Tag Archives: time

The Magic of Wishing on 11:11

Original Text: INFORMANT: “I am a huge believer that 11:11 is good luck. When I was like in 8th grade, for anything that I really wanted, I would wait until exactly 11:11 and just think about my wish over and over again during the full minute. And I have several examples of those things actually coming true. When I was in 8th grade, I really wanted to get into a performing arts high school, and I wished on 11:11 every night and day after my auditions for it, and I got in! You have to do it for the full minute though, or else it wont work. And specifically 11:11 is the number that works, not any other numbers. Now I don’t do it as intensely, but like if I do see that it’s 11:11, I’ll think of something random to put out into the universe, because I think it will come back to me.”

Context: The informant is an 18-year-old female first year at USC. She is half-Indian and half-American. She firmly believes in karma and manifestation, and 11:11 is a tangible number with magical energy that she can use to manifest. The fact that it has brought her good things in the past further solidifies her belief in it. She does not recall where she learned this from but thinks she probably saw it online when she was in 8th grade. She still continues this magic ritual today.

Analysis: Wishing on 11:11 is a widely spread belief amongst many cultures, and cannot be pinned down to a single origin. Repeated numbers like 1111 are often called angel numbers, a belief rooted in numerology, which was supposedly invented by Pythagorus in Ancient Greece. It is believed that certain numbers have a specific vibration or magic that can be used to make things happen. Numerology is widely spread in India where the informant is from, but it has also worked its way into Western culture. 1111 has no specific meaning because different people have different thoughts on it, but it is generally agreed that it is a sign of growth, power, new beginnings, or spiritual support. Given these general meanings, it makes sense that the informant would use the particular magic energy of 1111 (versus other angel numbers) to channel into an arts high school acceptance, for example. Manifestation is also a popular belief in India. Posting 11:11 on your Snapchat story was a popular thing to do in 2016-2019 (ish) to bring about luck or love, which might have been an influence on the informant as an 8th grader during those years.

The 12 Grapes of New Years

Background: The informant is a 19 year old girl who is currently a college student in Chicago, Illinois. She was also born and raised in the city.  One winter break in high school, the informant did a study abroad program in Spain, where she was able to stay for 4 weeks and immerse herself in the culture

Context: The context was over a phone call, the informant was asked if had any New Year’s traditions, and she shared one she saw while overseas.

Text:

IT: In Spain, when New Years comes around, when the clock is clicking at the last 12 seconds, people will eat 12 grapes to represent the last year. If they eat all the grapes – which is a bit of a choking hazard – it’s considered good luck.

Me: Is it considered bad luck if you don’t finish?

IT: Hm, I don’t think it’s considered bad luck. I believe it’s like, you won’t have as much good luck as someone who did finish all the grapes. I was surprised when I saw them doing it because I’ve never seen it before. It was really interesting. Eating a certain amount of fruit is popular in a lot of places. It reminds me of Persephone eating 7 pomegranate seeds, symbolizing seven months of time.

Analysis: 

Informant: She was very excited to learn about a new culture, and it was interesting and impactful enough to her that she wished to share it. It seemingly stuck out more in her head than her own traditions.

Mine: Grapes are a unique fruit to choose and why they could be considered lucky is interesting. It could be because grapes bring in a large amount of money from the wine industry, hence, they become associated with wealth and good luck. It could be that given their shape, they somewhat represent a circle which could be time and the continuity of the year restarting. The comparison to Greek mythology is a great parallel, understanding that basic ideas and symbols can transcend the bounds of one society and into another. It doesn’t matter truly what the fruit is but eating the fruit symbolizes the same thing, it’s the concept that is the same.

Wishing on 11:11

Main Piece:

What is this ritual?

“When it’s the minute [11:11], I close my eyes and make a wish. I try and repeat is as many times as I can until the minutes is over. It usually involves crossing my fingers because I’ve been told that it makes it better.” 

When and how did you learn this?

“I’m sure in elementary school, it was one of the few luck superstitions I was taught. I heard in passing, like no one teaches you ‘sit down and do this.’” 

Background/Context:

My informant is my roommate. She went to public elementary school in Los Angeles. I noticed her pointing out the time 11:11 am, so I asked her to explain it to me. We were standing in our kitchen looking at the digital clock on our oven. 

Thoughts:

Wish-making rituals are very common (wishing on a star, making a wish on an eyelash, etc.) but what’s so interesting about this ritual is that it’s origin can be dated, and a terminus post quem can be established. The time 11:11 only looks special on digital clocks because it’s four 1s in a row. It doesn’t look or feel special on an analog clock. Therefore, this ritual must have been established after the invention and popularization of digital clocks. 

Penny for a Clock

Piece
“You cannot give time”
Context
In Chinese culture, you cannot give someone a clock, watch, or any other time-keeping device as it is seen as giving the person time or highlighting how much time they have left on earth. It is especially insulting if given to someone older than you. So instead of giving someone a clock or other time-keeping device, you sell it to them. The person you are “gifting” the clock to will then give you a penny (or the lowest form of currency of that region) so that they are instead purchasing it from you.
My Thoughts
Death is terrifying for most people and thus their culture will reflect that fear of the uncertainty. This practice shows the desire to ignore the passing time, or at least not acknowledge that there time may be coming to close. It also showcases a level of respect shown to ones elders in Asian culture that is not seen in American culture.
Scholar Annamma Joy writes about this in Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties where on page 250, she reports on a field study where a participant said, “I did buy a clock for a friend, but in Chinese culture clocks are never given as gifts because they are associated with death. But before I gave the gift, I asked her for a small amount of money, so that it appeared as if she had bought it for herself.”
Joy, Annamma. “Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties.” Journal of Consumer Research, vol. 28, no. 2, 2001, pp. 239–256. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/322900. Accessed 1 May 2020.

11:11 wish

Context: 

This piece was collected in a casual interview setting on the informant’s living room couch . My informant (CH) was born in Pasadena, CA, but grew up in a very French household, learning English as her second language. All of her education has been in American schools, but she learned how to read and write French thanks to after school lessons her mom gave her and her older sister. She is currently a Sophomore in high school and enjoys horseback riding, 

Main Piece:

The following is transcribed from a conversation between the informant (CH) and interviewer.

Interviewer: When can you make a wish?

CH: When the time is exactly at 11:11 you can make a wish and it is supposed to come true if you don’t tell anyone but you have to say it, say it at 11:11 exactly for it to come true. 

Interviewer: Where did you learn this from?

CH: My sister. She’s obsessed with it, she does it all the time. She learned it from our older sister I think. 

Interviewer: And where did her older sister learn it from?

CH: Umm *laughs* I would guess, guess from school, from a friend from school or something like that.

Thoughts: 

I absolutely believe in my 11:11 wishes, they are very important to me. I learned about them from my older sister who had heard of 11:11 wishes at school. When I was applying for college as a senior back in high school, my 11:11 wishes meant the world to me, and many other people at school also used them to wish to get accepted into their dream school. While some people did it a little as a joke, and others made fun of the rest of us for believing in these wishes, during a time of great stress they brought a bit of relief to our class. I believe this a rather new belief, from what I have heard on the internet and among friends, and that it dates back to digital watches. However, as it is folklore, I do not know this folkbelief’s origin.