General Information 

Title: Fire Prep

Form of Folklore: Customary, Indoors prep event

Language: English

Place of Origin: Hanover, NH, United States

Informant: Sarah Allen

Date Collected: October 9th, 2019

Informant Data:

This information is a female student at Dartmouth college in the class of 2023. She resides in Jamaica and spends her time in Hanover, New Hampshire during the year. She also plans to gain her degree in Math upon graduation in 2023. 

Social Data: 

Each homecoming weekend at Dartmouth there are a series of events taking place on campus, mainly the bonfire. Prior to the bonfire each dorm and floor tend to have events for freshmen to get them better acquainted with each other, giving a sense of interaction beforehand to give the bonfire more of a community look.

Item: The residents of Mid Faye 1st floor annually have a gathering where they prepare a variety of things for the homecoming bonfire.

Associated File:

Collector: “Why do (or don’t) you take part in traditions such as the homecoming bonfire?”

Informant Comments:

“Being a part of traditions at Dartmouth is very unique. Coming in as a regular student compared to athletes we do not come with a team. Having a tradition for our floor such as the event before the fire made it a lot easier for me to be able to talk to classmates before such a social and memorable event. It was also very fun because we were able to create glow stick necklaces, glasses, and also meet other people through the games we played in playsets. 

Collector Comment:

The Midfaye first floor event is an example of rites of passage because it is strictly experienced by the members of the first floor of Fayerweather Mid. This event can also be looked at as they are transitioning into the bigger Dartmouth community through these interactions of playing games as well as grabbing their glow sticks. 

Tags/ Keywords:

Homecoming

Mid-Faye

First Floor

Bonfire

Collectors Name: Leonard St Gourdin