General Information Data:
Customary Folklore, Superstition
Language: English
Country of Origin: United States
Informant: L.M.
Date Collected: 11/10/2021
Informant Data:
L.M. is an 18 year old girl born and raised in Portland, Oregon. She is also the sister of the Collector. L.M. is currently a Freshman at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. In High School, L.M. was a two-sport athlete who involved in both academics and extracurricular. At George Washington, L.M. is a member of the Trails club who enjoys spending time with her friends and exploring the Nation’s Historic Capital.
Contextual Data:
Cultural: Christmas Gatherings in America are generally centered on two days: Christmas Eve, which occurs on December 24th, and Christmas Day, which occurs on December 25th. On these days, friends and families descend upon a certain household to engage in socialization and holiday activities. It is at these events that folklore traditions often emerge since they create a rare, jolly gathering of Folk. Christmas Eve is of particular importance because it is believed that Santa Claus comes to peoples homes on this night. Santa Claus is a culturally relevant character with magical abilities who brings gifts to Children during the Holidays. Christmas Eve gatherings can create folklore centered around Santa.
Social: The informant’s family is a tight-knit community which gathers every year without fail on Christmas Eve at the house of one of the family members to celebrate the holidays. Christmas Eve is an intimate gathering which is generally restricted to family members and close friends. Yearly gatherings have created folklore amongst the children in the informant’s family.
Item:
L.M. and her cousins developed a tradition of tracking and informing their fellow family members of the whereabouts of Santa Claus using a mobile app called SantaTracker. This tradition was important because the children believed that they must be asleep when Santa Claus arrives at their home in order to receive presents. This represents a customary superstition surrounding the magical character of Santa Claus. While this superstition that Santa comes when children are sleeping is culturally relevant, in L.M.’s family the superstition was told by the Mothers of the family.
Transcript:
“Me and my younger cousin Mallory every year had an app on our Mom’s phones called Santa Tracker. We would track Santa while he was flying around delivering presents around dessert time to make sure he wouldn’t come to our house before we were asleep because we wouldn’t get any presents. Sants’s not going to give you any presents unless you’re in bed and asleep. If you weren’t in bed when Santa came it ment you were naughty and got Coal in your stocking, thats what our Moms told us.”
Informants Comments:
This superstition and tradition began to fade away as belif in Santa faded.
Collectors Comments:
This is an interesting piece of folklore. It represents a customary superstition surrounding Santa Claus. However, as the older brother in the Family, I was less inclined to believe this. I saw my younger sister and cousins obsessing over the app, but witnessed the folklore as an outsider. I think that my Mom just wanted a way to keep my sister in her room on Christmas Eve so she wouldn’t see my Mom wrapping presents.
Collectors Name: Jackson McGinley