of just like a sort of favor or other thing to perpetuate tradition in that sense. So, it’s a, like, recurring ritual in that sense.”

Interviewer: “Do you know any other people who do that? Is that, like, a long-standing, family tradition?”

CL: “I know it was initially on my mother’s side. My entire mother’s family line has done this. As long as I have known. And, yeah, we’ve just been continuing to do it as I’ve grown up. It’s been a little bit harder to do it now, just because it’s actually harder to get. the wafers, but it’s still nice to always say things and sort of reiterate this symbolization of it around that time.”

Context: When discussing traditions in class, CL and I came around their family tradition of breaking opłatek around the holidays. It symbolizes thanks when given to a family member or loved one after being broken. It is a positive way to stay close to CL’s Polish roots and be connected to their culture.

Analysis: This tradition is a good example of how cultural practices can stay meaningful even when other parts of that identity aren’t as prominent in someone’s life. Still practicing and being a part of the culture, even if it is not your immediate culture, but your family’s line. The use of opłatek shows a direct connection to Polish heritage, even though CL’s family doesn’t speak much Polish or follow many other traditions. Breaking and sharing the wafer, along with saying something thankful, turns the moment into more than just a holiday activity; it becomes a way to express appreciation. The fact that it has been passed down through the mother’s side of the family also shows how traditions continue through generations, even if they become harder to maintain (like accessing the wafers). Overall, it highlights how traditions don’t have to be strictly religious or widely practiced to matter, but they can be simple and serve as a great way to help people feel connected to their family and cultural background.

Trojan Marching Band Rights of Passage

CL: I was in the marching band [Trojan Marching Band], and it’s this big, big thing, especially being a first year, to have two sort of rights of passage or hazing or other traditions to kind of make your way fully into whatever section or whatever instrument you’re a part of. So the first one would be for trumpets, as I am a trumpet. Um, it would be a night called Carne, in which there would be this big feast, and then afterwards, um, all of the first years would go in, answer a couple of trivia questions, and then come out one by one, and effectively answer a few of those questions, and get water balloons thrown at them, completely drenched. And I remember at some point, there was like a slip and slide, a handful of other things, but it’s also, this is a place where you would either get, like, your name for the band, or you would get it at a later. This would be like the first time where you would actually get your name for the band or your band name in that sense.

Interviewer: What is a band name?

CL: It’s just kind of like a nickname for each of the other band members that you get your first year, either in that section or as part of the band, that then it’s like a thing that for your next year, the first year is try to guess everyone’s band names or try to figure out whose band name is whose, because in all the group chats, no one uses their actual name for like the first half of the semester. They just use their band name. But then, in addition to that, there is the every year there is the USCxUCLA game, and then the entire week, that’s called Fuck The Week. Um, every section sort of has this tradition where they go to Tommy’s chili cheeseburgers, the original Tommies, at least for us, it has to be the original Tommy’s. Every single time. And concoct a very vile brew. Um, then the first years would have to drink. And of course, there’s like a little bit more leniency now, but when you did do this, it was like, now you’re part of the section. Like, before it was like the first step that, like, welcome to the band, but then now you’re part of, like, this intersection family.

Interviewer: And it’s just a drink mixed with a bunch of different things?

CL: It’s root beer and chili…It’s not great.

Interviewer: So, do you have to drink the whole glass or just a sip?

CL: Uh, the whole glass. Um, but it’s bad because it gathers on the bottom…It’s not great. But it has been done for as long as I’ve known it, as well as my brother, who was in the band before me, and then everyone before him, like almost everyone’s done it.

Context: Discussing rights of passage in class, CL was able to describe to me their time in the Trojan Marching Band as a trumpet player. Then, going on to describe how one acquires a “band name,” as well as different initiation/hazing rituals that truly make one a part of the TMB family. These are generational traditions – and while they are less harsh and strict now, they are rooted in traditions that have been happening for years and years prior. AN experience shared through many past and current members.

Analysis: This interview shows how group tradition ( in this case, the USC Trojan Marching Band) is used to create a strong sense of belonging, even if they involve a bit of discomfort or embarrassment. Events like “Carne,” getting a band name, and drinking the chili/root beer mix at the original Tommy’s chili cheeseburgers act as rites of passage that separate first years from returning members and mark the moment someone fully becomes part of the group. Despite some of these traditions seeming closer to hazing, they’re framed more as bonding experiences, where everyone has gone through the same thing and can relate to each other because of it. The idea of band names is especially important because it creates a shared identity within the group. Overall, these traditions show how organizations build tight communities through repeated rituals.

Toga & Techie Scream

Text: “At my high school, in drama club, before every show, the tech crew had very special and sacred traditions. Now before every show our crew got together in the hallways behind the audortiam and do a little thing called “toga” or “techie yoga” while the actors were away doing their vocal warmups. It was usally led by the stage managers. It was to loosen up before the shows, we would do all kinds of stretches. Following thw toga, was my favorite part, the techie scream. Now this was to get out all frustration from the heavy work of tech week. The stage manager would lift up their hands and you would scream as loud as you can and get out all frustrations. You would conclude the screaming when the stage managers hands were back down. We would do this before every show for all of the 4 years i’d been there. It was started a long time before I got there and am pretty sure it still occurs today.

Context: AL went to Arlington High School in upstate New York, and their drama club was called Admiral Players – as their mascot was an Admiral. The tech crew would do a yoga routine to stretch out and get loose before everyshow and would also finish with a scream to get out any frustration from the grueling tech week.

Analysis: This tradition shows how the tech crew made their own way to bond and deal with the stress of putting on a show. The techie yoga and the techie scream helped people relax, stretch, and let out frustration from a long tech week. Even though it seems goofy, doing it was something everyone looked forward to. Because it was done every year, it also became a tradition that connected different groups of students over time. It made new students feel included and became bonding with everyone during this tradition. It shows how small rituals like this can make people feel closer and turn a stressful experience into something more fun and memorable.

Pass The Present


Text: It’s actually a newer tradition that I actually I really like. On Christmas, and other holidays, my grandma started doing this little game. She prints out these like sheets online, which is like it’s a ‘pass the present game,’ so people get presents. We all sit in a circle, and there’s some prompts that are like ok, pass the present to the youngest in the room. And then you give the random wrapped present to the youngest person in the room. Then she reads out the next one and it’s like give it to the most artistic person, and then you hand it to the person you thik. Give it to the person with the least amount of hair, then give it to that person. Give to the person with the most amount of hair..and it kind of just goes until the sheet ends, and then whoever ends up with the prizes gets to open up the presents. She did it at Christmas and Easter. I think she plans on doing it at Thanksgiving too cause it was really fun and we all enjoyed it.

Context: AL described this tradition when asked about holiday traditions. AL’s grandma would print out a sheet of paper with prompts. These prompts would have examples of people in the room, such as give prize to the youngest on the room, to the most artistic person, and to the one with the most/least amount of hair. Whoever read out the prompt would pick their person and give them a small prize from the grandma, and whoever had the most amount of prizes at the end could open the big present.

Analysis: This tradition shows how families can create new rituals that quickly become something everyone looks forward to. The game isn’t tied to culture or religion, but it still brings people together by making gift-giving more interactive and fun. The prompts encourage people to look at each other in a playful way, which can lead to jokes, competition, and laughter, making the moment feel more memorable than just handing out presents normally. Since the grandma leads the game and plans to use it for multiple holidays, it also shows how one person can shape and spread a tradition within a family. Also how one tradition can be translated to multiple holidays. It highlights how traditions don’t have to be old to be meaningful, they just need to create a shared experience that people enjoy and want to continue.