Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Wishing on an Eyelash (Top or Bottom Fingers)

Age: 38
Hometown: Menlo Park, CA
Location: N/A

Context:
I learned this from my mom. She learned it as a child but doesn’t remember exactly where she got it from. She does remember that is was a common thing among her peers and they would all do it to each other.

Content:
Interviewer: “What do you do when you find an eyelash?”

Interviewee: “So you have to take the eyelash and you put it between your pointer finger and your thumb and hold it together and then you lift up your pointer finger and your thumb in whichever side the eyelashes on well.

Interviewer: “Why do you do that?”

Interviewee: “You’re supposed to guess which side first before you do that, and then if it lands on the side where you guess top or bottom then your wish will come true, and then you can blow it to make the wish.”

Analysis:
This is act is a form of everyday folklore and superstition, where a small ritual gives meaning to a random event. It has spread through peer groups, especially children, and has been passed down through generations like it has in my family. This also feels like something kids do together, which makes it more about bonding and sharing than just the wish itself. Overall, it shows how people take something simple and turn it into a meaningful moment, even if they don’ fully believe it will work.


Picking up a Penny and Good Luck

Age: 19
Greenwich, CT
Location: N/A

Context:
This is a folk belief regarding good luck that I learned from my friend here at USC. She grew up in Connecticut and came to Los Angeles for college. She told me that she learned this belief from her friends from childhood, and not necessarily her family.

Content:
Interviewer: “You were telling me you have a certain belief around picking up pennies, can you elaborate on that?”

Interviewee: “Yeah, when you drop a penny on the ground, only pick it up if it landed on tails. If it landed on heads it’s a sign of good luck so you should leave it.

I think there is just like a common association with pennies being heads up being good luck. So you’re kind of leaving that luck for someone else to find but yeah, just when you drop a penny only pick it up if it’s tails.”

Interviewer: “Interesting! Where did you first hear about this?”

Interviewee: “It’s something I think I just learned from friends and not necessarily from family.”

Analysis:
This folk belief centered on good luck and everyday activities utilizes pennies as a symbolic object. It is a simple rule, but it makes something random feel like a decision. Instead of luck just happening, it feels like you’re kind of controlling it.

The idea of leaving a heads-up penny for someone else to benefit from creates a sense of community and communal luck instead of purely individual gain. Overall, it shows how small everyday actions help reinforce a sense of order, meaning, and community in otherwise random and unpredictable situations.

Itch Saying Folklore

Age: 39
Hometown: Enid, Oklahoma
Location: Oklahoma

Context:
My dad was born and raised in Oklahoma and often heard these phrases from older family members and friends.

Content:
“If nose is itching someone’s thinking about you”

and

“If palms are itching you’re about to get some money”

Analysis:
These sayings show how people try to turn random body sensations into signs of something bigger, especially things they care about like money or relationships. The idea that an itchy nose means someone is thinking about you or that itchy palms are a signal that money is incoming, reflects a relationship between the body and external outcomes.

The short and memorable nature of these phrases allows for them to be passed down through generations. The fact that they also seem to be regionally specific to Oklahoma highlight that certain beliefs are more common in specific areas due to demographics such as race, class, and gender.

Ears Ringing Folklore

Age: 39
Hometown: Enid, OK
Location: Oklahoma

Context:
My dad told me this when I told him that my ears were ringing one day. He is originally from Oklahoma but now lives in the Bay Area, CA. He told me that he heard this saying from his parents as well as other older relatives and family friends.

Content:
“If your ears are ringing someone is talking about you”

Analysis:
This is a folk belief that links a physical sensation and social meaning. It’s interesting how something completely random like your ears ringing can be turned into something social. This saying also reinforces awareness of social relationships, even when the people involved are not present. Overall, it shows how folklore assigns significance to ordinary experiences to make them feel connected to a larger social world.

Mexican Egg Ritual

Age: 19
Hometown: Rifle, Colorado
Location: Mexico

Context:
My friend told me about this ritual while we were talking about nightmares and bad luck. He is originally from Colorado and moved to Los Angeles for college. His family is originally from Mexico, and thus he got this ritual from them as it was passed down through generations of his family.

Content:
Interviewer: “Can you tell me a little bit more about the egg ritual that you mentioned?”

Interviewee: “So basically in Mexican tradition whenever little kids are having nightmares or anything, like they went through a traumatic event which casues you to have like really bad consecutive nightmares you would go get a limpiar de huevo.

Which is essentially translated to an egg cleaning and like a healer will basically get an egg and she’ll go around your body, like basically glide the egg over your entire body (a whole egg, not cracked).

And then she’ll go off to the side after rubbing the egg down your entire body and crack it into water.

Interviewer: “Are you supposed to see anything in the egg? Like tea leaves?”

Interviewee: “The egg is basically supposed to absorb all the bad energy and then you can see how bad the energy is by how the egg like disperses in the water.”

Analysis:
This ritual is a form of healing folklore, where illness and distress are a result of negative energy rather than physical issues. The egg acts as a symbolic object that can absorb this energy from the person who holds it and turns the invisible problem into something visible and thus interpretable. The act of rubbing or gliding the egg over the patient’s body followed by cracking the egg into water creates a process that gives the healer and the patient a sense of control and a way of diagnosis. It also seems to reflect a cultural belief surrounding the connection between emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being and health. Overall, the ritual reinforces trust in traditional and cultural healing practices and shows how folklore can provide meaning and comfort in response to fear or anxiety around health concerns.