Tag Archives: ritual

Sports Hoodie

Nationality: American
Age: 20
Occupation: Student
Residence: United States
Language: English

Text:

“Anytime ACFC is playing I have to wear my ACFC hoodie or else it’s a guaranteed loss.”

Context:

The informant started doing this in freshman year because nobody cared about women’s soccer and they wanted to market for it. They state that it’s important to them to encourage people to watch women’s soccer and also believed in doing this after wearing it watching their first game and their team won because of it.

Analysis:

This idea marks magical superstition as a ritual behavior is performed with the hopes of influencing the game. More specifically, this acts as sympathetic magic, where the action of wearing the hoodie will influence and help boost the chances of the team winning, and apotropaic magic with the idea of warding off bad luck. In addition, if the person fails to wear the hoodie then the game would be doomed from the start, creating a sense of avoidance ritual by continuously wearing the hoodie so there will be a chance for a victory. Besides representing magical superstition, this also emphasizes material culture with the hoodie. Some people, most that are outside of the sports community, would believe this to be a normal hoodie that one wears with market value, but the informant has a deeper connection to the material. They find it to have a deep personal meaning to the object that makes it invaluable and even giving power to the hoodie, which now acts as a talisman associated with good luck. This ritual behavior establishes identity with the sports folk group as well as acting as a tool that eases anxiety towards a game. It might also act as an explanation as to why a game won or failed with whether or not the hoodie was worn. Because there was a correlation between the object and the victory, the object then develops more power and is seen as something that influences the outcome of a game.

Knock on Wood

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

Text:

“Knocking on wood, this is believed to ward off bad luck or ensure good fortune. You knock on wood when you’re talking about something good but don’t want to jinx it so you knock on wood but if no wood is around you knock on your head. I usually use my head and knock 3 times.”

Context:

The Informant says they learned this from their grandma, but also recounts that people at work say it all the time during their meetings. They’ve had experience with this before of having bad luck if they don’t ‘knock on wood’ and really has a connection to the idea of three. They believe in this idea of bad luck in threes because it continues to happen in their life with accidents, sickness, and deaths.

Analysis:

This is represented as superstition, but more specifically, magical superstition. Magical superstition focuses on the idea of influencing an outcome with an action rather than predicting it. The idea is that if you knock on wood or your head it might influence or ward off misfortune or a ‘jinx,’ but doesn’t exactly predict it. In Frazer’s belief, this can be seen as sympathetic magic, where an action is taken to influence an outcome. Knocking on wood is apotropaic magic, a type of sympathetic magic, where the action of knocking on wood or your head will ward off evil influences or ‘bad luck.’ It’s a protective ritual with the hope of protecting one’s self from negative outcomes by knocking on wood. It’s also a very social aspect, where even the informant states that they use it with their coworkers during meetings, connecting them together with a familiar action which even becomes automatic. People might partake in this action in order to relieve anxiety and stress over possible negative future outcomes and prevent the opposite of whatever they said from coming true. The idea of knocking three times also is significant as its seen in many other cultures as well as this idea of bad luck comes in three, where knocking on wood prevents this three times.

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.

Raksha Bandhan

Nationality: Indian
Age: 18
Occupation: Engineering Major
Residence: Seattle, Washington
Language: English

Informant: “This is a ritual we do, that’s usually performed between a brother and sister, but it could also be a cousin or something. I get a bracelet from my brother that has a cultural symbol, and in return, he gets me a gift. It’s from back in the day, as if I’m sending him off to fight in some war. The bracelet is supposed to offer him protection and good health on that journey. We do it every year on a specific day, but I can’t remember the day. Oh, and we also have to feed each other something sweet.”

Me: “So what is this festival about for you?”

Informant: “It’s about the bond I have with my brother. Also, since my brother is older, it’s like I’m thankful for everything he does for me, even if I don’t see it. You know, I’m sure there’s a lot he does that I don’t really have to think about because I’m just the younger sister. We’re never really serious with each other, so I really appreciate it as a day for us to be serious about our family and siblinghood.”

Context: The informant has been performing this ritual with her brother, once a year, every year, for as long as she can remember. They were taught it by her parents, and although the informant is shaky on what she thinks the ritual should mean, she finds her own meaning in the bond she has created with her brother and the opportunity to show that love despite the fact that they are rarely serious with each other. The cultural symbol in question is called “Rakhi” and is meant to symbolize protection, as the informant stated.

Analysis: My interpretation of this ritual, as it is performed by my informant, is that it is an old ritual which has been gradually adapted to make more sense in our modern context. According to my research, the ritual originally existed in villages where married women would leave their roots to go live with their new husband in another village. This ritual would then serve as one of the only times they returned home to their parents’ house each year, with the purpose of the ritual being to symbolize the brother as a protector in his sister’s relationship. As such, the way my informant celebrates the ritual serves more as a symbolic appreciation of brotherhood and sisterhood than a very real and potentially necessary promise of protection.

Spritz Cookies

Text: “For my entire life every single time it’s Christmas or winter break my mom would make spritz cookies with us. We’d all work together to make the batter and bake the cookies. It’s a tradition we’ve done every single winter. I don’t think that’ll change even when I’m an adult, and when I’m an adult I will teach my family how to make spritz cookies. It’s a tradition my mom did when she was growing up, it’s a tradition that we do now, and it’s a tradition that my lineage will be continuing on in the future. The recipe has been passed down for generations on my mom’s side of the family, which is primarily from Wales and England. I think it’s super cool that I’m part of a generational ritual.”

Context: This tradition was shared by the informant, an Event Planner, who has participated in this annual ritual since early childhood. The informant first learned about the significance of spritz cookies in their family history through repeated hands-on experience each winter break, helping their mother prepare the cookies. Their mother emphasized that this was a multigenerational family recipe, handed down from her own childhood and rooted in her family’s Welsh and English heritage. The informant interprets this annual baking ritual as a meaningful act of cultural and familial continuity – something that binds generations together across time and space. They also see it as a future-oriented tradition, one they plan to continue with their own children, preserving both the recipe and the values it represents.

Analysis: This tradition exemplifies the cultural and emotional power of food-based rituals in maintaining family identity and heritage. The act of baking spritz cookies is more than just a seasonal tradition. It operates as a form of intergenerational storytelling and connection. Through this practice, the informant participates in a lineage of family members who have preserved both recipe and ritual, reinforcing the family’s cultural background and values. The emphasis on continuity (“when I’m an adult I will teach my family”) reflects a deep investment in the idea of legacy, which is an important theme in many food traditions across cultures.

The ritual also supports family bonding, especially within the context of a season (Christmas-time) that culturally emphasizes family unity. As a repeated, collaborative act, the baking process intends to bring people together. Because the ritual is tied to the winter holidays, it becomes part of a broader celebration, blending personal tradition with a culturally shared season of reflection and togetherness.

Informant Info

Race/Ethnicity: White

Age: 25

Occupation: Event Planner

Residence: Oak Park, CA

Date of Performance: April 22, 2025

Primary Language: English

Other Language(s): N/A

Relationship: Sister