Tag Archives: wish

Wishing in Tunnels

Children in America often believe that tunnels that cars go through can grant wishes. The practice and ritual differs among children but many can agree that tunnels can be magical.

“All the ways you can make a wish in a tunnel according to all the kids I was friends with at summer camps:

  • Hold your breath the whole tunnel, if you don’t make it your wish won’t come true
  • Close your eyes the whole tunnel, if you don’t the wish won’t come true
  • Touch the ceiling of the vehicle the whole tunnel, if you don’t the wish won’t come true
  • Lick your finger and if it’s still wet when the tunnel ends then your wish will come true and if it’s dry it won’t

*and obviously you cannot tell anyone you what you wished for cause if you do it won’t not come true*

My personal take away and practice: When I am a passenger I close my eyes and hold my breath, and when I’m driving I just hold my breath.“

The informant described this wish magic to me during a discussion of childhood folklore. We originally were talking about wishes in general and their prevalence in childhood. I asked them to write down what they remembered about wishing in car tunnels. This stuck out to me because they noted how they still do this little ritual whenever they encounter a tunnel on the road.

The secret to a good wish

Text: “A kind of funny tradition my family has is that whenever we celebrate a birthday we have to make one wish for each year of life. We also have a little book where we each write down our wishes from each previous birthday. Basically each time you celebrate a birthday you add a wish to your list before you blow out the candles on the cake and it is a way of keeping track of what you wanted and makes you appreciate what you already do have a little more. A good example is my wish for my 18th birthday was to get into USC and now I go there, so knowing and seeing my wish actually come true is a result of this tradition. In a weird way I feel like doing this makes wishes come true more often.

Context: CH is a friend of mine from San Francisco. He said this tradition came from his Dad’s side of the family and that his dad had been doing it since he was a kid. Unfortunately, both of CH’s Dad’s parents had passed away so it was impossible to get further detail about the genesis of the tradition. CH believed that this tradition helped hi appreciate all he had more because usually he ended up growing out of whatever he wished for previously, but also that seeing some wishes actually come true throughout his life made him more grateful for the things he did have. It was fun talking to CH about the stories associate with this tradition.

Analysis: The act of blowing out candles on a birthday cake is a fun and lighthearted tradition that has become an integral part of most birthday celebrations. While the origins of the tradition may have been rooted in ancient beliefs and rituals, today it is a way for people to come together to celebrate another year of life and make a wish for the future. This is a fun spin of the super popular act of blowing out birthday candles and I think it is all the better because of it’s positive effects on the outlook of CH and his family. Furthermore, it has a deeper meaning because they are keeping the folklore of CH’s Dad in the process of continuing to do it. Once people become of an older more mature age it would be very entertaining to see how one’s desires had evolved. Furthermore, I think this tradition does have the effect of leading people to believe their wishes are more likely to come true because they get to actually see and remember what they wished for while most other people would have likely forgotten.

Graveyard rules

Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Residence: New York City
Performance Date: Apr 4, 2023
Primary Language: English

Text:
“Back when I was a child, whenever my family and I were on a trip, if we passed by a graveyard, my mom told me to hold my breath. I think she mentioned it was because the ghosts would become jealous of my breathing and would attack me. Personally, at least back then, I thought it was to be sure you didn’t inhale a ghost. Now I think it was just a way to get me to be quiet”

Context:
When I asked my informant if there were any rules that he followed that had some story or legend behind them, he talked about his graveyard rules. He is unsure of where his mom learned it, but assumes that it was just part of her family as well. He does comment that it was a good way to get him to be quiet on car rides, however.

Interpretation:
It is interesting how small rules such as holding your breath by a graveyard can have a legend behind them. This reminds me of a similar saying in Korea, where if you hold your breath through a tunnel, your wish comes true. This graveyard one is more frightening then the tunnel one however, leading me to believe the goal of both of these sayings is just to keep kids quiet.

The Magic of Wishing on 11:11

Original Text: INFORMANT: “I am a huge believer that 11:11 is good luck. When I was like in 8th grade, for anything that I really wanted, I would wait until exactly 11:11 and just think about my wish over and over again during the full minute. And I have several examples of those things actually coming true. When I was in 8th grade, I really wanted to get into a performing arts high school, and I wished on 11:11 every night and day after my auditions for it, and I got in! You have to do it for the full minute though, or else it wont work. And specifically 11:11 is the number that works, not any other numbers. Now I don’t do it as intensely, but like if I do see that it’s 11:11, I’ll think of something random to put out into the universe, because I think it will come back to me.”

Context: The informant is an 18-year-old female first year at USC. She is half-Indian and half-American. She firmly believes in karma and manifestation, and 11:11 is a tangible number with magical energy that she can use to manifest. The fact that it has brought her good things in the past further solidifies her belief in it. She does not recall where she learned this from but thinks she probably saw it online when she was in 8th grade. She still continues this magic ritual today.

Analysis: Wishing on 11:11 is a widely spread belief amongst many cultures, and cannot be pinned down to a single origin. Repeated numbers like 1111 are often called angel numbers, a belief rooted in numerology, which was supposedly invented by Pythagorus in Ancient Greece. It is believed that certain numbers have a specific vibration or magic that can be used to make things happen. Numerology is widely spread in India where the informant is from, but it has also worked its way into Western culture. 1111 has no specific meaning because different people have different thoughts on it, but it is generally agreed that it is a sign of growth, power, new beginnings, or spiritual support. Given these general meanings, it makes sense that the informant would use the particular magic energy of 1111 (versus other angel numbers) to channel into an arts high school acceptance, for example. Manifestation is also a popular belief in India. Posting 11:11 on your Snapchat story was a popular thing to do in 2016-2019 (ish) to bring about luck or love, which might have been an influence on the informant as an 8th grader during those years.

Belief: Place an Eyelash on Your Head for a Wish

Text

“If an eyelash falls off of you, then what you should do is take it off and put it on your hair– on your head. And then, if you do that, that’s good luck. Very simple.” They look up in thought. “Or– let me think. It might be making a wish. Yeah, that’s right. You make a wish. It’s been awhile and I haven’t done it. It has to naturally fall off and it has to be on you. Like, usually it lands on your face, on your cheek.”

Context

RELATIONSHIP –
“My mom would just be like ‘Ah! Do this!’ And I was just like ‘Sure.’ I don’t think I ever really was too into it, but hey– it’s that thing with all wish-making rituals where people are like ‘Let’s do it anyway!’ Because who doesn’t want a wish coming true. I would always wish for stuff like… Well, it was always love stuff.”

WHERE THEY HEARD IT –
“I think it was a ritual that my mother said when I was like five. And it was still something she would joke about when I was like eleven or twelve. I genuinely don’t know where she got it from– I would assume just her family. So it might be and Iranian thing, but I don’t think it is. She definitely doesn’t do that anymore.”

INTERPRETATION –
“It’s kind of wild, ain’t it? I have no idea why it would be an eyelash, but there’s the one where you blow on it and you send that wish and part of you out into the world. But putting it on your head… a small hair going into big hair. It’s like growth, birth, or rebirth.”

Analysis

The idea of using an eyelash to make a wish is common– as is using a part of one’s body as a means of magical sacrifice for the sake of making a wish happen. In terms of components, an eyelash is light and delicate which is frequent for the action of wishing upon an object, like shooting stars. The meaning behind it having to fall off rather than plucking it off is also a means of luck which might contribute to the wishful properties the eyelash is believed to hold. Placing it onto the top of one’s head seems to be a way to reclaim and internalize the wish, trying to keep it close rather than expelling it into the world– like casting the spell onto oneself.