Superstition:

At midnight on New Years Eve, you are supposed to throw a bucket of ice water out of your front door. You are also supposed to eat 13 grapes at the stroke of midnight– for fortune, health and wealth. The number thirteen is for the past twelve months and one extra one for the year to come.

Analysis:

Chris first heard of this superstition when he was little kid, catching onto the Cuban traditions. He was probably around the age of five or six. It is performed only on New Years Eve and one is supposed to have a bucket ready to do this in case he or she is going out. Chris thinks this a cool tradition; he only believes it to a certain extent but still does it every year out of tradition.

I actually spent this past New Years Eve with Chris.  We went to a nice house party in which mostly Cubans were in attendance.  Chris told me all the guests were eating grapes and throwing buckets of water at midnight, although I didn’t notice probably because unaware of its significance.

This tradition has contrasting details compared to other cultures.  The Cubans almost all dump buckets of water out into the street at midnight, which is symbolic of throwing out the dirty water of the past year and starting fresh and clean.  On the contrary, the Chinese consider this extremely bad luck.  They believe that on New Years Day, washing or cleaning anything will actually take away all the good luck that the gods have brought one’s way.  This is an interesting comparison because the two cultures have completely divergent views on the same action.

After researching this superstition, I came across some variations.  Many people are accustomed to eating only twelve grapes.  They wait until exactly 12 pm and eat a grape for each of the next twelve seconds.  Many people don’t actually finish the grapes because it is fairly hard to do with the time constraint.  Furthermore, if one of the grapes is sour, one will have a bad month sometime that following year and if one has a sweet, the corresponding month will also be sweet.  I’m not sure if Chris is aware of this version, but his may be a cognate to his family’s origins.

This superstition seems to be more of a Spanish tradition.  It is believed the tradition dates back many years.  In the olden days of Spain, any large harvest was rare and thus celebrated when it happened.  At the turn of the century, Spain experienced a huge grape harvest.  The king gave all the citizens grapes to eat and the tradition has continued even until today.

Jamaican Superstition- Paper on the Baby

This superstition is one that I have never heard before until my mom brought it up the other evening when we were talking about one of my nanny’s from childhood.  She said when a baby is born, take a small piece of paper and attach it to the baby’s forehead with water.  This will keep the evil spirits away from the baby.  This was told to my mom by this Jamaican nanny I had named Jacqueline.

I asked my mom more about Jacqueline and the superstition so she told me a few more details.  She said Jacqueline put a lot of emphasis on this superstition the first couple months after my first birthday.   Supposedly, Jacqueline always wanted the paper to be white without any slits or creases in it.  The water that was used as an adhesive would be placed directly in the middle of my forehead.  The paper would have to be placed gently and then left there for about five minutes.  My mom didn’t know what to think of this ritual and is still slightly confused by it. “I did not know what to think about the superstition Jacqueline was performing.  She seemed very serious about it, and since it was harmless, I did nothing to stop her.  If anything I wanted to believe it would keep evil spirits away.  Maybe she knew something we all didn’t.  Anyhow, she was a good helper and since that made her happy, I was fine with it.”

I think I was more confused by this than my mother.  I had never heard of this story till she brought it to my attention the other day, but I did have some ideas as to why Jacqueline believes this superstition to be true.  First of all, both water and the white of the paper is known as a sign of purity in many cultures.  Babies are also the supreme object of innocence and purity.  By combining these three aspects into one, it is reasonable to assume that no evil spirits could penetrate such an innocent thing.

I also thought it was interesting that Jacqueline was set on performing this ritual following my first birthday.  In many cultures, the first birthday signifies the beginning rather than the birth itself.  If this superstition is observed with that in mind, it does not seem crazy to want the child to start off life with a clean slate.

The last thing I wanted to cover about this superstition is why my mom was willing to let Jacqueline perform it.  The most obvious reason is that it was something that would not harm me.  The second is that Jacqueline was good help and she probably wanted her to stay happy and do a good job.  The last reason is more complicated in my opinion.  I think she wanted to feel like she really connected with Jacqueline and be a part of the Jamaican identity.  I think the whole ritual intrigued her and made her curious about her own beliefs regarding superstitions.  Although she does not admit she believes it, I think there is a part of her that wants to or does.

Folk Superstition- The Evil Eye

When I was home for spring break, my mother was wearing this red string around her left wrist.  At the time I didn’t pay it much attention, but when I told her about my folklore collection, she told me something about it that I could not leave out of the collection. Wearing a red string around your left wrist prevents bad luck and doesn’t allow the evil eye to interfere with you.  I was not totally sure what she meant by the evil eye, so the questioning began.

I asked her more about the evil eye and where she learned the story.  She said she learned about it on her trip to Morocco.  Supposedly, the evil eye dates back to around 3000 BC.  My mother said wearing the red string around your left wrist is an old Moroccan tradition passed down from medieval times.  She said this was told to her on biking trip there in one of the town’s.  She can’t remember if a local or a tour guide told it, but nevertheless, she bought some type of evil eye souvenir and this red string.  When   I asked her why she wore it and what she thought of the superstition, she said, “I don’t really know if I believe it necessarily, but it is very unique and it brings back a lot of memories from the trip”.

When analyzing this, it is tough to generalize why others wear this string on their left wrist, but I think I know why my mother does.  Every time she looks down and sees this string, it reminds her of the trip.  This instantly connects her with Morocco and the wonderful times she had there.  This also connects her with the Moroccan culture.  It is something that most Americans don’t know about or have, so this changes her sense of identity in some respects.

Another interesting thing to notice is who told her the story of the evil eye.  If it was indeed a local, this could have been simply to tell an old Moroccan belief.  But I also believe it might have something to do with all the evil eye souvenirs.  Tourists who buy these Moroccan items help their business tremendously.  Whether the evil eye “exists” or not, selling things connected with it is a moneymaker in Morocco.

This can also be found in the following:

Evil Eye

Mark P. Taylor

Folklore, Vol. 44, No. 3 (Sep., 1933), pp. 308-309

Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of Folklore Enterprises, Ltd.