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The James T. Callow Folklore Archive
Your search for F545 returned 257 results.
Claddaugh
The claddaugh is an Irish symbol of Love, Friendship and
Loyalty. It looks like two hands holding a heart, with a crown upon
the heart. The hands are friendship, the heart is love, the crown
is loyalty. This symbol is traditionally upon an Irish wedding
ring. This ring was created by a seafarer who had docked in the
town of Claddaugh, Ireland. While in port, he met a young maiden
and fell in love. He was in deep despair at the thought of leaving
her behind, so he went into the hills and designed and forged a
ring with this symbol upon it. He gave it to the maiden as a
symbol of his love, loyalty and friendship. Today this ring is
given upon the engagement of a couple and is worn with the heart
facing away from the woman. Upon their marriage, the ring is
turned around, with the heart facing the woman, indicating her
commitment (or his commitment, as this ring is also given as a
wedding ring to the man) to her husband.
Submitter comment: Claddaugh is pronounced klad-awe.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; Woman in an Irish import store ; Farmington Hills
James Callow Keyword(s): Claddagh
| Subject headings: | Favorites PROSE NARRATIVE -- Product or activity of man or animal CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage BELIEF -- Marriage |
Date learned: 00-00-1991
Japan -- Prostitution
In Japan, sex is viewed differently than in America. Sex is seen
as involving pleasure, not necessarily related to love or procreation.
In areas of prostitution, silk flags are hung with approximately 50
ways of having commerce with a prostitute.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WESTLAND
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 01-00-1990
Japan -- References
In Japan, references are needed not only in the business world,
but also socially. A person must have references in order to get
married. This is referred to as "NOKADO".
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; WESTLAND
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 01-00-1990
Marriage
This means the love that you have for your mate and the unity
and bond as being one. We sometime refer to this as "tieing-the-
knot".
Where learned: GEORGIA
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage BELIEF -- Marriage PROVERB -- Proverbial Phrase |
Twelve Angels (English Title)
This song was sung in Polish, called Twelve Angels (Anoiw). As
the Mother of the Bride is taking off the veil to give to the Maid
of Honor, it is sung. The Twelve Angels are going with the Bride
for protection because she is leaving her mother and father's house
to go live with her husband.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | 686 Seconds / Twice / Two Ballad Song Dance Game Music Verse -- Marriage CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage BELIEF -- Angel |
Date learned: 00001920S
Blessing Stick
It is Polish custom for the father of the bride to bless the
marriage on the day of the wedding. Before going to the church,
the bride and groom kneel before the father and mother of the
bride. The father of the bride has a stick made of straw and/or
twigs or small branches which he dips in holy water, and then
blesses the couple; a prayer may accompany the ceremony.
Submitter comment:
While my grandmother was telling me the story behind the
blessing stick, my mother asked if she still had the stick (since
all my grandmother's children are married). It was in a drawer.
My Great-grandfather Witkowski (my grandmother's father) had passed
down this blessing stick to my grandfather so that he could bless
the marriages of his children.
Where learned: MICHIGAN
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 00001920S
WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS
HAPPY IS THE BRIDE THE SUN SHINES ON.
HAPPY IS THE CORPSE THE RAIN RAINS ON.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Death Funeral Burial |
Date learned: 02-28-1970
SLOVAK MARRIAGE CUSTOM
IN SLOVAKIAN VILLAGES, THE PEOPLE ARE FARMERS. SO, WHEN
A YOUNG MAN MARRIES, HE BRINGS HOME HIS BRIDE TO HELP.
WHERE THERE ARE NO YOUNG MEN IN THE FAMILY, THE BRIDE
BRINGS HOME THE HUSBAND.
IN THE CASE WHERE THE YOUNG MAN BRINGS HOME HIS BRIDE,
THE WHOLE WEDDING PARTY GOES TO HER HOME AND LOADS HER
BELONGINGS--CHEST, FEATHERBED, PILLOWS, LINENS AND
WHATEVER HER PARENTS CAN AFFORD TO GIVE HER. THEY ALSO
HAVE A GYPSY STRING ORCHESTRA PLAYING ALL THE WAY.
THE WEDDING CELEBRATION LASTS THREE DAYS. THERE IS NO
HONEYMOON.
Where learned: OHIO ; CLEVELAND
| Subject headings: | 686 Thirds / Thrice / Three / Triple Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 00001967 FALL
GUM CHAINS
WE USED TO MAKE GUMWRAPPER CHAINS OUT OF THE WRAPPERS
FROM ANY BRAND OF STICK GUM. WE DID IT BY FOLDING
THE WRAPPERS IN HALF THE LONG WAY AND THEN THE SHORT
WAY, AND CONNECTING THE PIECES. WHEN THE CHAIN GOT
LONG ENOUGH, A GIRL WAS SUPPOSED TO BURN IT IN FRONT
OF THE GUY SHE LIKED, AND HE WAS SUPPOSED TO TAKE IT
FROM THERE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Raw Material ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Finished Product |
Date learned: 00-00-1965
IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA THE GIRLS ALL WORE THEIR HAIR COMBED
STRAIGHT BACK WITH ONE BRAID DOWN THEIR BACK, TIED
WITH A RIBBON. WHEN A GIRL GOT MARRIED, HER
GODMOTHER WOULD MAKE A BUN ON TOP OF HER HEAD AND
ALSO PLACE A LITTLE BONNET ON TOP OF HER HAIR. FROM
THAT DAY ON, A MARRIED GIRL WOULD NEVER WEAR HER HAIR
ANY OTHER WAY OR EVER GO BARE-HEADED.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage ART CRAFT ARCHITECTURE -- Dress Head |
Date learned: NOT GIVEN
WHEN SOMEBODY DIED, NO ONE WOULD GO TO THE FUNERAL.
THEY WENT THE ROUNDS INSTEAD. (THEY DID THIS TO NOTIFY
PEOPLE OF THE DEATH, BECAUSE THERE WERE NO NEWSPAPERS
TO LET PEOPLE KNOW.) THE ROSARY WAS SAID IN THE
DEAD MAN'S HOUSE. NO ONE WOULD GO TO THE BURIAL
WITHOUT A BLACK SUIT OR BLACK DRESS. THE PEOPLE WERE
VERY FRIENDLY AND IF A FAMILY DID NOT HAVE A BLACK
SUIT FOR THE OCCASION THEY WOULD BORROW IT ; THIS
WAS VERY COMMON. ALSO BLACK WAS WORN FOR WEDDINGS.
Submitter comment:
INFORMANT TOLD ME THAT PEOPLE THEN HAD ONLY ONE GOOD
SUIT AND IT WAS BLACK AND HE ALSO SHOWED ME SOME WEDDING
PICTURES OF HIS RELATIVES WHO WORE BLACK ON THEIR
WEDDING DAY.
THIS TOOK PLACE IN BELGIUM ABOUT TWENTY YEARS AGO.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; BELGIUM
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Death Funeral Burial BELIEF -- Color |
Date learned: 00-00-1951
THE AGE-OLD SAYING, "THRICE A BRIDESMAID, NEVER A
BRIDE," IS RELATED TO THE SUPERSTITIOUS IDEA OF
"NEVER TWO, WITHOUT THREE."
Submitter comment: FROM RELATIVES
Where learned: WORK
| Subject headings: | 686 Seconds / Twice / Two 686 Thirds / Thrice / Three / Triple CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 11-28-1967
THERE IS A WEDDING CUSTOM IN COUNTY KERRY, IRELAND WHEN
"STRAWBOYS" CRASH IN ON THE WEDDING PARTY AND TRY TO
STEAL THE GROOM. A "STRAWBOY" HAS TO BE A BACHELOR, AND
MUST WEAR A STRAW HAT. THE "STRAWBOYS" STEAL THE GROOM
AND HIDE HIM IN A STACK OF STRAW MANY MILES AWAY FROM
THE BRIDE AND THE PARTY. A GOOD STRAWBOY MANAGES TO GET
AWAY WITHOUT BEING LICKED BY THE BRIDE'S BROTHERS AND
RELATIVES.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT ; IRELAND
| Subject headings: | Favorites CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 11-00-1970
IT IS AN AMISH CUSTOM FOR THE GIRLS TO BE MARRIED BY THE
TIME THEY ARE FOURTEEN.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 03-00-1971
CODE OF THE HILLS: IF YOU SEE A GIRL IN HER UNDERWEAR
YOU'LL EITHER HAVE TO LEAVE TOWN OR MARRY HER.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 10-00-1971
ITALIAN PRACTICE: OLDEST GIRL GETS MARRIED FIRST.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 11-10-1968
IT WAS CUSTOMARY AND ACCEPTABLE IN NORTH CAROLINA
FOR A WHITE MAN TO POSSESS NEGRO QUADRUN WIVES (1/4
WIVES) BEFORE HE MARRIED A WHITE WOMAN. UPON MARRIAGE
TO A WHITE WOMAN, HE USUALLY GAVE UP THESE WIVES, SET THEM
UP IN A SMALL HOUSE, FREED THEM, AND GAVE THEM ENOUGH
TO LIVE ON FOR SOME TIME. SOME MEN, HOWEVER, KEPT A
FEW AFTER MARRIAGE.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DEARBORN ; NORTH CAROLINA
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 10-00-1968
LEGEND OF STUD SERVICE AT UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
SINCE IT WAS BELIEVED IN THE SOUTH THAT THE BEST SLAVES
WERE HALF WHITE AND HALF BLACK, THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE
PROFIT IN SELLING THIS KIND OF SLAVE. IT IS SAID EVEN
TODAY THAT THERE IS ON RECORD THE NAMES OF MEN WHO GAVE
OUT THEIR SERVICES AS STUDS TO SEED BLACK WOMEN AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DEARBORN ; UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 10-00-1968
WEDDING CUSTOM
NANCY HONK'S HAS BEEN A LONG TIME GONE. AT HER
FOURTH WEDDING RECEPTION THE GROOM IN REMOVING THE
GARTER TO THROW TO THE MALE GUESTS, HE CAME UP WITH
A VARICOSE VEIN. THERE WAS NO HONEYMOON.
Where learned: LETTER
| Subject headings: | PROSE NARRATIVE -- Lie Tall tale CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 02-01-1971
IF A MAN HAS A DIMPLE IN HIS CHIN, THIS SHOWS THAT
HE WILL BE MARRIED MORE THAN ONCE IN HIS LIFETIME.
Where learned: MICHIGAN ; LIVONIA
| Subject headings: | CUSTOM FESTIVAL -- Marriage |
Date learned: 04-03-1970