Category Archives: Folk Beliefs

Breaking Glass in Romania

Nationality: Romanian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Las Cruces, NM
Performance Date: March 19th, 2013
Primary Language: Rumanian
Language: English

Breaking Glass in Romania

“Breaking glass is a sign of breaking bad luck in Romania. Its not about breaking glass intentionally, but if it so happens that glass breaks in front of you or you accidentally break glass,  you say, ‘Oh it means my bad luck is gone’.”

The informant who told me about this folk belief was born and raised in Romania until she came to high school in the US. Given the fact that she is a native Romanian, she knows a lot about the customs and traditions of the country, especially due to her large family, and the setting she grew up in from an early age.

This is a widely held belief in Romania, and can be considered a “conversion” folk belief, such as knocking on wood, in that it takes an action, the glass breaking, and converts it to a meaning, in this case bad luck disappearing. A key thing to understand is that breaking glass is not good luck, but it eliminates bad luck. Also, this is very different to a mirror breaking, because the belief in that, as it is here, is that it will lead to seven years of bad luck. Romanian culture is based heavily on the concept of luck, and due to this, there are countless folk beliefs shared among people. The informant does not remember where she first heard this belief, but it could have been her grandmother, given that she is quite prolific in remembering and still actively believing in all of this folklore.

Sharing Food in Romania

Nationality: Romanian
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: Las Cruces, NM
Performance Date: March 19th, 2013
Primary Language: Rumanian
Language: English

 Sharing Food in Romania

“If you offer people some of your food, you have to take the first bite and the last bite. If someone else takes the first bite, it means that they are going to steal your significant other, and if they take your last bite, it means they are stealing your luck.”

The informant who told me about this folk belief was born and raised in Romania until she came to high school in the US. Given the fact that she is a native Romanian, she knows a lot about the customs and traditions of the country, especially due to her large family, and the setting she grew up in from an early age.

Romanians have many folk beliefs about spouses being unfaithful and being either metaphorically or physically “stolen”, as well as many beliefs associated with luck, how to keep it or how to lose it. This folk belief associated with the sharing of food seems to fuse both of these genres together, in a very literal way. Food is very important in Romania and a lot of time and effort goes into making it, so having someone else take the first and last bite of your food may show disrespect and could be the reason for why it has negative connotations.

Lying Down

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: N/A
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/30/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Three people in my dad’s side of the family have been killed in some way by people walking over them when they were lying down.

It’s kind of a taboo now.

That’s all I got.

We’re not overly superstitious.

 

Do you believe it? How does it impact you?

 

I don’t believe it, but walking over people is pretty dangerous/dumb to begin with, so I just tend to avoid doing it.

Maybe it’s a form of respect to those that have died in the name of saving time by walking over instead of around?
I can understand that; do you think it is in anyway linked to your cultural identity?

Yes, because my dad’s mom’s side has been pretty Irish Catholic and superstitious in general.

But my dad being an atheist, I believe, has stopped a majority of those superstitions from being passed down.

Sort of the end of the line, if you will. A cultural arbiter, placing his judgment upon the beliefs of his forefathers. Um, I dunno.
Please see my other entry on the Chinese fear of death for a better understanding of this post. The informant referenced his own parents’ upbringings as an example of why he doesn’t believe in superstition, which he ties to a belief in religion. I couldn’t believe the whole three people dying from doing something so trivial, and I really think that the informant should avoid lying down.

Chinese Fear of Death

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 19
Occupation: N/A
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 4/30/13
Primary Language: English
Language: Chinese

Why do you think that there is such a focus on bad luck and death?

 

Stuff like not giving clocks because they are reminders of finality, not grouping in 4’s because four is vaguely homophonic with death in Chinese: (si^) vs (si-).

However, my mom was raised in Japan by her adoptive parents (aunt and uncle) and lived on her own since the age of 14.

She’s had a hard, unique upbringing and her values have been affected accordingly

She’s still fiercely Chinese but I think she’s been given such a harsh dose of reality that the superstition parts are a little less emphasized.
See post titled “Laying Down” for full story. The informant relayed and reinforced the notion that an individual’s upbringing can and does indeed cause them to challenge the beliefs that their culture might normally instill in them. However, he also attested to his mother’s remaining “fiercely Chinese,” which shows that – despite being raised by Japanese people – she still places an intrinsic value in her ethnicity. This, paired with my “Pepero Day” post, shows an Asiatic fixation on the idea of remaining young and fit, a natural fear of death ingrained into the culture.

Roman High Five

Nationality: Peruvian
Age: 62
Residence: San Francisco, CA
Performance Date: April 30, 2013
Primary Language: Spanish

For this joke, you make a peace sign with your fingers (V) and high-five someone with your fingers in said position while saying: “Roman five!”
The joke here is an erudite one since you have to have an understanding of Roman numerals to know that the roman five was written as ‘V’.  This joke was told to me by my mother who heard it from a friend in the O.C.