Final Portfolio (Revised Assignments 1-3, and Introduction) Folklore

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I talked with Leila Doe about the song "happy birthday," and she was willing to recount her memories of the song. Leila claims the song reminds her of many birthdays while growing up and how her friends and family would sing to her. At some point, there was no party, but her parents and siblings made it memorable by singing for her. The song has rhythm as one keeps repeating the exact words of happy birthday as they sing. In addition, there is a frequency of alliterated words that emphasize the pace and rhythm of the song. Melody is another aspect of the song that sets it apart from normal conversation created by the alliterated words, rhyme, and repetition.

"Happy birthday" has many variants generated throughout history for celebration in different cultures. An example is a variant produced by Robert H. Coleman in "harvest Hymns," and another example is found in "The Band Wagon," a musical done in 1931 (Jagannathan, 2019). Leila says they would always sing the song only with or without a cake during birthdays. The song is passed down by society as one learns from the older generation at home or school. Like the mumming, a Christmas Irish tradition, the happy birthday song is a tradition in almost all homesteads where people celebrate birthday parties. Mrs. Cultler mentions Christmas mummer as the season's high point (Glassie, H. (1983, p. 10). Leila also has various photos and videos documenting her journey and birthday parties where people sang happy birthday. The function of the song is for entertainment and validation of culture since many people prefer singing the song then cutting the cake.

References

Glassie, H. (1983). All silver and no brass: An Irish Christmas mumming. University of Pennsylvania Press.