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Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2002
To the fishermen of south New Jersey, the sea gull is the outstanding
symbol of good luck, and to kill one is considered equivalent to committing suicide. An injured gull that alights on a ship is royally treated; when
the bird recovers it is set free, always over the starboard side.
For the most part, the customs of the agricultural areas trace back to
the eighteenth century immigration from northern Europe, while those of
the industrial cities are derived from central and southern Europeans and
Negroes.
In south New Jersey, folk customs center mainly around annual farm
events and such social functions as weddings, births, and funerals. One
practice, said to be dying out rapidly, is that of a community gathering at
hog killing time, usually beginning on New Years Day. The fattened
hogs are thrown on their backs, stuck with a long knife, and allowed to
bleed. After they are dipped into boiling water and scraped, estimates and
wagers are made on the weight. The carcass is cut up, the lard rendered,
and scrapple and sausage ground. After a plentiful supper the rooms are
cleared, fiddles and accordion are produced, and the guests take part in a
"hoedown" consisting of square and other country dances.
Berrying picnics are also popular. Quoits, charades, baseball games, and
bathing are among the recreations for which the plentitude of huckleberries provides an excuse. Oyster suppers are an old custom in Gloucester
County, often begetting romance and marriage. Harvest home suppers are
a standby of many rural churches throughout the State; some, served in
the open, attract more than a thousand guests, among whom invariably
will be local politicians. In many towns the volunteer fire department
holds an annual fair, the main attraction being a chance on anything from
a basket of groceries to a new automobile. Salt Water Day, still observed
annually at Keyport, had its origin more than a hundred years ago, when
farmers made a yearly holiday visit to the seashore.
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