53
Notes
1
Couples can celebrate monthly anniversaries also, but this is usually limited to those
married only a few years, for the annual celebrations quickly become more significant as
time passes. Couples can also celebrate anniversaries of other events than their marriage.
2
There is also a third, minor form, which is idiosyncratic, covering events unique to a
specific couple. For example, one couple on their 50
th
anniversary held a casual
celebration, arranged by their son, at which guests were asked to bring a poem in lieu of
the more traditional gift, presumably at least in part because the husband of the couple
was a poet. Interesting as they are, and despite occasional brilliant analysis of what
might be termed idiosyncratic rituals (e.g., Myerhoff 1992), they reveal less about social
norms than more traditional forms.
3
These conclusions are based on interview data rather than my own assumptions.
4
There is a strong connection between Gumperz’ concept of contextualization cues, and
Bateson’s concept of metacommunication (1972), as well as Goffman’s concept of
frame analysis (1974), but this is not the place to explore it. Erickson (1981) mentions
the link between contextualization cues and metacommunication; Gumperz (1992)
mentions the similarity between contextualization cues and framing. In all cases, these
concepts help us understand how participants interpret interaction.
Convention