Release Forms
Leave a reply
Author Archives: f003d9s
Stocking Hanging
General Information About Item:
- Material Lore, Item
- Customary Lore, Superstition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: L. J.
- Date Collected: 11-10-2021
Informant Data:
- L.J. is a senior at Harvard University who grew up in Utah, but moved to Boston when he was a boy. He has a twin sister whom he shares many things in common with. He is a member of the Christain faith, but noted that his family’s Christmas traditions revolve more around being in the presence of each other rather than anything religious.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The superstition originated as a means for the children to get to bed at a reasonable time on the night before Christmas. In addition, it’s interesting to note that the tradition started by the children being coerced by their parents in fear that they wouldn’t receive gifts from Santa, but L.J. and his sister have adopted this tradition themselves.
- Social Context: Socially speaking, this superstition only involved L.J’s immediate family. While many other family traditions include members of the extended family it was interesting to see how L.J’s favorite tradition was specific to just his sister, his parents, and him.
Item:
- L.J’s family tradition started when his sister and he were young children, when their parents told them that if they did not hang up their stockings at exactly 9:45 on the night of Christmas Eve, they would not receive any presents the next day. As the years have passed and the children have moved on from the lore of Santa, his family has continued this tradition to represent health and happiness moving forward throughout the holiday season and into the new years.
Transcript:
- “Ever since my sister and I were young children, we’ve had a tradition of hanging our stockings up on the fireplace at exactly 9:45 PM in hopes that Santa would bring us gifts the following morning. My parents enforced this superstition one may call it, by saying that if we hung them up a minute early or a minute late, Santa might be unhappy with how we prepared for his arrival: he wanted it to be right on time. As we grew older and realized that Santa was not real, my sister and I took agency in this tradition and decided to keep it going to represent our familial health and wellness moving into the new year. It has turned into a superstition for my family that we do each and every year, and up until this point, it has not let us down so we will continue to do it!”
Informant’s Comments:
- “I recall one year hanging my stocking up a few minutes after 9:45 and being worried that I would not receive any gifts the following day.”
Collector’s Comments:
- L.J’s family tradition of hanging stockings at exactly 9:45 PM on Christmas Eve is the first superstitious tradition which I encountered in my interviews. It was interesting to hear how superstition adapted as the children grew older and learned that Santa is not real. L.J. mentioned that his parents worried that the tradition would fade away when the children reached a certain age, but it has truly developed into their family’s Christmas folklore.
Collected By:
Daniel Hincks
Boston, MA
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS013
Fall 2021
Family Tales
General Information About Item:
- Customary Lore, Celebration
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: D.G.
- Date Collected: 11-11-2021
Informant Data:
- D.G. is a recent college graduate who grew up in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He now works in Atlanta, Georgia but makes his way home every year during the Christmas season to spend time with his family. The oldest of his siblings, he has two younger sisters and a younger brother.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The cultural context of D.G’s family gathering is to share stories of their family lineage and especially to explain to the younger generations within his family how they came to the United States.
- Social Context: The social context of D.G’s family gathering is that it is a means for his extended family to catch up and share stories of the past.
Item:
- D.G’s family has an annual tradition of gathering in their household and telling stories about their family’s immigration from Ireland. When possible, his cousin, aunts, and uncles also come to share stories over a nice meal with loved ones. D.G. recalled that stories range from his great grandparents first stepping foot in the United States to funny memories of Christmas parties in the past.
Transcript:
- “Every year my family gathers at my house in the Boston area to share each-other’s company. The centerpiece of this party is when we sit down for dinner, instead of saying grace we share stories of our family heritage which date back to our first descendents in the United States. It sounds like something a family would typically do for Thanksgiving but it’s ultimately a great way for us to be thankful for what brought us all together. It’s probably the only time of year when my entire extended family is able to gather, as we are spread across the United States just about as much as a family could be. One distinct memory I have about a particularly impactful story was when my great uncle shared the story of my great-great grandfather officially changing our last name on Ellis Island to escape persecution.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “I think the tradition is particularly impactful due to the fact that all the stories are things which my family can individually relate to. For example, if you came to the party, you may find it to be a bit boring as you would have no grounds for relating to these stories, but I and I know my family finds it especially rewarding.”
Collector’s Comments:
- D.G’s family tradition is the most traditionally folkloric of the people I had interviewed. It was interesting to hear his take on how the tradition has evolved and how special it is to his family, especially due to the fact that I had not mentioned to him prior to the interview that this class was on folklore itself. His family, while geographically dispersed across the country, remains extremely close in part due to traditions like this one which shares his lineage from generation to generation.
Collected By:
Daniel Hincks
Boston, MA
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS013
Fall 2021
Hockey Tournament
General Information About Item:
- Material Lore, Hockey
- Customary Lore, Family tradition
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: A.M.
- Date Collected: 11-10-2021
Informant Data:
- A.M. is a senior at Middlebury College located in Middlebury, Vermont. He was one brother and a mom, and has a large extended family all of whom live in the area surrounding him. He was born in Sherborn Massachusetts, and has lived there his whole life. He grew up in a Catholic family and noted that Christmas is his favorite holiday of the year.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The cultural context of A.M’s family hockey tournament relates back to his family’s heritage in Canada. His grandparents Immigrated from Canada in the 1940s to start a family in the Boston area. Hockey is the national sport of Canada in the winter so it makes sense as to why the Marinello family honors this tradition every year.
- Social Context: This tournament is a means for his family to gather as they don’t see each other nearly as much as they used to. Now that A.M. and his brother are in college, this tournament is one of the few times each year that they come together as an extended family.
Item:
- Every year, A.M’s family gathers at a local pond to play Hockey. Initially it started as a family tradition where his brother and he would go practice for their upcoming tournaments, but ever since it has been a way for their extended family to come together and catch up. Hockey is something which has always been a common denominator between his family- all of his cousins grew up playing from a young age and get competitive about it.
Transcript:
- “You know how much my family loves hockey. While we go to church the day of Christmas, the hockey tournament which my family hosts is the centerpiece to our Christmas spirit. To me, Christmas is about coming together with your loved ones and spending time with them. While there are many settings in which this can be accomplished, something which connects my family with our heritage is the game of hockey. It’s something which I look forward to every year and am devastated when we can’t play. When the weather is too warm for the ice to melt on the local pond, we try our best to recreate this environment but it truly doesn’t compare. Everyone wears some sort of Christmas attire- last year I dressed as Santa and Michael(his brother) dressed as an elf. I guess in this way we relate it back to the westernization of Christmas, but this tradition doesn’t revolve around the religious aspects of Christmas much.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “As much as my family is Catholic- and we do practice our religion on a regular basis. I don’t think that people can come around to Catholicism during the holiday season and claim to be truly dedicated to Catholicism. So I’d say we don’t focus much more on our religion during the holiday season any more than we would in June. The hockey tournament is more about family than religion.
Collector’s Comments:
- A.M. had interesting insight into the Christmas season. He explained that what makes the Christmas season special is not the gift giving or the hanging of the ornaments on the Christmas tree. It’s the traditions and folklore like his family hockey tournament which are specific to his family that make it special. It’s because they take ownership over the holiday that makes it truly special.
Collected By:
Daniel Hincks
Boston, MA
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS013
Fall 2021
Nativity Scene
General Information About Item:
- Customary Lore, Religious Tradition
- Material Lore, Nativity Scene
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: B.L.
- Date Collected: 11-08-2021
Informant Data:
- B.L. is a senior at Tulane University. An avid reader and one who enjoys the arts, these parts about him were borne about as a result of his family. He grew up in Newton, Massachusetts and has one brother. B.L. was brought up in a devout Catholic family.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The nativity scene is the portrayal of the birth of Jesus Chirst. It is something which is celebrated by the Christian faith especially during the Christmas season. It represents the birth of the Lord and Savior, Jesus, and the gifts which he was brought as a young boy which represent the power and authority he had since birth.
- Social Context: B.L’s family commemorates this event each year through acting out the nativity scene. This scene is sometimes represented in Church, with children playing the majority of the roles, but B.L’s family has adopted this tradition and continues to do it to this day as adults.
Item:
- Every year on the night before Christmas, B.L’s extended family partakes in a nativity play which represents the birth of Jesus Chirst. Each member of his extended family, cousins and all, dress up as a different role and act out this scene in front of his grandparents. Each member of the family has their own unique part to play and plays the same role every year. B.L. noted that from a young age he was chosen to play the role of Jesus, something which he looks forward to every year.
Transcript:
- “I don’t completely remember how far this tradition goes back but I think that says something in itself- we’ve been doing this since I can remember. As you know, my family is quite religious and sees Christmas as an opportunity to remember the life of Jesus Christ and all that he sacrificed for us. At times during the year I forget just how involved I am and should be with my religion, and this is a means of connecting back with that part of myself and my culture. Since a young age, I have played the role of Jesus, and while it surely used to be a lot cuter with all the young cousins doing their best to act out the nativity scene, it’s still something we all take very seriously. I’d also say it’s a great way for my family to connect during the Christmas season and spend quality time together. I don’t get to see my brother and my parents nearly as much as I’d like to these days and the nativity scene is something which connects my family.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “Acting out the birth of Jesus is a great way to connect with my religious background. In this way I am both actively able to commemorate his life, and also teach myself a bit about how to be more like him each and every day.”
Collector’s Comments:
- This interview was definitely different from a few of my others, but I knew coming in that B.L’s catholic background would provide some religious traditions. While this event is rooted in religion which is shared, the event of acting out the nativity scene is somewhat specific to B.L’s family- he is the only one of my five interviewee’s whose family participates in an event like this. I would argue that this in fact makes it a piece of folklore due to the fact that it is a tradition specific to his family.
Collected By:
Daniel Hincks
Boston, MA
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS013
Fall 2021
Christmas Tree Hunting
General Information About Item:
- Customary Lore, Family Trip
- Language: English
- Country of Origin: United States
- Informant: B.G.
- Date Collected: 11-10-2021
Informant Data:
- B.G. is a senior at Bates College in Lewiston Maine. He grew up in Westwood Massachusetts in a rather large family with two brothers and a sister. B.G. is a member of the Bates College baseball team and was brought up in a catholic household.
Contextual Data:
- Cultural Context: The tree is vital to the celebration of Christmas. Decorations and gift giving are both heavily intertwined with it. However, few people truly know the importance of the Christmas tree and why people bring one into their homes each year. It is a representation that spring is just around the corner and that the darkest days of winter are fleeting.
- Social Context: This practice annually taken part in by B.G’s family is one which originated in their household when he was a child. While it has developed over the years, the reason behind doing it- to spend time with each other over the holiday season has remained the same.
Item:
- Every year, B.G’s family makes a trip out to rural Western Massachusetts to find their own Christmas tree. When B.G. was a young boy, his parents decided that this would be a great facet for their family to spend time together outside the home. It has turned into an annual tradition and they have even gathered extended family and friends to join into this tradition in recent years.
Transcript:
- “Every year since I was a boy, my family and I have hopped in a car and headed out to the plains of Williamstown. While its quite a far trip and I must admit something which I have at times dreaded, the overarching theme of the ride is one which I am very thankful for. Aside from of course getting the tree which can be a very fun search, I get to spend time with my loved ones- something which comes fewer and more far between as the days pass. Since I’ve been in college, I haven’t spent nearly as much time with my family for obvious reasons and this is a great way to come together during the holiday season. While it started off as something which was specific to my family, we have brought along family friends as well as extended family into this tradition.”
Informant’s Comments:
- “It’s become something which I look forward to and quite special due to the fact that it is specific to my family- at least it was before we invited others to join along. I would say that it still remains something which all of my siblings and I take agency in and find something which kicks off the Christmas season the right way.”
Collector’s Comments:
- It is important to recognize that while B.G’s family is catholic and does participate in many of the religious aspects surrounding the Christmas season, this was the most important topic which he wanted to discuss surrounding his family’s traditions. I think this points strongly to a resounding theme amongst my interviews that what makes Christmas special is not necessarily the substance of the holiday, rather the individual traditions and folklore which are heavily intertwined with it.
Collected By:
Daniel Hincks
Boston, MA
Hanover, NH
Dartmouth College
RUSS013
Fall 2021