Tag Archives: prayer

Family Meditation

Nationality: American
Age: 19
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: English

From interview with informant:

“My family, every time we go on a big trip, like whether it’s an emotional trip or a physical trip, we all have to sit in the same room on a different surface and take a moment of, like, repose, that my father decides. We take or moment, and then we stand and we go on our journey. I don’t know if it’s a Russian tradition or a Jewish tradition or something from my dad’s family, but it’s something that my family does.”

This is a simple custom that makes a lot of practical sense. It serves to bring the family closer together while preparing for potentially arduous or important times in the near future. It sounds a lot like a moment of prayer, but the informant made it sound very secular, more like meditation and contemplation. It could have any mixture of cultural, religious, or familial roots like the informant suggested. A secularized Jewish prayer, perhaps, or just something a family member thought of that stuck. Not sure about the “different surfaces” aspect. That certainly makes it sound more like something specific to this particular family.

Sta. Clara Superstition

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

“If you wanted the weather to change from cloudy and rainy to sunny and dry: break an egg over a wall under the moon in honor of Saint Clara and the weather would change in the morning.”

This is my informant’s synopsis of a superstition her grandmother held.  My informant is a native of Brazil and is of Portuguese descent.  According to her, her grandmother, from whom she learned this superstition, was a fervent Catholic and “knew hundreds of saints and their miracles and for every misfortune or mishappen there would be some saint to pray to or a superstition to fix it!”  She said superstitions were her grandmother’s specialty.
This belief strikes me as one of the most contrived-sounding superstitions I have ever heard; it really seems strange to combine all those elements.  According to the New Advent’s Catholic Encyclopedia (http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/index.html), there were two St. Clare’s (but no “Clara”).  Both were known for their piety, but neither is associated with the weather or the sun or clouds or rain.  Certainly, neither is associated with the egg or fertility, as nuns are celibate.  This magic- superstition is likely an example of hybridization.  As many holidays including Christmas and Easter were once non-Christian feasts, to which the Catholic church attached Christian meaning to facilitate mass-conversion within their growing dominion, this superstition was probably once a native idea, to which Portuguese Catholics attached Saint Clara (or Clare).  As the name “Clare” (and also “clarity” and “clairvoyance”) is associated with light, St. Clare was probably chosen to replace a pagan entity that manipulated weather in the native lore.

Prayer to São Longuinho

Nationality: Brazilian-American
Performance Date: April 2007

    “If you are looking for something and can’t find it you need to promise to São Longuinho that you will jump three times and scream three times and the saint will find it for you.”

This is my informant’s description of a superstition her grandmother held.  My informant is a native of Brazil and is of Portuguese descent.  According to her, her grandmother, from whom she learned this superstition, was a fervent Catholic and “knew hundreds of saints and their miracles and for every misfortune or mishap there would be some saint to pray to or a superstition to fix it!”  She said superstitions were her grandmother’s specialty.
I am not aware of any superstition of jumping and screaming to find a lost object in Catholic tradition.  This superstition does, however, contain Catholic elements, such as the saint, and the idea of three.  Catholic tradition is replete with threes, symbolizing the Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.  This magic-superstition is likely an example of hybridization.  As many holidays including Christmas and Easter were once non-Christian feasts, to which the Catholic church attached Christian meaning to facilitate mass-conversion within their growing dominion, this superstition was probably once a native idea, to which Portuguese Catholics attached S o Longuinho.

An Irish Blessing

Nationality: Irish-American
Age: 51
Residence: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

May the road rise up to meet you.

May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,

and rains fall soft upon your fields.

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

 

Above is an old Irish blessing that my mother remembers her family often paraphrasing at birthdays and other family gatherings. Also, cards with this saying were very popular.

Though not used a blessing at weddings, my mother said that sometimes someone said this blessing at reception as part of a toast. My mother’s father’s side was very Irish, and my mother’s grandmother was the first generation of Americans in her family that emigrated to the United States from Ireland at the turn of the century.

The part of the blessing that my mother remembers is, “may the road rise up to meet you.” The way she reads the blessing, it is a way to wish the best for a person, or a couple, on any celebrated occasion that marks a milestone like a birthday or an accomplishment like graduation or a ceremony like a wedding.

Although the entire blessing is listed above, (my mother had to look it up because she couldn’t remember it exactly), only parts of the blessing was used when spoken at family functions. My mother the part of the blessing most often said was, “May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind always be at your back.”   If the entire blessing was read, it was usually just at weddings.

…From my lips to God’s ears.

Nationality: American
Age: 61
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: April 2007
Primary Language: English

My informant told me that a friend of hers used to say this phrase as sort of a superstitious prayer. It was sort of the opposite of the knock on wood superstition. The way it worked was that whenever my informant’s friend would talk about her kids, or her grandkids, by saying, “little Timmy’s so talented, he’s gonna be a fine doctor some day.”, or, “ That kid’s got a great arm, he’s gonna be a great ballplayer one day.”, immediately after she would say, “From my lips to God’s.”
There’s no getting around the fact that parents want the best for their kids, and I don’t doubt that there are a number of other similar types of sayings throughout the world. As I said before this saying is very similar to the knock on wood superstition, however instead of trying to ward off bad fortune, “From my lips to God’s ears” attempts to bring good fortune.