Tag Archives: Christmas

Broccoli Dish

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General Information Data:

Material Folklore, Food

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Informant: S.T.

Date Collected: 11/12/2021

Informant Data: S.T. is a 40 year-old mother born and raised in Portland, Oregon. The informant is the Aunt of the collector, and their two families celebrate Christmas together. She is a Mother of two who enjoys making homemade jewelry, cooking, and leading an active lifestyle. The informant says she loves spending time with her family and enjoys wholesome holiday celebrations.  

Contextual Data

Cultural Data: The holiday season in America is a time for gatherings and camaraderie. Around Christmas time, large holiday events are hosted for families and friends to gather in a festive setting. These parties are put on as “potlucks”, in which each member in attendance brings a dish to provide to the party. This culture of potlucks and holiday parties creates the opportunity to observe unique folklore. 

Social Data: S.T. comes from a large but tight knit family. The family has resided in the Portland metropolitan area for generations, and the Family is known to host large holiday parties for both friends and family. S.T.’s mother and grandmother were both great cooks, and they have passed down family recipes through generations. 

Item: For every Christmas party, a member of S.T.s family brings a Broccoli Dish. Originally, S.T.’s mother was responsible for bringing the special dish. After her mother passed away, S.T. inherited the tradition of making the Broccoli Dish for parties. The recipe has been committed to memory and passed down through generations of women in the informants family. It is a baked dish consists of broccoli, multiple types of cheese, a guarded spice mixture, and breadcrumbs. However, this is the extent of information S.T. was willing to provide, as she doesn’t want to give away the recipe. 

Associated File:

This is an image of the Family preparing Christmas Dinner. At the bottom of the image is a platter of Mashed Potatoes. The platter above to the potatoes with a spoon in it is the esteemed Broccoli Dish. 

Transcript: “After Momo [the informant’s mother] died, I have been the one who makes the Broccoli Dish to Family Christmas. I love doing it, and I learned how to make the dish by cooking with Momo around Christmas time since I was a kid. I know it’s popular every year because it is always gone by the end of the night. I remember a few years ago, [my husband] forgot to bring the dish from home and we all made him drive back home to get it!”

Collectors Comments: This appears to be a great example of a customary folkloric food item. The origins of the Broccoli Dish’s original recipe are unknown. It has been passed down orally through generations in the informants family. Family members learn how to make the dish through collective effort and collaboration. Over time, due to changes of availability and preferences of ingredients, there have been multiple iterations of Broccoli Dish, exemplifying multiple existence. 


Collectors Name: Jackson McGinley

Superstitions Surrounding Santa Claus

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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

Christmas Prayer

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General Information Data:

Customary Lore, Prayer

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Informant: E.S.

Date Collected: 11/12/2021

Informant Data: E.S. is a 19 year old Women’s lacrosse player at the University of Vanderbilt. Prior to college, E.S. attended Jesuit, Catholic High School in Portland, Oregon. Outside of her love for athletics, E.S. enjoys hiking and other outdoor activities along with spending time with her friends and family. E.S. and the collector have been friends for years. 

Contextual Data: 

Cultural Data: Christmas was originally established in the United States as a Christian holiday to celebrate the brith of Jesus Christ. While modern Christmas traditions have begun to stray away from this original intention, there are still aspects of religiosity within certain Christmas traditions. Oftentimes, religious observances during Christmas can be seen in attending church on Christmas Day or decorating one’s home with Nativity sets. 

Social: E.S. comes from a religious family and attended Catholic School since her youth. Her family still attends church and considers themselves members of the Catholic community. For her family, Christmas is an important religious holiday. The informant’s family take the time to attend mass on Christmas Eve and hold a special prayer during Christmas Dinner. 

Item: E.S.’s family follows the tradition of holding a unique catholic prayer on Christmas. The prayer always starts the same: “Dear Heavenly Father, love brought Jesus to the earth, and love brings us to this Christmas table. Today as we share this holiday feast, may we also share gratitude.” Following this traditional prayer, the family goes around the table to discuss what they are grateful for during the holiday season before concluding the prayer. This is a unique tradition which incorporates both a standardized prayer which is followed by individual oral contributions. 

Transcript: “Each year, on Christmas Day, my family tries to keep the religious part of Christmas around. One of the ways we do this is by going to Church. Another way we do this is in our Christmas dinner prayer. It always starts the same, when we say “Dear Heavenly Father, love brought Jesus to the earth, and love brings us to this Christmas table. Today as we share this holiday feast, may we also share gratitude.” Then each person goes around the table sharing something they’re grateful for. You’ve been there, so you know what I’m talking about.”

Informant’s Comments: “I don’t know when we started doing this”

Collectors Comments: This Christmas dinner prayer is certainly unique. After questioning wether or not it was folklore, I settled on “yes”. This is an oral tradition which is passed down yearly. It has unknown origins and benefits from a memorable mnemonic design. Furthermore, this is a collective folklore which exhibits multiple existence. Every year, following the first prayer, each member of the Folk—in this case, people sitting at the table—give an individual oral contribution. This means the prayer is different every year. I myself have contributed to this folklore once. 

Collectors Name: Jackson McGinley

TDXmas

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General Information Data: 

Customary Folklore, Events/Decorating

Language: English

Country of Origin: United States

Informant: H.N.

Date Collected: 11/10/2021

Informant Data: 

H.N. is a 21 year-old Dartmouth ‘23 originally from Little Rock, Arkansas. At school, H.N. is the CFO of a mental health awareness non-profit. Additionally, H.N. is a member of the Theta Delta Chi Fraternity, also known as TDX. H.N. enjoys hunting and hanging out with his friends in his free time. 

Contextual Data: 

Cultural: At Dartmouth, Fraternities are known for being the prime social spaces. They host social events nearly every weekend, with the Majority of these events being un-themed and simply for the sake of a social gathering. Therefore, these events are simply gatherings and not folklore. However, there are some fraternity events which can constitute folklore because of their unique nature. 

Social: Along with hosting general events on the weekends, Theta Delta Chi has a few particular traditions which they are known to host. As a brother of Theta Delta Chi, the informant is the member of a folk group. Our interview concerned traditions within this folk group. These traditions are possibly folkloric, as will be explored further.

Item:

Every year, as the Fall Term ends and the Holidays approach, TDX throws their annual TDXmas party after the last day of classes. TDXmas is a unique tradition with a multitude of facets which make it a truly special event. The basement, which is the fraternity’s social space, is covered in Christmas wrapping paper and colored lights. This decoration process is quite unique. After decorations are put up, the fraternity brothers gather in the basement in Christmas Garb for a traditional Secret Santa gift exchange, in which each brother gives a gift to a fellow brother. Following this exchange, the campus is invited to join the brothers in partaking in festivities in their last week on campus before Winter Break. 

Associated File: 

An image of TDXmas Decorations

Transcript: 

“I remember my first time setting up for TDXmas. It took hours. All of the guys in my class were down in the basement and we were blasting Christmas music. I think we used staple guns to attach the wrapping paper and lights to the wall. With all of us working together, it was pretty cool to see the finished product and then have a party with our friends after.”

Informants Comments:

“No, I couldn’t tell you who started TDXmas. For all I know, we’ve has been doing it for 100 years”

Collectors Comments

The Unknown Origins of this event are particularly interesting because it reveals a traditional folklore activity which is passed down through generations. I think the decorating process is particularly folkloric. It is a collective effort which is passed down orally. There are no written directions to decorating. The brothers are just told to decorate and they do. This also means there is probably a multiple existence to TDXmas, and there have been many iterations of TDXmas celebrations. Plus, the name TDXmas itself is a mnemonic play on words from the term X-mas. Nonetheless, the tradition continues to be passed down through generations as a customary folklore event. 

Collectors Name: Jackson McGinley

Santa Figurine Gifts (Julia Cross)

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General Information about Item:

  • Material Lore, customary 
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: Massachusetts, USA
  • Informant: S.M.
  • Date Collected: November 10, 2021

Informant Data:

S.M. is a ‘24 at Dartmouth college, born and raised just outside of Boston, Massachusetts. His family has lived there for awhile and both he and his sister attend schools in New England. He actively enjoys Christmas, but gift-giving is a stressful thing for him because he often doesn’t know what to get for the recipient.  

Contextual Data:

Social Context: This interview was planned and the informant knew the theme was Christmas beforehand. Spencer became aware of this piece of folklore when he was much younger. This practice is done by the women in his family and exclusively around Christmas time. The social function of this practice is that the figures represent an aspect of the past year whether its a travel destination or a global pandemic and is another way for the family to share in each other’s experiences

Cultural Context: One of the most widely adopted pieces of American Christmas lore is the idea of Santa Claus bringing gifts to children. He is believed to ride in a sleigh and deliver gifts over the night of the 24th by entering the house through the chimney. However, many families only put effort into perpetuating the myth for younger children (as in trying to convince them Santa is real). When children get older, the myth of Santa is understood to be a myth and so Santa’s role takes a backseat. 

Item:

The item of folklore is the exchange of Santa-themed figurines. This exchange is currently  done by S.M.’s grandmother, mother and has now been passed on to his sister as well, so I expect it to evolve into an ongoing practice. The Santa figurines are collected from a variety of sources, from stores while on vacation or even made by his sister herself. They often have themes, for example last year he mentioned his sister made a Santa statue with the theme of the Covid-19 pandemic and quarantine. 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Recording of the interview with Spencer

Transcript:

“My mom, grandma and now my sister, they all exchange a Santa every year. It’s like a little statue of a santa and it’s kind of a spoof on whatever they want. So a lot of times it’s from travelling um and so my mom will find some variety of santa and will gift it to some member of the family. My sister has gotten really hands-on with it and made a Covid santa.”

Collector’s Comments:

Why does this count as folklore? At the moment, I think it’s on the border of counting. While it is something that has been passed down from generation to generation, and the time of origin is unknown, the inventor is known to be his grandmother. However, I included this because I believe this is a folkloric seed for a future practice for generations of S.M.’s family. Additionally, the figurines are rooted in the folkloric belief of Santa. It is a fun interpretation of the idea of Santa in that instead of being the giver, he becomes the gift. 

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Christmas tree decorating technique (Julia Cross)

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General Information about Item:

  • Customary lore
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: Kansas, USA
  • Informant: B.F.
  • Date Collected: Nov. 6, 2021

Informant Data:

B.F., now 24, was born and raised in Kansas until attending university at Stanford, where he now pursues his PhD. Religion, specifically Christianity, used to play a large part in Billy’s family, but has since taken a more minor role. B.F.’s parents and grandparents also come from the Midwest, and a lot of his Christmas traditions are specific to his family and extend back for generations. 

Contextual Data:

Cultural: As far as American Christmas traditions go, the practice of decorating a tree is among the most widely adopted. The tree is usually a pine, and gifts are placed under them prior to being opened. The tradition of decorating a tree, with lights and ornaments, has an unknown origin but is one that many families participate in. 

Social: This lore was collected in a casual conversation, and I unfortunately forgot to record it. The topic of Christmas came up and I asked further questions about the informant’s tree-decorating routine. The informant first learned this when he was little, he doesn’t remember when. The act of decorating a tree for this purpose only happens around the 25th of December (it can be up to a few weeks prior, but the reason it is decorated is for Christmas gifts). The specific technique of applying lights to the tree seems to be specific to B.F.’s family.

Item:

The item is firstly the practice of decorating a tree under which gifts are placed. This is a general practice adopted by many American families during Christmas time. This informant’s family has a very specific decoration technique in which colourful lights are added to the tree. This technique’s origin is unknown, but it has been used in the family ever since string lights were commercially available. The lights themselves need to be small, but colourful. Starting at the base of the tree, the lights are first wrapped around the base of the branch counterclockwise then worked up the branch. The wrapping of lights goes around the entire branch and then up the tree.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

“How we put the lights on the tree is a big deal. It needs to be done just right, otherwise the whole tree is out of balance. I’m not sure when this method started, probably ages ago. Maybe even when our family started getting string lights. Basically you start at the bottom of the tree, pick a branch and then wrap it like crazy. The first wrap on the branch is counter clockwise, but the direction changes depending on the branch, sometimes the branch splits and you have to wrap each split individually. Basically, the whole thing takes ages, and usually involves the whole family because you get tired really easily. We usually go for a nice big bushy tree, so it can take up to 3 hours. At the end, though, it is so beautiful and bright.”

Informant Comments:

“This is a picture of my very bad attempt, but I was away from home and my mom wasn’t there to walk me through it, I’m a little ashamed that this is the only photo I have” 

Collector’s Comments:

The photo seems misleading because although he said he usually uses big bushy trees, the one in the photo is quite sparse, probably a consequence of having Christmas in a dry area such as California. Even still, you can see how the lights extend to the base of each branch. Given more time, I would see if I could get a photo from their home where the lights are done properly. This also could fall under the category of decoration, but I figured since the tree is an integral part of American Christmas gift-giving, I thought I would include it. The question then is does a technique count as folklore? I would argue yes. The origin is unknown, it’s been passed down in a folk group for generations and it is only used under a specific context. It is both material and customary.

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Coal for Christmas (Julia Cross)

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General Information about Item:

  • Material Lore, (with accompanying belief)
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: Texas, USA
  • Informant: A.K.
  • Date Collected: Nov. 10, 2021

Informant Data:

A.K. is a Dartmouth Sophomore in the class of 2024. She grew up in a lot of states as she and her mother moved around, but now resides mostly in Texas, and part-time in New Hampshire. She is not outwardly religious and her Christmas experience is one that is informed by a variety of traditions throughout her up-bringing. 

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: This informant is American and grew up primarily in New England and in the south. While it is unknown if the informant is religious, the topic of religious or religious icons did not come up in the interview. Gifts are an important part of American Christmas, especially for children. They are often something to be looked forward to as a reward for good behaviour. There is a belief that Santa keeps a list of well-behaved children called the ‘Nice List’ and a list of poorly-behaved children called the ‘Naughty List’. Coal is believed to be the punishment for naughty children on the latter list. 

Social Context: The informant initially learned this lore in her childhood. Coal for Christmas if one is naughty is a wide-spread belief across America, although it is rare for someone to actually get coal. As the informant mentioned in the interview, it is usually just an empty threat to children to encourage good behaviour. In the case of this informant however, giving coal for Christmas was used in a humorous setting as a prank instead of an empty threat. 

Item:

The item is receiving coal for Christmas. While receiving coal itself is not folklore, the accompanying belief in Santa and the ‘naughty list’ makes it folkloric. Coal is usually not given, although many American families are familiar with the superstitious idea that if one is bad, they will only receive a lump of coal instead of a gift. In the case of this informant, coal is actually given to their brother, but in the context of a joke or a prank.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Recorded interview with Anne

Transcript:

“stockings..I feel like my sister and I always got stuff and my brother would get coal every year”

“I think [the idea of getting coal on Christmas] is a thing parents would put in place before Christmas, like ‘if you’re bad then you’re going to get coal’ “

Collector’s Comments:

The belief in Santa wasn’t very important in my household so although I was aware of the idea of receiving coal, it never occurred to me that this was something that was done. I was interested in this interview because I learned how it was used not just as a warning to children, but as a prank gift. 

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Snail Shell Ornaments (Julia Cross)

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Title: Snail-shell Ornaments

General Information about Item:

  • Material Lore
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: Vermont, USA
  • Informant: O.C.
  • Date Collected: Nov. 14, 2021

Informant Data:

O.C. is a Dartmouth student in the class of 2024. This informant is unique in that they and their family are Jewish. Part of the family lives in Vermont, while part lives in Paris and all around Europe. O.C. occasionally spends Christmas in Europe, or their European relatives spend Christmas in America. O.C.’s Christmas experience is very much shaped by European practices.

Contextual Data:

Cultural: Decorating a tree is a very common practice in most Christmas traditions, including American traditions. The tree plays a central role in gift-giving traditions because not only are gifts stored under it, but it has the function of being an object that the family gathers around to practice their gift-giving traditions. Ornaments are often spherical and made of a shiny metallic material, or includes glitter.  O.C.’s grandparents used to follow different religions, their grandfather was Jewish while their grandmother was Christian. Not wanting to let his wife down on their first Christmas in France, their grandfather collected snail shells as makeshift tree ornaments, so she would have something to decorate the tree with. 

Social: This lore was collected in a casual interview. I had informed O.C. that I will collect folklore on Christmas, but little detail beyond that. I recorded this interview. This piece of material folklore is only used during Christmas to decorate the tree, and is symbolic of the diversity of Christmas participants. The creation of these ornaments also has a social function in that the family will remember notably nice shells and discuss them. Children are included in the painting of them and it is a fun activity to bring the family together. 

Item:

The item on a larger scale is the use of ornaments to decorate the tree, which is a common practice across America and across the world. O.C.’s family, being Jewish and historically not active participants of Christmas, uses an unusual home-made ornament to decorate the tree: snail shells painted with nail polish. The shells are then put on a string then strung around the tree.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Recorded interview with Ora

Transcript:

Paraphrased from audio recording

“We have accumulated many many strings of snail shells painted, now we use nail polish. We go to the supermarket to buy the snail shells. The shells have different dates from when they were painted, some of the strings are gross yard wire and some are nice red ribbon.”

Collector’s Comments:

Since there is a known collector, this may or may not qualify as folklore, however over time as the family passes on this tradition (and the origin story morphs) it will be folklore. Perhaps the origin story may even become a family legend. 

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Stockings (Julia Cross)

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General Information about Item:

  • Material Lore
  • Language: English
  • State of Origin: California, USA
  • Informant: T.M.
  • Date Collected: Nov. 5, 2021

Informant Data:

T.M. is a Dartmouth Student in the class of 2024. He was born and raised just outside of Los Angeles, California, and has lived there his whole life until coming to Dartmouth. He and his family love the holidays and have many family traditions to bring the family together. 

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The informant is American and not religious. While this may seem confusing, as Christmas is a Christian holiday, American Christmas traditions are often only loosely related to its original religious roots. Gifts, the purchasing, wrapping and giving of them, is a very important part of an American Christmas. The presentation of these gifts are equally as important to uphold other Christmas lore, such as the belief in Santa Claus. 

Social Context: This folklore was collected in a planned interview, the informant knew the subject was going to be on Christmas beforehand. Before I decided I wanted to focus on gifts, I asked a wide variety of questions and decided the relevant bit of folklore was the use of stockings. The folklore was originally learned when the informant was a child, and since the practice stockings has been in the family for awhile, the first family member to use them is unknown. The social function of stockings, and the gifts that come inside them, for this informant is primarily humour.

Item:

Although the interview covered much more than just stockings, I will only focus on this one item for this post because many of the things mentioned were lovely family traditions, but I couldn’t make a strong case for them being ‘folklore’. Stockings are large sock-shaped bags in which smaller presents are placed into. The original inventor or location is unknown, but many families across America use stockings for storing gifts in addition to putting gifts under the tree. While gifts under the tree may be more ‘intimate’ and a lot of thought goes into them, gifts in stockings tend to be more light-hearted, and in this case, humorous. 

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Recording of interview with Theory

Transcript:

Please listen to the audio recording for more detail, but here is a relevant paraphrasing about stockings:

“Stocking gifts are usually smaller and more funny than intimate…there’s usually some sort of nude calendar for some member of the family”

Collector’s Comments:

I’m not American, but I also use stockings with my family, although our stocking gifts aren’t humorous. They are more trinket-like, for instance I used to get little candies or fun-shaped erasers. I think stockings count as material lore because they are “things people make with their hands” (Wilson) for a specific occasion, for entertainment. Although they aren’t commonly made by hand anymore, they still exist as a folkloric relic of that era. 

Collector’s Name: Julia Cross

Dartmouth College

RUSS13

Fall 2021

Christmas Tree Lighting Festival (Dylan Lawler)

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General Information About Item:

  • Material Lore, Item
  • Customary Lore, yearly festival
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: G.G. Age 19
  • Date Collected: 11-06-2021

Informant Data:

  • G.G. is a sophomore at the University of Vermont School of Nursing and she is from Dover Plains, New York. When she isn’t studying, she pursues the fine arts as both a dancer and a studio artist. She is also from a Catholic family.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: There are historical symbolisms of both the tree and the lights that go on it that are celebrated internationally. The tree is believed to represent growth and continuation through dark times while the lights are a symbol of the returning lights in the days to come after the solstice.
  • Social Context: This practice was brought up when asked about notable traditions or events she has during Christmas time. Tree lightings are popular in town and city settings as a way to instill hope on both an individual and communal level.

Item:

  • The tree lighting festival, much like many other festivals, is a night long celebration with activities and food that all lead up to one grand moment: turning on the lights of the Christmas tree. The festival specific to G.G.’s town, Dover Plains, consists of all the stereotypical westernized Christmas activities. This includes starting with a small parade of the Claus’ along with sitting on Santa’s lap, hot chocolate drinking, and ice skating. However, the true moment of unity is the lighting of the tree itself that represents the beginning of the Christmas season and the return of light.

Transcript:

  • “Every year my town hosts a tree lighting event at the local park to signify the start of the Christmas season. It is usually held at the beginning of December around the time the big tree is lit up in New York City. Just off of the parking lot, there is a path of glowing nutcrackers that leads to an area under the pavilion where the main event occurs. There, hot chocolate is served along with a bunch of other pastries provided by the town’s recreational department. Being that it is usually very cold at the time that this event is held, holding the cups of hot chocolate is the only thing that keeps most people warm as they walk around and talk to friends. Something that I have remembered happening at the tree lighting since is a Christmas parade that starts in the driveway of the elementary school across the street and ends in front of the tree. The girl scouts and boy scouts march across the street followed by two fire trucks and Santa in the hood of a truck with Mrs. Claus. The parade is headed by snowmen and polar bears who then spend the night walking around talking pictures with all the kids. From the parade, Santa and Mrs. Claus goes into the recreational building the tree lighting is held outside of. Kids line up outside of this building, write a letter to Santa, and give it to him prior to sitting on his lap and telling him what they want for Christmas. What is cool about this event is that each kid who writes a letter will get one back a week or so letter from “Santa” himself. The night ends with the lighting of the tree. Frozen at this point, everyone bundles together and stands around the tree decorated with lights and all sorts of decorations. A countdown starts, and when we hit one the tree lights up. Because the tree is so massive, it shines all across the town . The tree will stay lit up until the end of the Christmas season, and this event is something I’m sure will happen in my town for years and years to come. ”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I don’t think anyone in our town participates in any other event as much as this one. It’s especially odd to see how many people actually want to wear the snowmen and polar bear mascots.”

Collector’s Comments:

  • Much like the other festivities around Christmas, a lot of the stereotypical and westernized traditions happen in large settings while the cultural roots are seen on more of a familial or more intimate setting. However, it is quite notable the the means of the celebration often don’t matter at all because the symbols and ideas behind them are all similar in the sense that they emphasize hope and togetherness.

Collected By:

Dylan Lawler

Dover Plains, NY

Hanover, NH

Dartmouth College

RUSS013

Fall 2021