Tag Archives: good luck

Good Luck Charm – Great Britain

Nationality: English
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Residence: Westlake Village, CA
Performance Date: April 02, 2008
Primary Language: English

Fleur de Lis

“I got this necklace as a freshman in high school from my grandmother who is from Great Britain.  Fleur de lis means flower of the lily, and the symbol represents light and life.  Ever since she gave me the necklace I have worn it everyday as a good luck charm.  It also reminds me of my grandmother and my family.  In a sense it also is a representation of my family to me.  I have seen other people wear the necklace as well as the symbol used in different ways.  For instance, the New Orleans Saints football team has the fleur de lis as their team logo.  When I have children I want to buy them similar necklaces too or even pass mine down to them.”

This is the second good luck charm that I have collected in this project and both originated from Europe.  Also in both cases, the people who owned the good luck charm received it from a grandparent who was born in a European country.  Although these are only two cases, there is clearly some commonality between the two.  In both cases, the charms served to represent their original meaning as well as reminding the two subjects of their families.  Matt mentioned how the flour de lis is the team symbol for the New Orleans Saints, and I have observed that it is the symbol for the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority here at USC.  ?

Superstition – Chinese

Nationality: Chinese-American
Occupation: Student
Residence: San Diego, CA
Performance Date: April 08, 2008
Primary Language: English

“When you buy a new car, you’re supposed to take a bottle and smash it against one of the tires of the car.”

“This is an Asian superstition, particularly Chinese but I have heard other Asian cultures do the same.  If you don’t crack the bottle on the tire than you inherit bad luck with the car.  Obviously the opposite goes if you do crack the bottle.  When I first got my license at 16, my dad handing me a bottle to smash on one of the tires and it was a thrilling moment because I remember seeing my parents do the same every time they got a new car.  My Japanese friend did the same thing when he got his first car, too.  I will pass down this tradition in my family, even if I don’t marry a girl with an Asian cultural background.”

This is one of many car superstitions that I have heard, but I have never heard a car superstition linked to a culture.  One example of another car superstition is throwing change on the ground of a new car.  The common theme behind both superstitions is making the pure and new, somewhat marked or tainted as old.  The crack of the bottle does not destroy the tires, but makes the tires no longer “brand new”.  Throwing change on the floor takes away the cleanliness of a brand new car as well.  My hypothesis behind the cultural tie to Chris’ superstition is that the Asian culture values toughness, both physically and mentality.  Possibly the breaking of a bottle on a tire marks two things: the car’s physical strength and the owner of the car’s mental strength to slightly damage a brand new, expensive vehicle.

Superstition – Persian, Armenian

Nationality: Armenian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Glendale, CA
Performance Date: March 3, 2008
Primary Language: Armenian
Language: Russian, English

To protect a car from bad luck, an egg is placed right in front of each tire of the vehicle. Then the owner drives the car forward, slowly crushing the eggs.

Mary learned this from her Persian-Armenian neighbors in Glendale. She said this is done when you buy a new car—almost like an initiation ceremony for the car. She said she is not sure exactly how this is supposed to work, although she thinks it may have something to do with “crushing evil.”

I am not sure how to go about analyzing this, but I thought it was an interesting piece as it combines a very ancient form of superstition—magical superstition, and a very modern object—the car. No doubt this tradition has started after the invention of cars, and after the wide distribution of cars among the Persian-Armenian communities. I thought there must be some older Persian custom that involves the crushing of eggs for good luck, but was not able to find any. At any rate, this tradition is concerned with an issue that concerns us all—motor safety. If Persian-Armenians had previously crushed eggs for some form of protection, it makes sense why they would try to adopt this to the car—we now, after all, spend much of our time in cars, and we are all aware of the dangers of the road.

As for the eggs, they have been symbolically important for so many cultures. Eggs seem to usually connote good rather than evil, so I am not too sure about Mary’s idea of symbolic crushing of evil. The wheels are like the ‘legs’ of the car, and are very important to the car’s reliability and maneuverability—perhaps, then, it is an attempt to instill some of the egg’s protective power into the very rubber of the wheels.

Lucky Advice – USA

Nationality: Jewish-American
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Clermont, CA
Performance Date: April 23, 2008
Primary Language: English

“When you see a penny on the ground, if its head is up, then its lucky and you better keep it. If its tail is showing, either walk on by, or throw it away, but don’t you keep it with you for too long.”

Jordan said he first heard this from his substitute grandmother who is a 91 year old retired African American who grew up in tupelo Mississippi and now living in Fullerton California. He said that Letha helped take care of him ever since he was a little kid. He said that she carried him home from the hospital and has given her a lot of advice in his life.

However, he continues, the one thing he always remembers from her, is to hold on to the heads up penny. Jordan did not know why this was true, but he says to this day he even flips pennies that are lying around his room or even on the street to heads up so that other people can have good luck as well.

Analysis.

Whether a heads up coin actually brings luck or not, I think that Jordan belief is more of a psychological effect more than anything else. I think people seem to believe in the idea that older is wiser. Like any other child, Jordan only easily accepted this because he was young and believed in his replacement grandmother’s ideas. What happened next is psychological. I think that every time he came across a heads up coin and then something good happen to him, Jordan associated it with the coin and vice versa.

This is only because he was brought up in a culture that believes in that a heads up coin brings luck. Another person could easily and rightly perceive a heads up coin as simply a heads up coin and nothing else to it. Such is the strength of traditions. Tradition builds identity. By this I mean people with similar traditions identify and easily associate with each other. It is simply because they perceive similar things similarly. That is why Jordan has to remember his replacement grandmother every time he comes across a coin. There is that connection between two people that can be created simply sharing the same cultural beliefs.

Folk Superstition

Nationality: Caucasian
Age: 21
Occupation: Student
Residence: Fairfield, NJ
Performance Date: March 14, 2008
Primary Language: English

Folk Superstition

“During hockey playoffs, a lot of guys grow beards for good luck until the end of the season so that their favorite time will win.”

My manager at the Original Pancake House is a huge sports fan, especially when it comes to hockey.  He absolutely loves the Rangers and goes to as many games as possible every season.  He is a very intense fan, and he and his friends do a lot of different things to try to bring their team good luck.

He said that this superstition is really common, especially with hockey fans.  If a favorite team makes it to the playoffs (and some even do this during the whole season, but it is generally based on the playoffs), a lot of the fans will let their facial hair grow, specifically their beards.  They tend to believe that as long as they keep their hair growing, their team won’t lose.  Of course this isn’t necessarily true, but it gives them something to hope for.  One of the reasons this superstition is probably to common is that it encourages fans to be more involved.  By growing their beards out and doing something that seems to contribute to the team’s success, the fans feel more involved.

The specificity of growing a beard is most likely due to men’s desire to come across as being very masculine.  Since men already tend to love sports because it associates them with masculine qualities, this trend seems to emphasize that.  In growing a beard, which is clearly a trait that is unique to men, they are asserting their masculinity and trying to make a statement that they have the male power to control, or contribute, to a sports team’s success during the playoffs.

Furthermore, growing a beard can be symbolic of the teams success (or lack thereof) because of the fact that bears grow and can be cut off.  As the beard is growing, so is the team as they win games during the playoffs.  However, if the team loses, the fans can easily shave off their beards in order not to be reminded of the downfall.  Growing a beard provides an easy and convenient way of showing support for a team without making any huge commitments, and it still makes a bold visual statement.  When people who are aware of this tradition see a man with a beard during the playoffs, it can serve as a sort of advertisement for the team and for the sport in general.  In many senses, this superstition is a convenient and practical way for men to show their support and assert their masculinity during game season.