Chinese Lunar New Year

Context:

A, 18, is a student at USC. He is a French citizen of Chinese descent; he told me about how his family celebrated Lunar New Year when he visited China. He told me he grew up in France, so he seldom celebrated this tradition, only when he was in China back when he was young.  

Text:

Chinese Lunar New Year is celebrated on the second new moon after the winter solstice, so it’s usually around the end of January or the beginning of February. Every Lunar New Year is about a different zodiac animal, this is the year of the rabbit (2023). We usually wear red or red clothes and use traditional Chinese red paper lamps. We also put up fish posters to symbolize wealth in China, we put them on walls and doors to bring good fortune. We eat dumplings and blow-up firecrackers and fireworks.

Analysis:

Chinese Lunar New Year is a very common celebration among the Chinese diaspora throughout the world. It celebrates the New Year, and just like many other cultures, it lines up with the life cycle calendar beginning with spring (birth) and ending in winter (death). It is a liminal time between two cycles, so it is a magical time outside of the norm filled with superstitions, feasts, and celebrations. This festival is annually celebrated, as one might assume by its name; however, contrastively to the Solar year and Gregorian Calendar, this festival aligns with the Lunar Calendar, which is why it is on a different day every year. The rituals and superstitions that are celebrated during this festival often are practiced to bring good luck; similar to most cultures around the world that also have “good fortune” superstitions during their new year celebrations as well.

Superstition: Knock on Wood

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Francisco
Performance Date: 04/29/23

Text

“Oh yeah, I always knock on wood whenever someone says they’ve never had something bad happen to them. It’s just a little precaution, you know? Like, I don’t want to jinx anything by tempting fate. Plus, it’s a habit that I’ve had for so long that it’s just become second nature at this point.”

Context

My informant, who is white and from San Francisco, picked this superstition up from his parents as a child, and is a reluctant believer in it today. He interprets it as a method of negating the potential bad luck that could come with a jinx. 

Analysis

My informant’s superstition is an example of conversion superstition, as he takes action to negate a curse. Essentially, the jinx, for example something like “I have never broken a bone” curses an individual to break a bone, but knocking on wood can negate that outcome. The curse aspect of this superstition shares some similarities with the Evil Eye, where direct compliments actually function as curses, similar to how my informant’s statements of positive wellbeing can doom one to negative outcomes. This belief could be a derivative of historical pagan beliefs in the sacredness of trees and forests, where knocking on wood provided a method through which people could communicate with deities. 

My informant’s reluctance in believing this superstition suggests his desire to depart from his commitment to the belief, perhaps a symptom of his maturing process. This in turn suggests that he views this superstition as a child’s belief. However, one might add that this superstition provides a method by which one can keep his or her self-positive thoughts in check and avoid resting on laurels or boasting. 

Superstition: Talking to the Goalposts

Nationality: American
Age: 21
Occupation: Hockey Goalie/Student
Residence: New Hampshire

Text

“Yeah, I’ve always talked to the goalposts, ever since I was a kid playing in the backyard. I just feel like they’re my teammates back there, you know? They’ve helped me out more times than I can count. As far as what I say to the posts, that varies, but it’s usually something along the lines of helping me keep pucks out of the net. I think it comes from my early days as a fan. I used to be a big fan of Patrick Roy, and he was really superstitious, so I kind of took after him with all the superstition, talking to the posts is a big one. It’s basically my way of giving 110%, I’m asking for the posts to be an extension of my game and not bank shots in behind me.”

Context

My informant, who is white and from New Hampshire, has been practicing this superstition since his early days as a goalie, and learned it from French-Canadian goaltender Patrick Roy. He interprets it as a necessary part of his game, though he also understands how crazy the whole thing sounds. 

Analysis

My informant hails from New Hampshire, a state in which hockey is very popular. The folk group that this superstition is relevant to, however, is the hockey community, in which superstition is common especially among goaltenders. By extension, this is a category of sports superstition. 

My informant’s superstition is a form of magic superstition, in which one takes action to ensure a certain outcome. While it does not neatly fit into a category of Frazer’s sympathetic magic, there are elements of contagious magic, as my informant views the net as an extension of himself and wishes to manipulate it even when separated from it. Or, perhaps, one could argue that it is similar to homeopathic magic, as my informant imitates the act of allying with a sentient force with the hope that such a bond will both be formed and be productive. This is also imitative as my informant emulates Patrick Roy in an effort to attain his great abilities. Either way, my informant’s practice strongly adheres to the idea that people engage in superstition to gain control or greater understanding of the uncontrollable world around them. 

Beyond Patrick Roy, the origins of this superstition are unclear, though, mostly due to Roy’s greatness, the superstition has certainly become canonized among goalies. 

The Banned Words

Nationality: China
Age: 47

Text:
从前有一位国王，他在一次事故中摔断了腿。他走路得样子非常滑稽，人们因为他走路样子而发笑，经常私下嘲笑他怪异的走路方式。为了避免被嘲笑，国王发布了一项皇家法令，禁止使用“腿”或“跛行”等词。起初，人们对这一奇怪的法令感到困惑，但很快他们找到新的词语来嘲笑国王。当国王禁用了一些词语，人们就找到同音字来绕过禁令。 国王变得越来越偏执，他认为每个人都在背后谈论他。所以他禁用了越来越多的字词，直到人们的日常交流都受到了阻碍。王国陷入了深深的沉默，但即使在一片沉默中，国王感觉被嘲笑了，因为沉默成为了每一个他禁用的词。


Translation:
Once upon a time, a king broke his leg in an accident. He walks in a funny way, and people laugh at him because of his way of walking. They often secretly mocked his strange way of walking. To avoid being ridiculed, the king issued a law prohibiting the use of words such as “leg” or “limp.” At first, people were puzzled by this strange law, but soon they found new words to make fun of the king. When the king banned some words, people substituted them with homophonic words. The king became increasingly angry, believing everyone was talking about him behind his back. So he banned more and more words until people could barely speak. The kingdom fell into a deep silence, but even in the silence, the king felt teased because silence became the words he banned.

Context: The informant read this story online when people were discussing the banned words on the website in a forum. The website bans bad words and substitutes them with the “*” sign, but people find homophonic characters to get around the censorship. Because some of the homophonic words are used daily, they influence people’s daily life, and many of the homophonic words become bad words. Thus, some people questioned the act of using homophonic characters to express bad meanings, and someone wrote this story to reflect the negative aspects of online censorship and how it affects people’s daily life.

Analysis: This story reflects the value of free speech and the negative consequences of censorship on the Chinese internet. The king’s ban on words led people to seek alternative ways to express themselves. This story is a modern fable as many societies struggle with issues of censorship and control over speech and expression. The use of homophonic characters in online communication to bypass censorship is a common phenomenon on the Chinese internet, as Chinese is a language that has a lot of homophonic characters and words. This story reflects the issue of censorship and serves as a cautionary tale about the unintended consequences of censorship.

Wedding Crown

Text: 

Context:

This crown was made for the informant’s mother out of a bracelet her grandmother wore on her wedding day. The mother of the informant is Swedish and the crown was made by the same jeweler that makes the Swedish Royal Family’s jewelry. It gets passed down from the oldest daughter to the oldest daughter but can be worn by any of the grandchildren that wish to wear it. It is seen as a form of good luck as every bride that has worn it has remained with their husband their entire life.

Analysis:

This item not only serves as a wedding ritual item but also as a good luck charm. Weddings of course are times of transition and change, therefore it makes sense that an item of good luck would be used. In many situations, as discussed in the lecture, where there is luck involved or there is no control over what will happen there are often good luck charms. Weddings are one of the three biggest milestones in life and the only one we are conscious of adding to the importance to us of the occasion. The symbol of the crown, made by the jeweler who makes royal jewelry could also indicate that on this day the person who wears it is above all else, royalty in their own right. It emphasizes the importance of the day and what is happening. Similar to a coronation the crown is only worn at special occasions.