Tag Archives: Superstition

New Years Grapes: Folk Belief/Ritual During a Holiday

Text: 

Me: “Hi AA do you have any rituals, practices, or festivals in mind?”

AA: “um, I have this unique ritual or I guess you can call it a folk belief, it actually takes place during New Years Eve.”

Me: “Does it have to do with your culture?”

AA: “Yes, so on New Year’s Eve my Dominican family and I often gather around as we wait for the countdown to midnight. As we wait, my grandma passes out 12 green grapes and a glass of champagne to everyone. In theory, once the clock strikes 12, we are supposed to eat the 12 grapes while making 12 wishes or aspirations for the 12 months of the new year ahead. If you take too long or If you don’t eat the grapes by the time the firecrackers, the cheers, and the celebrations stop, you will have bad luck in the upcoming year; that is why people usually eat their grapes first and then wash it down with champagne before hugging people and celebrating the New Year.”

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

-AA’s relationship to this folk belief/ritual stems from her Dominican culture, family, and household considering this practice and belief system is seen in many parts of Latin America. AA would hear about this ritual/belief all her life given that she has always been exposed to it; she would either host New Years Eve at her home or be invited to other households where the ritual/belief will take place. AA interprets this ritual/belief as a fun, creative, and silly way to pass the time during such a transitional period during the end of the year. AA has noticed that the older people in her family tend to take this belief/ritual more seriously as they often sit alone and think very diligently about each wish. AA believes this has to do with the fact that older generations seem to be more adamant about their religion and faith. In contrast, AA often interprets this practice as a silly entertaining act that shouldn’t be classified as a serious matter.

Analysis(what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

-The overall cultural value within this New Year’s folk belief/ritual stems from Hispanic culture given that it is typically correlated with Latin American communities and households. Many assume that this ritual/belief is practiced by Hispanic cultures because it involves a profound way of believing which can be found within religious Catholic practices of Hispanic communities. The personal values that can be seen within this belief/ritual is that it allows an individual to embrace their spirituality in a way to remain hopeful for the next year. The factors of religion, beliefs, faith, and optimism are all key factors that one needs to find within themselves personally, in order to truly believe that their 12 wishes will come true; this idea exemplifies one’s conscious beliefs considering the goal is to not receive bad luck. I interpret this ritual/belief as a wholesome manifestation practice. Considering that I have participated in this ritual/belief process during New Year’s Eve as well, I am able to see this process as a familial activity that can bring on hope, optimism, determination, and faith for the upcoming year. I believe this is stemmed from one’s spiritual beliefs, considering if you truly believe in your wish, you will do everything in your power to make it come true. This ritual/belief can be seen as an overall superstition given the fact that the idea of one’s wishes coming true is a striking concept that an individual can choose to believe in. Not to mention, this New Years belief/ritual is a subjective ideology that can be determined by one’s overall level of value and meaning that they place upon it; this can be seen within older generations as their religious and spiritual beliefs allows them to be more invested in their wishes, as depicted by AA’s family. A similar ritual/belief that involves the same notions of wishes and manifestations is the practice of walking outside with a suitcase as the clock strikes midnight during New Years as well; this is done to signify luck for travel in the upcoming year.

Lebanon Local Town Hyenas: legend

Nationality: Lebanese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: Los Angeles
Performance Date: 3/21/23
Primary Language: English
Language: Arabic

Text: 

Me: “Did you grow up with any legends in your hometown?”

AH: “In Lebanon it’s all mountains, my house will overlook the mountains from a balcony, some noises that no one seems to know of can be heard every night, they sound just like hyenas, like the laughing noise that hyenas make”.

Me: “Oh- have you personally seen hyenas on the mountain?”

AH: “No, no one has ever seen hyenas there. People in my village simply believe that the noises come from a hyena-like person, almost like a werewolf. People in the village try to determine who is a true hyena-like person and they try to find out who could it be. People are determined to find out who it is so they can get them to stop laughing in order to let us sleep at night. However, my parents would always say don’t go to the woods or mountains…they would tell us to avoid it at all costs. So yeah, I always grew up hearing those laughing noises at night”.

Context (informant’s relationship to the piece, where they heard it, how they interpret it):

– AH’s relationship to this piece stems from his Lebanon hometown which allowed him to have various experiences as he would first-hand hear the hyena-like noises constantly in his childhood village. AH would hear this legend be talked about by his parents and from the people in his community. The hyena-like person concept was an idea that was constantly heard about all around town considering many wanted to find the person who kept them up at night. AH interprets this legend as a light-hearted concept within his town considering that not much attention has come about when it comes to doing something about the noises. Given that the village people are not adamant about calling animal control or the city police to investigate, AH interprets this legend as a fun idea that unites his entire community. 

Analysis (what kind of personal, cultural, or historical values might be expressed) YOUR interpretation:

– The overall cultural value within this legend stems from Lebanese culture considering the hyena-like creature is completely precise and embedded in AH’s Lebanon village within their overall lifestyle. Not to mention, the personal values that can be expressed within this legend is that it allows the individual to create different theories surrounding the noise because they have various personal experiences when it comes to hearing the noises from their homes; thus exemplifying their spiritual values. I see this legend as an overall concept of protection or nurture when it comes to the parent’s emphasis on not allowing their children to enter the woods/mountains. Whether the legend is true or not, I think parents use this idea as a tactic to keep their children safe and at home. Considering that I have never experienced any situation similar to this, I interpret this legend to be a nonchalant way for the village people to avoid the sounds in order to save them the trouble of getting to the bottom of what actually keeps them up at night. Not to mention, I interpret this legend as a uniting cultural phenomenon among many generations within their town. Despite the fact that I have never experienced anything similar to this legend, I have heard about similar legends regarding my Mexican culture. I grew up hearing about the legend of La Llorona which had similar motives of making children behave and to stay in at night in order to avoid danger. The legend of La Llorona can be seen as a different oikotype when it comes to the concept of behavioral legends. However, one distinctive difference from AH’s legend compared to La Llorona, was that I grew up knowing that kids in my school would participate in legend quests as they would go hiking in attempt to see if La Llorona was real or not instead of simply being scared and staying at home like the influence of AH’s legend.

USC Good-luck Sweater

Background: R is a proud grandmother of a USC student and she routinely watches USC sporting events in support of the school. R is a Mexican immigrant and loves to support her grandchildren in all their endeavors.

Text:

R: “I always, always wear my USC ….cómo se dice…sweater….always no matter how hot it is! I am convinced I gave USC football and uh… Caleb… Williams good luck last year when they won all the games. The only game I didn’t wear it was the USC and… Utah game…that was when they lost!”

Interviewer: “Do you wash the sweater?”

R: “Si, I’m not crazy. The sweater‘s powers activate when I put it on… it can’t come off in the washer.”

Interviewer: “Why are you so invested in USC sports?”

R: “Because I want to be supportive of my grandchild and their success of getting into such a good school. I’m so so proud!

Analysis:

Sports superstitions are among the most common superstitions in American contemporary life. Sports fans like to feel like they have some control over the game, even when they’re watching from the stands or their living rooms. They pretend that they take part in the action through insignificant routines/gestures/sayings/or performative rituals, such as wearing the same lucky sweater. In R’s scenario, her sports superstition transcends just wanting to take part of the athletic event, she wants to take part in the success of her grandchildren.

Silverware Superstition

Background: M is an American who grew up in New York and remembers her very traditional and conservative Grandma having a superstition about dropping cutlery.

Text:

M : “My Grandma would always do this strange thing during family gatherings when someone accidentally dropped silverware on the ground. She would yell, ‘Company’s coming!’, since it was supposed to be a sign that guests were on their way.”

Interviewer: “Can you think of any possible reasoning for why she would say this?”

M: “I have no clue where it came from, but she’d always say it at any family gathering. Oh, and supposedly if it were a knife, the guest would be male; if it were a fork, it would be a woman. She also mentioned that if the utensil faced the front door, the guest would be someone you really want to see or someone you haven’t really seen in a while… but, if it faced the back door, it would be an unwanted guest. I remember feeling scared when someone dropped a utensil pointing to the back… it was somewhat terrifying.”

Analysis:

This superstition could potentially reflect the burden of the traditional American housewife and the stress of maintaining a neat and hospitable household at all times. One small mistake, like a dropped utensil, instills fear of a sudden unexpected visitor and creates the urgency to immediately correct the imperfections to evade societal judgment. As a traditional American housewife, M’s grandma likely felt the pressure to uphold a nice and tidy home at all times. This superstition likely reflected these pressures and the pressure experienced when having to accommodate guests–welcome or unwelcome.

Bad mood leads to bad cooking

Background: M is an American of Sicilian descent who grew up in Buffalo, New York.

Text:

M: “My grandma had a superstition that if you’re cooking while in a bad mood, then the food you’re cooking will taste bad. She’d always say ‘sour mood makes sour food’.”

Interviewer: “Was it just your grandma who believed this superstition?”

M: “My mom…my grandma’s daughter of course… also seemed to believe in this as well. She’d make excuses that she couldn’t cook because she wasn’t in the best of moods.”

Interviewer: “Do you have any other personal experience with this superstition?”

M: “During my teen years, my mom and grandma would yell at me constantly to get out of the kitchen since my teenage mood swings supposedly indicated that I wasn’t up to any good in the kitchen.”

Interviewer: “What did you make of this superstition?”

M: “I always thought it was kind of silly, sometimes maybe even an excuse not to cook. But I guess it could demonstrate how important food and cooking are in Sicilian culture… it’s more than just what’s served on the plate”

Analysis:

As M alludes to, this folk belief can demonstrate how some cultures perceive cooking and serving food as an experience that transcends just the biological need for sustenance. Often times, it can demonstrate a deeper connection to one’s ethnic and cultural background. But not only does preparing ethnic food requires careful consideration and masterful precision to do justice to the cultural practice at hand, it requires soul. Thus, being in a bad mood can distract or subvert one’s full attention from the task and dampen the cooking experience.