April 2018

10 entertainment April 13, 2018
W
BY ABIGAIL MILOVANCEVIC
asst. entertainment editor
FROM BLACK CATS TO BROKEN
MIRRORS, SUPERSTITIONS ARE
ALL AROUND US... IF YOU KNOW
WHERE TO LOOK
Knock on Wood
Don’t step on a
crack, or you’ll
break your mother’s
back! From the nursery
rhymes we sing to the
habit of picking up loose
pennies from the sidewalk,
most people take part in superstitions even if they don’t
call themselves superstitious. A day like today -- Friday the
13th -- brings a special spike in worries.
Even the most mundane actions can be significant, no
matter what the date on the calendar. For Filipinos, “if you bite your
tongue [on accident], you have someone pick a number between one and 26.
That number correlates with the alphabet. So a one would be a, two would be b. If you
give me the number seven, then it’s a, b, c, d, e, f, g. If you think of a person’s name that starts
with a g, the first person whose name comes to mind was the person who thought of you,”
freshman Jezmae Requilme said.
Although 64% of 210 students surveyed by the Westerner think that good luck charms are
a joke at best, the majority of people still want good fortune. “In Poland, people say, ‘trzymam
kciuki’ which means ‘I’m holding my thumbs.’ Holding your thumbs is the Polish equivalent
of ‘fingers crossed.’ I sometimes do hold my thumbs for good luck,” junior Maja Kozerski
said.
While 62% of students find superstitions to be just a myth, many people still follow them
just to be safe by avoiding walking under ladders or opening umbrellas indoors. “There’s a
Filipino superstition that goes, ‘if you are lost, turn your clothes inside out so you can find
GLOBAL
SUPERSTITIONS
Greeks find Tuesday the
13th unlucky as well. Why?
Constantinople, the capital
of the Byzantine Empire, fell
on Tuesday, April 13, 1204.
In India, superstition
dictates that you cannot
cut your nails,
wash your hair, or put
oil in it on a Saturday.
your way.’ My shirt had already started off inside out. But my friend and I were at Lake
Opeka, and we forgot where our family was having a picnic. Then she noticed that the tag
was sticking out [of my shirt] and told me. So we went to the golf place, where they sell
the ice cream and food, and went to the bathroom. I turned it back the regular way.
Once I came back out, she immediately remembered where we were and exactly where
we had set up the picnic,” freshman Lethrese Rosete said.
When in India, the rule is to try not to sneeze when exiting the house. “If you,
yourself, or someone else sneezes as you are walking out of the house, you need
to stop and sit down for a few minutes. As if you don’t, your trip will be unsuccessful
if you are going out for important business. It’s my favorite because what
should you do if you have a cold and are sneezing every other minute?” sophomore
Ashwini Modi said.
Mark the calendar carefully, as specific dates have unlucky connotations.
While many Americans fear Friday the 13th, people in Spanish-speaking countries
fear Tuesday the 13th. “Martes y trece it’s called. It has to do with the 13
apostles, that’s where the number 13 comes from. You call it Friday the 13th
because of the 13 apostles. Martes [Tuesday] is there because the Anglo-Saxon
countries think that on a Friday Jesus was crucified. But in the Spanish-speaking
countries, [Spain and Mexico], they think it was Tuesday,” Jazmin Barbas, a Spanish
teacher said. “When the movie ‘Friday the Thirteenth’ came out, for all the
Spaniards, it’s how they learned about Friday the 13th. They didn’t know what that
was, they just knew ‘martes y trece.’”
Nobody has to be superstitious necessarily, but perhaps the next time one bites
their tongue or sneezes while walking out the door they’ll think a little more
about their actions.
In Spain, like in many countries, bread is
a staple food. That being said, if bread
is served upside down, it is considered