Nationality: American
Age: 23
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Legend
- “So the baseball player Wade Boggs, apparently drank 70 or 150 beers, something ridiculous, on a way to a game, and then he played either that day or the next day. I think he hit a home run too.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my older brother, Noah. Noah is three years older than me, and he is incredibly passionate about sports. He follows baseball, basketball, and football—and so do all his friends. He said that he heard this legend from a friend of his who is from the East Coast. According to his friend, the legend also appears in the hit T.V show, “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and as a result of this the legend has been made widespread.
- The legend is told spread throughout group of individuals who have an interest in baseball, among multiple generations. Wade Boggs, the baseball player, during his career, was an important and well known athlete. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, making his major league baseball career last a total of 18 years—although, he primarily spent his career with the Red Sox. The legend about him is quite dramatic, and also very shocking. This alone makes the legend worth spreading among baseball fans, as it is almost hard to believe.
- I personally don’t care for baseball or baseball players so I do not really find this legend interesting or cool. I do however, find it incredibly hard to believe, and if it were true I would be extraordinarily shocked and honestly extremely confused. I think because of the fact that I do not follow baseball, I do not want to believe this legend either. If I heard a similar legend about a sport that I do care about, I would find myself believing it more easily.
Nationality: American
Age: 23
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Superstition/Folk Belief
- “Apparently it’s good luck to get a haircut before a baseball game. Having a clean haircut and fresh look gives good luck for the game. Helps your chances while batting.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my older brother, Noah. Noah is three years older than me, and he is incredibly passionate about sports. All throughout his life, Noah played basketball, football, soccer, ultimate Frisbee, but more importantly baseball. My brother played baseball throughout his life, and he had many different teammates and coaches. One of his coaches, who also happened to be a family friend, told him this superstition about getting a haircut before the game. Ever since he heard this he has tried to get a haircut before ever baseball game, but it only happened every so often. He was not consistent with his folk belief but he tried.
- In sports, there are a lot of superstitions, and especially in baseball. This piece of folklore circulates around baseball players, although probably non-professional players. Noah does not think that this is believed among professional players but him and his teammates, friends, and peers all knew about this haircut superstition. Every athlete has their own superstitions according to Noah, but this is the only one that he knows of that is considered “universal.” Noah does not play baseball now, and so he does not currently believe in this superstition. Nor does he tell his friends about this superstition anymore, it seems as though it was meant for younger baseball players.
- I really do not like this piece of folklore. I am superstitious but I a) believe superstitions are unique to the individual and b) I don’t believe in sports superstitions. I don’t think that the way you look or the clothes you wear can affect your performance, however I do believe in other superstitions, making my beliefs inconsistent.
Nationality: Colombian
Age: 22
Residence: Los Angeles, Mexico, Colombia
Primary Language: Spanish
Type: Folk Medicine
- “If you ever have a cold, in Columbia we were taught that warm water, brown sugar, lemon maple syrup and/or honey will help you heal faster.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my friend Daniela. Daniela was born and partially raised (only for a couple years) in the country of Columbia, in the city of Bogota. Both of Daniela’s parents are Columbian, and even though after a couple years they left Columbia, Daniela still goes back to visit and has many friends and extended family from Columbia. Throughout her life, she is always told of this Columbian folk medicine, to heal the common cold. It is a family tradition, that, according to Daniela, is common across many Columbian families.
- Currently there is no scientifically proven “cure” for the common cold. Many people across many different cultures have folk medicine for how to cure the common cold or speed up the healing. In Columbia, this folk medicine recipe is very common, and so one Columbian telling this to another Columbian would not really make sense. Instead, this folklore would be transmitted to those of another culture, to share the knowledge and hopefully help those who are stuck with the illness heal quickly.
- In considering all the times I have fallen ill to the common cold, I do not necessarily agree with this folk medicine. Everyone has their own ways in which they heal from an illness, and unfortunately, I do not think that there is one universal folk remedy. I think that this drink or medicine does feel good to drink and helps you relax, but I think everyone and each body is different. Across many cultures, honey is said to have “healing” properties, as well as hot water combined with lemon, but I have not personally experienced these.
Nationality: American
Age: 85
Occupation: Retired Psychiatrist
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area, CA
Primary Language: English
Type: Folk Belief/Superstition
- “My parents always told me about traditions and beliefs among the Orthodox (Jews) community in Europe and in America. One thing that I will always remember is how the Orthodox adults talk about children, but babies specifically. The tradition is very strange but this is it: Orthodox Jews never compliment babies—they will only say bad things about others’ babies. Things like ‘how ugly,’ or ‘he/she is not cute,’ ‘gross looking,’ etc. They do this because they believe that saying good things about another baby will bring evil. That saying good things will actually curse the child, and the opposite will come true. The compliment is somehow representative of the evil eye. And so, to avoid this, Orthodox adults will say bad things about other babies, but everyone knows that they are actually complementing. This was my mother’s generation, in both Europe and America. I still think this is common among Orthodox Jews today!”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my grandfather Don. Don was born in 1932, and his whole life has been very active in the Jewish community. Don has also been actively Jewish his whole life, and cares deeply about his faith. He heard this piece of folklore from both his parents, who lived in both Poland and New Jersey. Both places had and still have a prominent Jewish Orthodox community. Don’s parents were conservative Jews, but had friends and neighbors who were Orthodox, and is how they knew of this superstition.
- The evil eye and bad luck are common themes throughout the Jewish faith. Many Jews wear hamsas to ward off the evil eye, put them in their homes, and sometimes even on their bodies. Fearing the evil eye is common among Jewish people, and in both Europe and America this tradition exists, exemplifying this.
- I do not like this superstition, I think it is a little too much. I don’t think saying good things about a baby will bring bad luck or a curse, but that is what superstitions are all about!
Nationality: American
Age: 57
Occupation: High School Teacher
Residence: San Francisco/Bay Area
Primary Language: English
Type: Folk Tradition/Superstition
- “When we lived in Japan, we learned about this tradition. On the last day before spring, you get a can of beans and throw them out the window, or just anywhere outside. Everyone did it and we were VERY confused at first, but after we asked around, by the second year we were living there we picked up on it. The idea is that you are throwing out the bad spirits. This tradition goes back hundreds of years. If you throw beans out your window at home for instance, that would signify removing the bad spirits you’re your home specifically.”
- I obtained this piece of folklore from my mother, who spend two years living in Japan as a child. Her father, my grandfather, was a psychiatrist in the air force and they were stationed in Japan, in the city of Tachi Kawa. They lived on an army base but they made many Japanese friends that living in the area. My mother obtained this folklore by first observing it and then eventually, her parents asked around. She remembers being incredibly confused about it as a child—seeing beans all over the street outside the base.
- No one in my family knows or remembers why beans, or the context behind the tradition. All they knew was that many Japanese people did that, and so many people believed that it worked. My grandparents have been back many times since the 1960’s when they left, but they have never been back in the spring and so they essentially forgot about it.
- I love this tradition. I think it has a lot of character and it is unique. I have never really heard of anything else like it. I am also drawn to the idea of purifying places from bad spirits which are believed to bring back luck and bad health. It might be a placebo effect but it would still make me feel better about my life and those around me.
