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