English Language VI
Debate 9: Superstitions and Traditions
Members:
C:
ST-LVIC-G9-1
ST-LVIC-G9-2
ST-LVIC-G9-3
ST-LVIC-G9-4
ST-LVIC-G9-5
A:
ST-LVIA-G9-6
ST-LVIA-G9-7
ST-LVIA-G9-8
ST-LVIA-G9-9
ST-LVIA-G9-10
ST-LVIA-G9-11
Discussion Leader:
DL-LVI-G9-1
DL-LVI-G9-2
· ST-LVIC-G9-2
Hello everybody! My name is ST-LVIC-G9-2 and I study Translation and Intercultural Mediation. I am supposed to break the ice a little bit by posting this introductory paragraph and four icebreaking questions. Since I am the first to post a comment I cannot answer any of your questions yet, so I’ll just leave mine here and I’ll answer your questions in the following weeks. I promise my next comment will be way better than this one. I hope you find my questions interesting, anyway.
Are you superstitious?
Which is the weirdest superstition you know?
Are superstition and tradition related in our country?
Which culture do you think is the most superstitious?
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
Hi everybody! I’m ST-LVIC-G9-4 and, as ST-LVIC-G9-2, I also study Translation and Intercultural Mediation. As far as ST-LVIC-G9-2’s questions:
1. I like superstitions and traditions, but I don’t think I am superstitious.
2. During my Erasmus in Austria, a friend of mine from the Netherlands told me that lending salt to the neighbour was considered to bring bad luck in this country.
3. I think that superstitions are, in a way, some type of tradition because they are passed on from generation to generation.
4. I don’t really know what to answer here since I don’t know which culture is the most superstitious. However, I could say that if we compare Spain (my country) with Austria (the country where I did my Erasmus), Spain is much more superstitious than Austria.
I have some questions for you:
1. Do you think that teenagers are more or less superstitious than elders?
2. Have you got the same superstitions as your parents?
3. Do you think that today people are less superstitious than 50 years ago?
4. What is the superstition you most believe in?
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
HI! I’m ST-LVIC-G9-1 and I’m also studying Translation and Intercultural communication.
Related to all of your questions, I must say that I’m not supersticious at all but I absolutely think that many people are.
Some of the typical superstitions in Spain are: 7 years of bad luck after breaking a looking glass; bad luck if a black cat walks in front of you…
I think it’s amazing how many cultures have their own rituals because they are extremely supersticious. Related to the cultures that are the most supersticious, I think that some african tribes are the first on the list.
I’m not very on top of this issue, but I’d like to learn more by exchanging our knowledge and opinion on this.
· ST-LVIC-G9-5
Hi everybody! I’m ST-LVIC-G9-5 and I am also studying Translation and Intercultural Mediation.
As far as ST-LVIC-G9-4 ‘s questions, I will give my opinion.
1. I think that most old people are superstitious, because they are much more tradicional than young people. This is not always the case, but I think that it is the most common fact.
2. Personally, I’m not superstitious, but I think that it’s because my parents are not either. I remember that when I was a child I was much more superstitious than my parents, and they used to tell me that there was no need to believe that things.
3. I think that people today are more superstitious than 50 years ago because superstitions before were much more rooted than nowadays.
4. I don’t really believe in any superstition, maybe only in those in which there is any danger, but not because of the fact of beeing a superstition.
· DL-LVI-G9-1
Hi everyone! I’m DL-LVI-G9-1, and alongside DL-LVI-G9-2, I am one of the discussion leaders for this topic. I am 21 years old and study French and Spanish at the University of Bristol in the South West of England, but I am originally from Norfolk. Before I arrived in Spain, I worked at the Franco-British Chamber of Commerce in Paris for 6 months – so I am really enjoying being a student again, especially here in Valencia! As DL-LVI-G9-2 said, please come and introduce yourselves, would be good to know a bit more about you all! Have you got any recommendations of places for us to visit in Valencia? And what made you want to study Translation and Intercultural Mediation at university?
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
Hi DL-LVI-G9-1! It’s nice to meet you! I decided to study Translation bc I love learning new languages and I love communicating with other people. Therefore I wanted some practical studies.
Mmm, places in Valencia? What type of places are you looking for?
· DL-LVI-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-2 Hi ST-LVIC-G9-2! Many thanks for starting the group off. To answer your questions:
1. Do you think that teenagers are more or less superstitious than elders?
I don’t think it necessarily depends on generations – I think that it also depends on many other factors, including psychology and religion.
2. Have you got the same superstitions as your parents?
Personally, I don’t consider myself as a very superstitious person, and neither do my parents.
3. Do you think that today people are less superstitious than 50 years ago?
I actually disagree with ST-LVIC-G9-5 (sorry!). I think that people were probably more superstitious 50 years ago, due to the ever increasing development of knowledge and technology.
4. What is the superstition you most believe in?
As I said before, I don’t really believe in superstitions! But some of the most common in the UK are mainly based on luck, e.g. seeing only one magpie is bad luck, and that it is lucky to touch wood (because it makes something come true).
· DL-LVI-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 Thank you for letting us know about Spanish superstitions! They are very similar to British ones actually.
I’m sure we’re all quite new to the topic (it is definitely not something I have studied before), so we will all learn as we go along!
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 Hiiii! Nice to meet you! I decided to study Translation because of the same reasons as ST-LVIC-G9-1 did. I love languages, cultures and communication, so I thought this was the perfect degree. Why did you decide to study French and Spanish? As far as some places of Valencia, I would definitely go to the City of Arts and Sciences (la Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias), Port Saplaya and the city centre.
As you said, I don’t really know many things related to this topic (that’s the reason why I chose it), so I really think we are going to learn a lot.
· DL-LVI-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 That’s a great reason! Are you studying mainly in English? With regards to places in Valencia, just anywhere that you recommend! Bars, restaurants, other interesting things to do that we might not know about!
+ ST-LVIC-G9-4 wow! That sounds great! I decided to study French and Spanish for a very similar reason – and because I want to work internationally, so being able to speak languages is a very useful skill!
Thank you for your recommendations!
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 Not mainly English. I also study French (like you) since I was in highschool. I also study German and this year I started portuguese at the University. I have to say that I’m also a natif speaker of Valencian (or Catalan).
As recommendations, I absolutely agree with + ST-LVIC-G9-4. For having a great time with your friends and some beers, El Carmen is one of the most popular places (mostly for Eramus students). La Malvarrosa (the beach) is also a nice place to go for a walk or eat and drink in front of the sea.
I hope they are useful to you!
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 You talked to some of the UK superstitions, and I wanted to point out that for the one reffering to «touching wood», for us it means that we hope that something does not happen. For example, if we are talking about what’s probably gonna go for exam, and someone says a part of the theory that we hate the most, then we usually say «toquemos madera» (let’s touch wood) so that won’t happen.
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 talked about*
· ST-LVIC-G9-3
Hi everyone! I’m ST-LVIC-G9-3 and I study Translation and Intercultural Mediation because I love films and series and I want to be an audiovisual translator. Related to ST-LVIC-G9-2’s and ST-LVIC-G9-4 ‘s questions.
– I don’t consider myself being a superstitious person, but I heard a lot of superstition since I was a little child. I come from a little town, where most people tend to believe in superstition.
– I believe that old people are more superstitious than young people. This fact is maybe a consequence of the traditional believings and religion, specially developed in little towns and rural areas.
As far as what I’ve just said, I want to ask you a question:
– Do you think that superstition will come to an end by the next century?
· DL-LVI-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 That’s so interesting! It is quite similar to what we do in the UK then, because we use «touching wood» to also hope that a bad thing does not happen. It basically brings luck!
+ ST-LVIC-G9-3 Hi ST-LVIC-G9-3! Thanks for introducing yourself – it’s lovely to meet you! What kind of superstitions were you exposed to as a child? That is very interesting! Also, I completely agree with you about older generations being more superstitious given their religious beliefs, and traditions.
Your question is very interesting! Personally I don’t think that superstitions will ever end because I think they are based on psychology, and therefore are dependant on an individuals psychological make-up. What do you think?
· DL-LVI-G9-1
I would also like to propose an article for us all to read and discuss, which is the following: theguardian.com – How to be lucky on Friday the 13th | Nigel Kendall | Opinion | The Guardian
It is an article written on a very well-known British superstition: that Friday 13th is an unlucky day. It is also in The Guardian, which is a very widely read newspaper in the UK, and has lots of very good articles on it, so I recommend having a look at other articles on there too!
How to be lucky on Friday the 13th | Nigel Kendall | Opinion | The Guardian
theguardian.com
· DL-LVI-G9-1
Could we maybe discuss the following after reading it?
– Do you have the same superstition here in Spain?
– If so, is it different in any way?
– Do you believe that Friday 13th is unlucky?
– Do you think that the facts and figures that they mention in the article are purely consequential?
– Do you agree, as they argue in the article, that superstitions such as these are purely based on psychology? That they are based on the «human need to feel in control of events»? And that «we humans are most likely to try to form patterns, correlations and conspiracies» to answer what we deem to be inexplicable?
Please let me know if there is anything you don’t understand in the article – and if there is anything else that you would like to discuss please post it too!
Also, to anyone else that hasn’t introduced themselves yet, please do! Just add it into your post about discussing the article below. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
I think that’s very difficult they do bc they have always been there and though we consider ourselvs not supersticious, deep inside we still transmit them to other people.
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 Wow! Such an interesting article.
– As said in the article, here our supersticious day is on Tuesday (Tuesday 13th). And yes, we do believe that in this may something bad may happen to us.
– I don’t actually believe so, but, I may be a little more aware than normal that day 😂😂😂
– I think the facts are merely a coincidence… I mean, it may be true that most ppl stay at home, but I don’t think that’s only because of that day.
– I don’t really have a solid opinion about this issue… I just think that if someone told us long ago that this day is to be unlucky, maybe er just believe it and that’s all.
· ST-LVIC-G9-5
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 Hi DL-LVI-G9-1! Nice to meet you! I found the article so interesting.
Here in Spain, we have the same superstition but the bad lucky day is Tuesday, instead of Friday. In my opinion, the fact that the day changes among countries makes me think that the bad luck on that day is absolutely false, because it doesn’t make much sense to me.
I agree that if something happens on Friday 13th, people would definetely blame the day, and become more superstitious.
I would like to comment a curiosity I heard a few days ago and which surprised me. A friend of mine told me that in the flight company Ryanair, there were flights around 100 euros, but the same week, there was a flight on Friday 13th for only 10 euros, and it was almost empty. It sounded really weird to me because I didn’t believe that people would prefer to spend so much money.
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
I’m a little late to the party, but allow me to introduce myself. My name is ST-LVIA-G9-6 and I’m majoring in English Studies. I can see that you’ve already dealt with the introductory questions quite extensively, so I’ll try to offer my overall perspective on the topic based on the questions some of you made.
I don’t consider myself a very superstitious person, but there are some little things that I like to do, like getting out of bed with my right foot every morning. I know that it’s useless, but I keep doing it every single morning. I really don’t know why I do it, because I’ve never understood why it’s considered bad luck to do such meaningless things as opening an umbrella indoors, for instance.
I believe that superstitions must be linked to some kind of tradition, because no one really knows about their origins and they must’ve made sense at some point in history because of a specific event that took place. Also, just like other traditions, they are fading away with time: young people aren’t as superstitious as elders, maybe because they come from a time when there was less knowledge and less schooling than there is nowadays.
Finally, I don’t know many superstitions apart from the usual ones (black cats, broken mirrors, ladders…), but, as you all have said, I’d like to learn more from other cultures (and maybe even from my own).
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ ST-LVIA-G9-6 Hi ST-LVIA-G9-6!
I think we all do this kind of things unconciously… I don’t believe in superstitios either, but if I see a ladder I just don’t feel comfortable passing under it…
Do you girls do things like these? Like getting out of bed with your right foot or avoiding ladders, etc.?
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 First of all, welcome to Valencia! I really hope that you enjoy your stay here and that you make the most out of your time abroad 🙂
Now, with regards to the article you shared….
We do have the same superstition in Spain, but it’s on Tuesday 13th instead of Friday, like ST-LVIC-G9-1 and ST-LVIC-G9-5 have said.
I feel the same way as ST-LVIC-G9-1 regarding Tuesday 13th: I really don’t believe that it’s any different from the rest of the days, because bad things can happen any day, but I still keep my guard up just in case.
As for the facts, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of them were actually related to the date. For instance, the one about the traffic being 1.4% lower than on the previous Friday makes some sense to me. That percentage isn’t extremely high, so I don’t find it hard to believe that a small amount of people like that might be superstitious enough to stay at home on a day like Friday 13th.
I agree that superstitions are strongly related to psychology, but in the sense that they cause fear in people. On the other hand, I disagree with the part of the question about the human need to feel in control of events. However, the part about conspiracies and such things to explain the inexplicable seems plausible to me. Some people believe that there are forces in the universe that human beings can’t control because they’re superior to us. Some are fine with it, and some feel anxious and need answers, so, since they can’t find them, they make them up.
I look forward to reading more of your thoughts!
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 + ST-LVIA-G9-6 Hi ST-LVIA-G9-6! Nice to meet you! I don’t think I get out of bed with my righ foot consciously, but, for example, when I see a ladder I don’t pass under it as you said ST-LVIC-G9-1, I prefer avoiding it. One thing that I never do is opening an umbrella at home… I don’t really know why.
What things do you never do? Such as passing under a ladder or opening an umbrella at home.
· ST-LVIC-G9-3
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 about what you asked me. When I was a child I usually heard that if a salt-cellar falls to the floor you would get bad luck for years and if someone is sweeping and touches your feet you wouldn’t get married!
I’m sure the most of you will think: what a crazy believing! And I agree with you, but I like this kind of things because are part of our traditions. I think superstitions help us to understand the behaviour of people in the last few centuries.
– Do you all think that these beliefs and traditions have shaped in some way our daily behaviour? As ST-LVIC-G9-4 said, we make things like not opening an umbrella inside home unconsciously, and this derives from a superstition.
· ST-LVIC-G9-2
+ ST-LVIA-G9-6 Hi ST-LVIA-G9-6! Nice to meet you. I’m a little lost because you’ve posted so many new comments since the last time I did. I’ll just answer your last questions and then I’ll tell you about what I’ve learnt about Russian traditions and superstitions in my Russian classes. I believe you’ll find it fascinating.
Answering to ST-LVIC-G9-1 and ST-LVIC-G9-4 ‘s questions: no. I’m never afraid of doing such things as opening an umbrella indoors or walking under a ladder. I’m not a superstitious person at all. Actually, when I was little I had fun doing just the opposite of what superstitious people told me to do (and driving them a little crazy on my way). I told them that my favorite number was 13, that I very much liked black cats (I actually did), and I got out of bed with my left foot. I even told my grandma to touch my feet while sweeping because I didn’t want to get married.
Now, about ST-LVIC-G9-3’s question I do think that these beliefs have shaped our way of doing things. For example, when some people tell their friends about an unfortunate event that has happened to someone they know, they touch something wooden in order to avoid bad luck.
I’m going to post another comment to tell you about Russian superstitions because this one is already very long.
· ST-LVIC-G9-2
As I said in my last comment, I’m going to tell you about three of the most curious Russian superstitions and traditions.
1. You must never ever carry an empty bucket. This is believed to bring really bad luck, so all the people who have to work with buckets such as street-sweepers or farmers always put something into them (a brush, a piece of cloth, etc.) to avoid having a bad day.
2.For Russians returning home shortly after leaving is a very bad omen. Therefore, if they forget something at home, they will first decide if it is something necessary. If that’s the case, they will come back, but they will stand before a mirror and look directly into their own eyes. It is another trick to avoid bad omens.
3. Imagine some Russians in a car about to drive under a bridge. If in that precise moment a freight train crosses that bridge, they start shaking their wallets and putting money and credit cards on their heads. Then they shout: «Freight train, give us money, give us money!». Some Russians think that doing this «ritual» brings you money.
These are some of the most shocking Russian superstitions. Do you know any strange superstition that isn’t from out country?
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
+ ST-LVIC-G9-3 To answer your question, I definitely believe that these superstitions affect our behaviour, even if it’s in an indirect or unconscious way. Whether we like it or not, superstitions are still deeply rooted in our culture, and we’ve been in touch with them since we were children because of members of our families who believe in them (grandmothers, most of the time).
+ ST-LVIC-G9-2 ST-LVIC-G9-2, I find it really interesting that you take Russian lessons! It must be such a difficult language to learn, but I think it’s awesome that you’re also learning from their culture and sharing what you learn with the rest of us, so thank you for that!
Now, if carrying an empty bucket is bad luck, then I must have earned a lifetime worth of bad luck when I played with my bucket at the beach as a little girl. I can’t imagine how stressful it must be for all those workers who use buckets in their jobs on a daily basis if they truly believe in that superstition.
As for the other two ones, I think that they are pretty eccentric. I mean, they are related to things that happen in everyday life. In that sense, they are different to our most common ones. For instance, one might forget something at home and go back in a regular day, it’s not a rare thing to happen; however, it’s unusual to open an umbrella indoors or to come across a black cat on the street or to break a mirror. Therefore, my conclusion is that Russian superstitions might be more related to things that happen usually than ours are.
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
Do you girls know supertitios from any other culture? I think it’s fascinating how different our they are depending on where we come from. I may dig into some superstitions from other countries to share them with you!
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
I have found an article compiling some Latin American myths and superstitions and I thought it’d be quite interesting to discuss it here.
Since Ana has said that direct links might get our posts marked as spam and, as a consequence, deleted, I’ll cite it:
10 Latino Superstitions We All Grew Up Believing, by Cristina Arreola, July 20, 2014 – Latina
If you have a look at it, it’d be interesting to know which one do you think is the weirdest of them all.
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ ST-LVIA-G9-6 That was really nice!
If this is true then at some point of my live I’ll be poor bc of leaving my purse/bag on the floor! 😂😂😂 The one that shocked me the most was the one about the itching hands. I can wait to feel the itching so that money comes to me! Jajajajajajjaja
That was a really interesting article. I’ll search for more!
· ST-LVIC-G9-5
+ ST-LVIA-G9-6 Hi ST-LVIA-G9-6! Nice to meet you and sorry for being so late!
The article is really interesting! I found some of those supperstitions kind of logical, such as the one of leaving the purse on the floor, because someone can steal it if you’re not paying attention at it; or the one of the salt, as it can fall down and break. I also think that the weirdest one is the one about the itching hands.
What do you think about it?
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 I think I will also be poor someday because I always leave my bag on the floor 😂 so… we could be poor women together!! hahahaha
As far as the article, I found it really interesting since I didn’t know any of these superstitions. However, the one that shocked me the most was the one about not to cut the baby’s hair until they are one year old. I think I am going to ask cousins of mine that have children in which moment they cut their children’s hair to see if they are going to have bad luck 😂😂😂 The other superstitions about putting a broom and a glass of water behind the door also surprised me.
ST-LVIA-G9-11
Hi, everyone. Sorry for the delay! First of all, I will introduce myself: I’m ST-LVIA-G9-11from English Studies.
As regards the first questions I have to say that I do not consider myself a superstitious person and it is true that nowadays, I do not believe in most common superstitions in Spain (the black cats, the salt, the ladder…). However, when I was a kid I used to do some things unconsciously and if I did not do them I felt terrible because I thought that something awful would happen to me, for instance, when I was crossing a pedestrian crossing I always had to walk on the white lines. I did not know why I did it. But it was a sort of ritual every time I say one of those zebra crossings.
Superstition is very related to my own culture since most of these traditions are linked to religion and Spain is a very religious country.
I do not know which culture has the weirdest superstitions, nevertheless, it is very interesting to compare traditions from different points in the time: for example, nowadays women in Spain tend to wear white dresses in their wedding. However, that was not always like that because before 19th century the traditional thing was to wear their dresses black. What do you guys think?
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
I’m glad that you girls enjoyed the article about Latin American superstitions! The strangest one to me was the one about the red thread and the hiccups. I’m no scientist, but I don’t think it might work at all, especially because hiccups is related to our breathing. This tradition got me thinking about how we do a similarly useless thing in our country. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard about it, but it is said that, when you can’t feel some part of your body because it has “fallen asleep”, you must draw a cross on it with saliva in order for it to “wake up”. Not only is this useless, but also kind of disgusting.
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 + ST-LVIC-G9-5 both of you have spoken about the one with the itching hands, which I also found shocking. The palms of my hands are often itchy and I’ve never got money after that, what a disappointment!
I had never heard of those superstitions before I did my research and came across the article, except from one. The one about bad luck coming in sets of three sounded familiar to me, and I think that it’s because Gloria, a Latin American character, deals with it in an episode of Modern Family. Do any of you girls watch this series? If so, can you remember this episode?
Also, + ST-LVIA-G9-11, welcome to the forum!
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
Hi girls!
As I sad the last time, I have searched for some interesting superstitions. There are from many parts of the world and I find some of them really shocking!
Let me know what you think about them!
http://urbanian.mundodeportivo.com/es/lifestyle/669/las-supersticiones-mas-curiosas-en-todo-el-mundo
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 hi again! I didn’t know most of the superstitions of this article, that’s why I found it really interesting. The only superstitions I knew where the Spanish ones and the one about lending salt to a neighbour in the Netherlands.
In Spain we also think that seeing a black cat is synonym of bad luck and to avoid it, you have to pinch the person you are with (if you are with somebody, if not, there’s no way to avoid bad luck haha).
By the way, what about traditions? We have talk almost nothing about them. Do you think Spain is a traditional country? Which is your favourite tradition?
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
+ ST-LVIC-G9-4 I truly believe that Spain is a very traditional country. Especially in matters concerning religion. Which traditions do you think are the most significant here in Spain?
And what about in other countries?
· DL-LVI-G9-1
Hello ladies!! Thank you so much for all of your contributions, I’ve just read through all of them, and the articles you posted, and they have been very interesting! Seeing as we have all spoken very in depth about superstitions now, I agree with + ST-LVIC-G9-4, that we should maybe talk about some traditions.
So… I have a task for you all, 1. Read the following article, called «Revealed: Top 50 ‘typically British’ traditions – do you agree?» on the Telegraph website (type it into google). Please let me know your thoughts, and maybe we can discuss some of the British traditions included in this afterwards – let me know what you have already heard of, whether there are more stereotypically British traditions that you have heard of that aren’t in the article, and also if there are any on that list that you have never heard of before and find odd!
Afterwards, I’ll let you know which ones I feel are the most prevalent in the UK, and which are just stereotypical/ old-fashioned.
2. Try and compile a list of Spanish traditions that I could learn from!
Happy reading!
ST-LVIA-G9-9
+ ST-LVIC-G9-2 Hello ST-LVIC-G9-2, I am ST-LVIA-G9-9 and I would like to reply to your questions.
I would say that I am not very supersticious but it is true that I believe in it as I do not walk under scaffolding or when I see a black cat (do not know why, because I love dogs and cats) I run to touch wood (tres, benches, etc). So, I think that is the weirdest superstition I know of.
Answering to your third question, I do think superstition and tradition are related because, in other countries people do not believe in it or, they simply follow other superstitions.
Finally, I believe the most superstitious countries are the South American because their culture is always related to death or life, the good and the bad and what to do to skip from bad luck.
ST-LVIA-G9-10
+ ST-LVIC-G9-2 Hi ST-LVIC-G9-2! I am ST-LVIA-G9-10 and I am going to reply your questions.
I want to say that I am not supersticious at all, I don’t believe in this things and I don’t think anything when I see a black cat or when it’s Tuesday the 13th.
I am agree with ST-LVIA-G9-9 about the South American culture is one of the most supersticious because is always releated to death or life, and the good and the bad as she said.
Actually, I don’t know about strange supersticions apart as ones that we know.
· ST-LVIC-G9-5
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 Hi ST-LVIC-G9-1! Regarding to your question, I think that one important tradition in Spain is eating twelve grapes on New Year’s Eve, which assure you to have a happy new year. I don’t know if there are many countries where people tend to do the same.
· ST-LVIC-G9-5
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 Wow! There are so many traditions and I had only heard about a few of them!
Those which I had heard the most about are «eating a full English breakfast», «eating turkey on Christmas day», «eating fish and chips on a Friday», «white weddings», «reading the newspapers in the morning» and «travelling by black cabs or red buses in London»
I found some of them so funny, such as «hailing the BBC as the best thing on television».
I had never heard about many of them such as «putting the kettle on in a crisis», «eating pasties when visiting Cornwall», «playing conkers in the playground» or «refusing to complain about bad service».
· ST-LVIC-G9-4
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 what an interesting article!! It’s funny reading about traditions of other countries and discovering which one you know, and which one could be true.
Some of the traditions of which I have heard the most are «eating a full English breakfast», «eating turkey on Christmas day», «guy Fawkes night», «eating fish and chips on Friday» (although I would add that they eat fish and chips everyday), «saying sorry when you’ve not done anything wrong», «being proud of your garden», «the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace», «barbequing at the first hint of sunshine» and some more.
I think that some of them are really stereotypical such as eating fish and chips, saying sorry, doing DIY on a bank holiday weekend and barbequing at the first hint of sunshine. For example, 4 years ago I spent one month in England and when I came back home everybody asked me about fish and chips and barbecues. So, it made me think that these things were what people thought when talking about England or English people.
As far as the ones that I have never heard of, some of them are «refusing to complain about bad service», «keeping a stiff upper lip at all times» or «putting the kettle on in a crisis».
Some of the Spanish traditions are:
– «ir de tapas», which means, going to bars and eating while you drink beer or wine.
– having lunch and dinner very late
– sleeping «siesta»
– going to bed really late
Which others Spanish traditions would you add?
ST-LVIA-G9-11
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 As regards to The article about Top 50 “typically British”, I found it very very interesting and hilarious! It is fascinating how sometimes the traditions of some countries turn into stereotypical things as well. For instance, the ones related with “eating a full English breakfast”, “saying sorry when you have not done anything”, “being proud of your garden”, “arguing about politics”, etc.
On the one hand, there are some others that have to do with the British climate, for instance, “barbequing at the first hint of sunshine”, “taking layers of clothing to the beach, just in case It’s cold or the sun goes in when you get there”, etc.
I have to say that of the 50 traditions I knew about 20 so I am not that bad in British culture.
I have appreciated that there are traditions that are identical or similar to the Spanish ones, for instance, celebrating “white weddings” or “watching the Queen’s Speech on Christmas Day” (however, in Spain it is the King’s speech and it is retransmitted on Christmas evening). Another “traditions”, that personally I think that are not only from Britain and Spain but worldwide acknowledged are those concerning the “opening of umbrellas inside the house”, or “reading the news every morning”.
· ST-LVIC-G9-2
Hi girls! I’ve been on a trip and I haven’t read you for a while. There are a lot of new comments, so I’m going to answer as many of your questions as I can. Regarding to DL-LVI-G9-1 ‘s article, I find it very interesting. As ST-LVIC-G9-5, I had only heard a few before, but I have to say that I wasn’t surprised about some of them because I expected some of their traditions and superstitions to be similar to ours.
Some of the traditions I already knew are fish and chips, Guy Fawkes night, eating an English breakfast and turkey on Christmas day and the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace (a sort of ceremony which I find intriguing).
My list of Spanish traditions isn’t very different from the ones that you have already mentioned. Nevertheless I believe that Spain is a mixture of cultures and ways of thinking. Every region has its own traditions, ways of doing things, and a different approach to life. Anyway here’s my list:
Siesta
Having lunch at 14:00 and dinner at 21:00.
Eating «tapas»
«Echar cervezas» (drink beer) or «Echar vinos» (drink wine) with your friends in the evening. Whether it is beer or wine depends mostly on the region.
«Almorzar», that is, eating a sandwich or something similar between breakfast and lunch.
Football is also very appreciated here (in general).
«Fiestas patronales». These are celebrated during a week (more or less) in which people celebrate that the Saint of the region or village protects it, more or less. They dance, drink, eat and organize activities. (My explanation is very bad, but it’s something really difficult to describe.)
These are some of them. And this is my question for you, girls.
Do you dislike (or hate) any traditions that are typical from our country?
· DL-LVI-G9-1
Hello all! I hope you all had a lovely Fallas! I had such a great time – what a crazy festival!
ST-LVIC-G9-5, ST-LVIC-G9-4, ST-LVIA-G9-11 and ST-LVIC-G9-2, I’m so glad you enjoyed the article!
ST-LVIC-G9-5, all of the ones you mentioned are very true – haha! Playing conkers in the playground is an old tradition that still used to do when we were younger. Putting the kettle on refers to making a cup of tea – most English people make tea no matter what mood they’re in – especially in a crisis! And refusing to complain about bad service is just the stereotype of British people being polite which is true, we often still tip even if the food was bad!
ST-LVIC-G9-4, whilst they are stereotypical, they are true! I live by the seaside in the UK, and fish and chips there is a very big thing. We do apologise a lot, often for no reason! And we do absolutely love a barbecue – I’m so excited that when I go back to England in the summer my dad will probably get the barbecue out, haha!
As for you Spanish traditions, ST-LVIC-G9-4, I have heard of all of these and am currently enjoying doing them myself while I’m here!
ST-LVIC-G9-2, with regards to your question – I don’t think that there are any traditions that I dislike in the UK, or in Spain that I have experienced so far. I am not, however, very religious, so I tend not to celebrate or partake in very overtly religious traditions (besides Easter and Christmas which I don’t think are religious anymore!).
I found what ST-LVIA-G9-11 said about traditions and stereotypes very interesting: do you think that stereotypes and traditions are intrinsically linked?
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
Wow girls, you’ve posted a lot since the last time I came on the forum! I’ll start by commenting on the link that + ST-LVIC-G9-1 shared and then I’ll comment on DL-LVI-G9-1’s.
To begin with, it was a very interesting compilation of curious superstitions all around the world, and I’m glad that we’re learning about the way they see things in other parts of the world. There were some in the list which I had already heard of, but I never knew they were from other countries and not from Spain. For instance, the Egyptian one about leaving the scissors open being bad luck, the German one about cheering with a glass of water, and the French one about stepping on poop bringing good or bad luck to you depending on which foot you stepped on it with.
Now, the superstition which seemed the most curious to me was the Chinese one about the number 4. I think it’s similar to our superstition regarding number 13 in terms of them both being related to numbers, but it’s interesting because it’s based on a linguistic issue, which is its similarity to the word “death” in Chinese, and I had never heard of any superstition like that before.
I didn’t even know about the existence of that one from Senegal about never sharing your travel plans out of fear that the other person has the devil eyes, but talking about my trips in advance is something I never do anyway just in case they get ruined or I never get to go in the end.
Finally, I have to comment on the Korean superstition about sleeping with a fan on. I can’t believe that it is thought to bring death by suffocation. I might suffocate to death on a hot summer night if I sleep with no fan at all instead! Also, if the Russian one about bird poop being related to wealthn were true, my family would probably be billionaires by now from all the times a bird has pooped on our car.
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
I’m glad you all enjoyed that post! I also found really interesting many of those superstitions. I’m really glad that we could all share many things. It’s lovely to learn such amazing curiosities!!
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 I totally agree with you and ST-LVIC-G9-4 that we have covered the issue of superstitions quite extensively and should move on to traditions.
Regarding the article that you shared about British traditions, I have to say that I’m a huge fan of a couple of British shows and films. I think that consuming all this entertainment from your culture has taught me a lot about it (for instance, I’ve learnt about British celebrations or domestic life through them), so I was already acquainted with some of the traditions in that list before reading it and, as a consequence, most of them didn’t surprise me.
However, I think that some of them might be stereotypical and that they do not necessarily apply to every British person, like «eating fish and chips on a Friday» or «adhering to the rules».
I also have to say that, without a doubt, my favourite one is «putting the kettle on in a crisis». I’m not sure whether it’s stereotypical or not, but I think it’s happened in pretty much every single British show or film that I’ve watched.
As for the list of Spanish traditions that you asked for, since I’m a little late I see that there’s not much to add to what ST-LVIC-G9-5, ST-LVIC-G9-4, ST-LVIA-G9-11 and ST-LVIC-G9-2 have already mentioned before.
Anyway, I really enjoyed the article, so thank you for sharing!
ST-LVIA-G9-11
+ DL-LVI-G9-1 As regards your question I do not think that necessarily all traditions are linked to stereotypes, however, plenty of stereotypes occur because of some the traditions. I will put an example:
The main traditions in Spain that everybody knows are eating paella, the bullfights, dancing flamenco, the processions in Semana Santa (which is celebrated this week) or los Sanfermines in Pamplona. If we follow the rule of liking stereotypes with traditions people would probably think that Spanish people are very Christian, that we like to dance flamenco and go to see bullfights, nevertheless that is not always true. In fact, I am Spanish and from the traditions above I only like to eat paella!
However, there are lots of people that love that traditions. Personally, I like another ones that are less known such as las Fallas, Moros i Cristians or the Dimonis.
This last one is a tradition that is very unknown and it is celebrated in very few villages nowadays (one of them is the village where I live). It consist of people who are dressed as devils and go around the village with a kind of dragons that are made with metal and which split fire from their mouths. I know it sounds strange, but it is very entertaining and not at all dangerous!
What do you guys think about traditions of your own country?
· ST-LVIC-G9-1
Particularly, I’m not a fan of our typical traditions as the ones rhat ST-LVIA-G9-11 has just mentioned. I’d rather be somewhere else than watching a bullfighting or dancing flamenco.
In many villages each year a traditional party takes place. For example, in my village (in Alicante), every year there’s a festivity week in which we do many activities such as games for everybody, parades, and many other things. I love them because we all reunite after the academic year and it’s really fun.
Do you all have any typical week, usually in summer, for this kind of festivities?
ST-LVIA-G9-11
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 I did not know about the festivity that takes place in your village, however, it sounds really amusing! I found village’s traditions very interesting because each place has their own and maybe there are some that are similar but not exactly the same.
In my village there are plenty of traditions each year. Besides the one that I’ve already mentioned above “Els Dimonis”. We have another very interesting ones: for example, in January it is celebrated Sant Antoni. In this celebration there is a group of people who dresses as soldiers (usually they are 18 years old) and they go round the village with firecrackers (something similar to las Fallas) and then, there is one day in which we make this big bonfire in which the whole village gathers together.
Another typical tradition in my village are the carnivals which are celebrated during summer and the characteristic open-air dances that I think that are celebrated throughout Spain.
Moreover, in one of these summer nights there is a celebration which is called La Nit del Rock in which little groups from our village and the surroundings sing and play with their bands and that way it is an opportunity to make themselves known.
ST-LVIA-G9-11
I know that the conversation has derived to center more into traditions, however, I did not have the chance before to share the post that I found on how superstitions are affecting our behaviour. This is a fascinating aspect because superstitions and traditions are something that we learn from a very young age and determinate our everyday behaviour whether if we are aware of it or not. Moreover, as the article says superstitions and traditions were created in order to give possible solutions to the problems that the world brings up.
So, if that week you have had bad luck you would probably try to give a quick response to that by searching in your internal knowledge of superstitions and you probably you try to justify that maybe you just had bad luck because it was Friday the 13th or because you pass down a ladder.
Another view that offers the article is that of superstition inside the sports world and how important superstitions are inside this community. The article only tackles superstitions regarding the sports fandom, however, it is interesting as well how the players prepare for the game and if they wear some type of amulet with them in order to give them luck.
Here is the link to the article: health.usnews.com – How Superstitions Are Affecting Your Behavior | Mind | US News
Let me know if you like it.
How Superstitions Are Affecting Your Behavior | Mind | US News
health.usnews.com
· ST-LVIA-G9-6
+ ST-LVIC-G9-1 + ST-LVIA-G9-11 It’s really interesting to find out about your local traditions. I personally believe that most of the time we’re so eager to learn about different cultures and traditions from places in other parts of the world that we don’t pay attention to the diversity that there is in our own country, and even in our own autonomous region!
I’m from a town in Valencia called Manises, and we’re mostly known because of our traditional production of ceramic (or pottery, I’m not really sure of how it’s called in English). Sadly, because of the economic crisis, most of the businesses in town went bankrupt and had to shut down; but there are still workshops open where you can see artists working and painting tiles by hand, and I think it’s beautiful that our tradition hasn’t got completely lost. There’s one of these workshops on a street near where I live which is on my way to the underground station and I really enjoy seeing the man in there working through the glass. That artist has been working there for as far as I can remember and he’s basically a part of my childhood memories. Also, there are courses on how to work with ceramics for children and elders in our local Casa de la Cultura (a place where pretty much every local event organised by the town hall takes place), and there is a yearly parade in honour of this tradition of ours, in which pieces of pottery are given away for free to those who are lucky enough to catch them (to be honest, it’s pretty chaotic, but that makes it even more fun to watch).
Our local festivities are devoted to Santas Justa y Rufina, and they take place in the middle of July. There are also some parades, as well as concerts and parties which are often thrown by casals fallers and comparsas (I don’t know if there is a name for these in English), but these festivities aren’t the town’s main attraction or what it’s known for.
I look forward to hearing more about traditions from the rest of the girls in the group!
· ST-LVIA-G9-8
Hello everybody! I’m ST-LVIA-G9-8, and I’m studying English Studies at University of Valencia.
First of all, I want to apologize myself for not being able to write on this topic before, but it has been impossible due to medical and familiar reasons.
First of all, I want on this post to give my general opinion about superstitions, so then I can focus on different topics specifically.
I think that superstitions and traditions are present on our day by day through actions that, for example, each country or each person has interiorized as ‘normal’.
I’m going to give an example about a superstition that can be found in our country: opening an umbrella inside of a closed space, gives bad luck.
If you’ve tried to open an umbrella being surrounded by people in a closed room, I’m pretty sure you’ve been said something like: ‘you better don’t do that! You’re going to have bad luck!’.
People feel unsafe when doing some actions such this one, believing that the superstition is true.
A part from that, I want to give an example about superstitions related to for example, a football player. I think that we all have seen interviews to football players… and, I also think that, puting the match shoes, is one of the biggest superstition in this sport. There are some players that decide to put first the right one, thinking that if they don’t to that in that way, the match won’t go in a good way.
Having these examples… what do you think about superstitions? Are they bad or good for us? What about the anxiety they cause on people?
Hope to read your replays soon and looking for some content to upload to the topic,
best regards.
· ST-LVIA-G9-8
+ ST-LVIC-G9-2 + ST-LVIC-G9-2 hello ST-LVIC-G9-2. My name is ST-LVIA-G9-8, and I’m studying English Studies at the university of Valencia.
I would like to answer you since I think your questions are really interesting for us to know the people we are interacting with in this debate.
First of all, I have to say thay I’m not supersticious at all. I don’t believe in superstitions because I think that they don’t bring anything good to us, they just put pressure on us because, it is supposed that depending on what you do according to a statement, you will get something good or something bad. A part from that reason, from my own experience having a black cat, I will say that all that stuff is only bringing us a headache.
Honestly, the weirdest superstition that I know is that one that says that if you don’t wear red underwear the Night Year’s Eve, you will have bad luck. Oh my god… what kind of relation is stablished between good luck and the colour of the underwear? I think that this superstition is completely useless.
About my country, I have to say that traditions are more present that superstitions, but personally, I don’t really like the kind of traditions that we have. Maybe traditions related to easters are the ones that I like the most since they are cultural rich like fallas or the holly week, but another traditions like the ones related to bulls absolutely annoy me.
In order to end, I’ll say that the Indian or Egiptian culture are the ones that from my point of view are more supersticious since they have many rituals to avoid difficulties in life.
Thank you for your amazing and interesting questions about this topic.