Walking Under A Ladder

Nationality: American
Age: 55
Occupation: World Oil Leader
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“There’s this belief of walking under a ladder being bad luck. One common explanation ties the superstition to medieval times when ladders were thought to resemble gallows, implying a fate of death by hanging.”

Context:

The informant says that their superstitions come from their grandma and also hears it from coworkers. They really do believe this even if it’s not true because they don’t want to test their luck, but also sees it happen a lot in their life with bad luck.

Analysis:

This represents an American superstition, where an action that we take results in this idea of ‘bad luck’ or where bad events will ensue. Specifically, this acts as sign superstition, where an action can predict an outcome It creates a sense of ritual avoidance, where people will actively avoid the action of walking under a ladder to prevent bad things from happening. ‘Bad luck’ also seems very vague and broad, meaning that this action can be attached to anything that the individual deems as ‘bad’ and use it to explain why horrible things might happen to them. From the informant, it roots back to medieval times as symbolic to gallows, where both might represent the overall idea of death. Gallows aren’t seen as often anymore so this sense of death progresses and connects to something more relevant: ladders. Unlike gallows, ladders are seen more as invitation of bad luck if one purposefully takes the action of walking under one, not necessarily that it is certain that ‘death’ or ‘misfortune’ will immediately ensue. Psychologically speaking, it acts as a way for people to be on the lookout for unfortunate events and then immediately tie it to their action that may have caused it rather than the thought of it being random. It becomes a warning to everyone to avoid walking under ladders without knowing what exactly might happen.

White Elephant

Nationality: American
Age: 65
Occupation: Unemployed
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“My family has this tradition for Christmas Eve and we get everyone together at one of our houses and celebrate. Towards the end of the night we play this game called White Elephant, where everyone has to bring a wrapped gift and set it by the tree so no one knows whose gift is whose. Everyone gets a number that tells the order of who goes when. We each take turns going up and picking a random gift and then opening it up in front of everyone. There’s rules though. Someone can steal a gift from somebody else, but it can only be stolen 3 times and then it’s dead, meaning you can’t steal it anymore. It gets really competitive between everyone, but we always laugh it off.”

Context:

The informant recalls that this tradition has been going on since she was a child. It’s meaningful to them because of how connected they can feel with their family and bring everyone together, creating really happy memories of all of them. It’s also a time for them to see family that they haven’t seen in awhile and even meet new members of the family and catch up with everyone. The tradition itself helps creating these memories and positive times by doing a fun activity.

Analysis:

This resembles a ritual tradition or folk custom associated with a holiday: Christmas. It’s specific to one family, but attached to the holiday as a creative way to bring a sense of love and family to the community. It also presents as gift-giving behaviors in the format of a game with a tradition that still isn’t the same each year since different moments ensue each time the game is played. Unlike other American traditions this doesn’t bother trying to make sense of the uncertainty but rather embraces the unpredictable. It also consists of rules giving the tradition a structure that has to be followed. It acts a both a celebration for Christmas and family in the format of healthy competition that is also designed to be humorous and fair. It’s more localized as family tradition and acts as behavior that is passed down by learning from family members and watching the activity.

Lucky Cat

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“When Butterscotch sleeps with me it means I am going to have a good day, and when she sleeps with ___, it means she’ll do good on her nursing tests”

CONTEXT:

Butterscotch is a cat owned by the informant and her family. She holds folk beliefs about the power of the cat as on several occasions, after the cat has slept with her or her daughter, they have had good luck the next day.

ANALYSIS:

In this scenario, the cat is acting as a sign. A sign is an object, or animal in this case, that helps viewers interpret the world around them. Here, if the cat decides to sleep next to the informant or her daughter, they interpret that to mean they will get a good grade on an exam or have a good day at work. This sign emerged due to personal experiences; they took note of many occasions where they had a good day and the cat had slept with them the night before. This reinforced to them that the cat was a sign of good luck. This sign is also a source of motivation for them. Although the cat is not going to help the informant’s daughter study, or assist the informant in work, it may give them confidence. Just by believing that their day will go well, they will feel more assured in their decision making abilities, which may lead to them getting a good grade or having a good day at work. This demonstrates how signs can have psychological impacts on those who are looking for them. It could also be representative of the affection they have for the cat. Since they love the cat, they cannot associate it with negative energy or influence.

Happy Birthday on Christmas

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“When I celebrate Christmas with the extended family, so like a day or two after Christmas day, we get a red velvet cake, candles, and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Jesus”


CONTEXT:

The informant said this tradition started when she was young, but she does not remember who started it. She hopes her family will continue the tradition when they move out and start families of their own.


ANALYSIS:

This tradition blends holiday rituals with religious beliefs. This blending is fairly common, with most of what is considered holy days being appropriated from other festival days. Christmas and Easter, two of the most widely celebrated religious holidays, were originally not associated with Christianity, but were later appropriated by the Catholic church. The traditional rituals associated with birthdays, such as the candles that are blown out and the song they sing, are extended to Jesus, who Christians celebrate the birth of on that day. The candles typically signify the passing of another year of life and the song, which is considered a folk song due to it not having an owner, is meant to celebrate the growth of the person whose birthday it is. In addition to the traditional birthday rituals, the informant mentioned that the cake is specifically red velvet. This could be a reference to traditional Christian beliefs about the blood of Jesus, mainly that it purifies the sins of believers. Thus, eating the red cake could be a symbolic representation of embracing her sacrifice for this family.

Special Dinner

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Realtor
Residence: Orange County, CA
Language: English

TEXT:

“Every Christmas, or other important days like graduations and stuff, we go to Riptide for dinner to celebrate. We’ve been doing this for a while now and we always look forward to it.”

CONTEXT:

Riptide is a high-end teppanyaki restaurant, and the informant began this tradition because she only wanted to spend the money on special occasions. Now, it has become a regular component of her Christmas celebration, to the point where it is just expected that the family will be going.


ANALYSIS:

This ritual showcases the ritual license effect. This term refers to how people get a pass on holidays or special occasions to act differently than they would any other day. On an average day, the informant would not pay for the expensive dinner, but when it is a holiday, the expense is much more justifiable. Additionally, this ritual follows a calendar cycle as it is scheduled to occur on specific days of the year. This means the family anticipates when it is going to happen and gets to look forward to it as another part of their Christmas celebration.