Give Me A Break

"About 46 million turkeys will be eaten on Thanksgiving Day," said Sherrie Rosen Blatt, spokeswoman for the National Turkey Federation(Fredrix).

As Thanksgiving nears an end, I hope that all of you had a happy Turkey Day. The intent of this blog is to enlighten you on a couple of well known superstitions about Thanksgiving.

Probably the biggest Thanksgiving tradition is pulling the wishbone. The superstition goes that two people hold the wishbone of the turkey with two fingers and pull. Whoever gets the larger end of the bone will have their wish granted.

Ok, where is the wishbone locate? The wishbone, also called the Merrythought, can be found in the front of a breastbone of foul such as ducks, chicken and turkey. It is a "forked bone...consisting chiefly of the two clavicles fused at their median or lower end (Merriam-Webster)."

Here is how it works. Once the turkey has been cooked to perfection, sliced and diced to dine, and the remains discarded, one should set the wishbone out to dry. Once dried, two people grab the ends of the bone at it's lowest point with two fingers. They both pull in opposite directions until the bone breaks. Whoever gets the larger end of the bone will have their wish granted. The winner is not to tell anyone what he/she wished for, or else it will not come true.

According to Jane Marie, this tradition dates back 2,400 years during the times of the Etruscans. These Italian dwellers believed that fowl were fortune tellers and sacred. They would set the bone out to dry, and anyone was allowed to come stroke the bone and make a wish, giving it its nickname. Once the Romans conquered the Etruscans, they assimiliated this custom of good fortune. Unlike the Etruscans, the Romans would fight over the bone, often times breaking it.

It is said that the phrases "I need a lucky break" or "I never get a break" come from being the loser in this tug of bone contest. The English heard of this superstition from the Romans and called their wishbones merrythoughts after the merry or happy wishes that most people desired. When the Pilgrims arrived at Plymouth Rock in the New World, they brought along the custom of breaking the wishbone. When they discovered the northeastern woods of North America were filled with turkeys, they changed their custom from the chicken bone to the turkey bone (Marie)."

Just some "food" for thought!

So, if you haven't already thrown away your turkey, here are a couple of ways that you can win the wishbone pull. Again, Happy Thanksgiving to you all! Christmas is only 28 days away.

Works Cited:

Fredrix, Emily. "Consumers to win '08 wishbone pull." Denver Post 14 Nov 2008 27 Nov 2008 http://www.denverpost.com/ci_10989420.

Maria, Jane. "Wishing on a Wishbone." greenlightwrite.com. 2008. 27 Nov 2008 http://www.greenlightwrite.com/wishbone.htm.

"wishbone." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2008.
Merriam-Webster Online. 27 November 2008

Haka!!!

Superstitions tend to be along the line of, "If something is done, then something else will happen." For instance, if I break a mirror, I will have seven years of bad luck. I guess this is true for the most part, but some superstitions are just rituals, customs, or something traditional that generations to follow will continue to carry on. An example of this is the Haka, the Maori dance that originated in New Zealand.

Alan Armstrong, author of Maori Games and Haka, defines the Haka as:

"A composition played by many instruments. Hands, feet, legs, body, voice,tongue, and eyes all play their part in blending together to convey in their fullness the challenge, welcome, exultation, defiance or contempt of the words.

In football, it is not uncommon to see the team come together before the game, huddle around each other, and hype themselves up to prepare for a big game. The University of Hawaii took this tradition to a whole new level. In keeping with the Polynesian sprite, the Warriors began preforming the Ka Mata, the Maori war chant. "[Maori] Warriors used the Ka Mate to prepare for a battle. To focus their strength. To proclaim their powers, To celebrate the triumph of life over death, but mostly to challenge and intimidate the opponent."

Being that college football can be "war on turf", it was only fitting that Hawaii would use this chant. During the 2006 football season, two UH Warriors, Tala Esera and Leonard Peters wanted to do something memorable for their senior year. According to Steve Uyehara reporting for KGMB, Esera asked his cousin from New Zealand for ideas, and he taught them this Haka that was orginally written for New Zealand's Rugby team.

During the Ka Mata, the leader will try to hype up the member by yelling a series of commands. He will tell the members to "Slap the hands against the thighs!Puff out the chest!Bend the knees!Let the hip follow!Stamp the feet as hard as you can!" Next, the leader and members will recite these words: "

Leader: Ringa pakia! Uma tiraha! Turi whatia! Hope whai ake! Waewae takahia kia kino!
Leader: Ka mate, ka mateTeam: Ka ora, ka oraLeader: Ka mate, ka mateTeam: Ka ora, ka ora
All together :Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuruNāna nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te rāĀ upane, ka upaneĀ upane, ka upaneWhiti te rā, hī!

Translation:

Leader: ’Tis death, ‘tis death (or: I may die) Team: ’Tis life, ‘tis life (or: I may live) Leader: ’Tis death, ‘tis death Team: ’Tis life, ‘tis life All together :This the hairy man that stands here……who brought the sun and caused it to shine. A step upward, another step upward. A step upward, another step upward. The sun shines! It is death, it is death: it is life, it is life; this is the man who enabled me to live as I climb up step by step toward sunlight."

The story has it that a Maori chief fled from an angrey neighboring tribe and hid in a kumara (sweet potatoe) pit. When the rivial tribe came looking for the cheif, a woman from an allied tribe sat over the pit. "In Maori legend, female sexuality is very potient..." The hairy man mentioned is said to be in reference to the cheif of the allied tribe, and others say it is a tribute to the woman who exposed her pubic hair over the pit.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not really a superstition, but more of a ritual. The All Blacks Rugby team believes that don't think so. Since Wayne "Buck" Shelford got the All Blacks to preform the war dance the way it was intended to be preformed in 1985, his team was unstoppable in the '87 Inaugural Rugby World Cup! Check out this comercial which shows how the Ka Mata transforms the All Blacks Rugby team into Maori warriors!

Possible topics to come.

I seem to be in a small rut right now on where to take my blog next, so I just simply jotted down a few that I was thinking about doing. If you have any more superstitions that you would like to know about or have any questions, feel free to comment. I will do the research for you and answer your questions or comments as best as I can.

Sports superstitions
OCD vs. Ritual
Wedding Do's and Don'ts
Death superstitions
Phobia of Friday
Where do they come from?
What superstitions do I believe in?
Who, what, when, where, why, how?
Horoscope
Fear and superstition
Superstitions from around the globe
"Break a Leg: Superstition in Theater"
Predicting the Weather
What to do on New Years
Feng Shui:
Breaking down the Placebo Effect
...

“Now that you bought the cow, Toby, you can get all the milk you want.”

This post originally started off as an entry explaining about wedding traditions and superstitions. It was going to be about the usual stuff that we probably have all heard or experienced: something old and something new for brides, the couple will have bad luck in their marriage if the groom sees the bride before the ceremony, the next single lady to snag the bouquet will be the next to get married, etc.

As a kid had, I had only attended one or two weddings. I don't know if it was because my twin brother and I were just too young and would be a hassle or people around my way just didn't get married, but I had always heard of unique tradition among African Americans. It was called "Jumping the Broom". I just assumed it was a cliché for marriage much like "Getting the Ball and Chain" or "Tying the Knot". It wasn't until I was old enough to comprehend what marriage was that I realized that Jumping the Broom is an actual tradition practiced by many people through out the world.

The first time that I ever saw this custom preformed was in the mini-series based on the book by Alex Haley called Roots. Watch. (clip begins at 5:55-6:55)

"It's original purpose and significance has been lost over the years because of the association with slavery." The tradition originated in the African American community during the times of slavery. Slave couples were not legally permitted to wed, so "Jumping the Broom" was a symbol of holy matrimony. "During slavery, our ancestors sought the legitimacy of marriage by jumping over the broom and into the bonds of domesticity. For our ancestors, this small ritual was a legal and bonding act connecting them with the heritage of the home land and giving legitimacy, dignity and strength to their unions. In there eyes this union was now sanctioned by 'the almighty'."

Jumping the broom is a symbol of a man and woman to start their new lives together. There are other superstitions involved brooms too. My mother always told me not to step over a broom lying down because it was bad luck. If a woman did this, she would be a mother before a wife. I was always taught to never hit someone with a broom handle. Through some research, I found an old African superstition explaining it. They believed that if a man was hit by a broom handle, unless he knocked on the handle several times, he would be impotent! Needless to say, I never hit my brothers, or anyone for that nature, with a broom. The superstition of Jumping the Broom still lives on today despite it's close ties to slavery. I now pronounce you Man and Wife. You may jump the broom!

Is 13 Too Many?

Have you ever gotten into an elevator of a high rise building and noticed that there was no button for the 13th floor? Have you ever been looking for your seat on an airplane and noticed that normal sequence of numbers from 1-24 are missing a certain number? Have you ever wondered why some cities do not have a 13th street, ave, or blvd? Is this just an awful coincidence or is something really up? It is called Triskaidekaphobia, or the fear of the number 13.

"Thomas Fernsler, an associate policy scientist in the Mathematics and Science Education Resource Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, said the number 13 suffers because of its position after 12." (Roach)

The number 12 to most numerologists is said to be a lucky number for several religious, mythological, and legislative reasons. In the Hebrew bible, Jesus Christ appointed 12 apostles to be by his side, spread the gospel (good news) of his death and resurrection, and continue his teachings. "God promises to give the Holy Land to the descendants of Abraham (see Genesis 12-50..." (Just). Abraham's son was Isaac, Isaac's son was Jacob (who later changed his name to Israel), and Jacob's twelve children are said to be the ones who were given the Holy Land. The Heavenly City, which is spoke about in Revelations 21: 10-21, "The city has twelve gates with the names of the twelve tribes on them. Twelve angels stand at the gates, the walls have twelve foundations garnished with twelve precious stones, and in them the names of the twelve apostles. The city is twelve thousand furlongs square, and the twelve gates are twelve pearls." (Harris) Greek and Roman mythology tells of 12 gods of Olympus and 12 labors of Hercules...(Roach) Just keep these things in mind too: 12 hours on a clock, 12 months in a year, 12 signs of the zodiac, and 12 in a bakers dozen. Ummm doughnuts!!!

So, what's the big deal with 13? "Adding anything to that which is already perfect [the number 12] can only make it imperfect, mar it, corrupt it." (Harris) Dinners and meetings seem to play a large role in why 13 is a bad number. The superstition goes that if you have a dinner party with 13 guests, the first person to rise from the table will be the first to die. Christians believe that there were 13 people present at the Last Supper. Jesus and his 12 disciples all sat down the night before his trial and crucifixion to break bread, drink wine and celebrate Passover. "Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th guest to the Last Supper." (Roach) He also was the first to die after he realized what a terrible mistake he made! It is interesting to know too that the Norse also have a similar story. "...a Norse myth about 12 gods having a dinner party at Valhalla, their heaven. In walked the uninvited 13th guest, the mischievous Loki. Once there, Loki arranged for Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy and gladness, with a mistletoe-tipped arrow. ... From that moment on, the number 13 has been considered ominous and foreboding. " (Roach) A normal number for a covenant of witches was 12, however, the 13th was considered to be the devil! (Sounds like Bobby Boucher's momma from The Waterboy!)



Workes Cited:
Harris, Andrew. "Bible Numeric." 07 Apr 2002. 13 Nov 2008 .
Just, Felix. "An Overview of Israelite and Jewish History ." Catholic Resources for Bible, Liturgy, Art, and Theology. 15 Dec 2007. 13 Nov 2008 .
Roach, John. "Friday the 13th Phobia Rooted in Ancient History." National Geographic News. 12 Aug 2004. 13 Nov 2008 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0212_040212_friday13.html.

Apricots, Charms, and Women=Bad Ju-Ju

For all of you that are interested in my blog about superstition, please be patient with me for a minute. I want to touch on something near and dear to my heart. In case you did not know, Veterans Day is upon us. As we enter into the holiday season, I would like to take time out to remember those veterans who have served their country before me. Earlier today, I was talking to a window salesman. He asked me general questions about my occupation in the Marines, if I enjoyed being in the Corps, and if I planned to make a career of it. Later, he added that he was prior military, serving four years in the US Army and serving in Vietnam. It seemed a little odd that he thanked me several times for my service, but really, I owed him all the thanks. It doesn't matter if you did four years as a administration clerk in Camp Pendleton or forty years kicking down door in Fallujiah, marching in sub freezing condition in Korea, or calling in air strikes in Vietnam, a veteran is a veteran! I ask that if you know a service member, enlisted or officer, active or in the reserves, take the time to thank them for their self-less acts of patriotism. Please enjoy this clip and remember that our country is a remarkable place due to the sacrifice of brave men and women who put their lives on the line everyday for the freedoms we enjoy today!

Being that we are talking about the military, particular the United States Marines, I thought that it would be fitting to explore some of the superstitions we Jarheads engage in. By the way, Happy 233rd birthday Marines!

Again, I will refer to earlier post about how the word "superstition" is generally linked with other words such as, "omens, myths, beliefs, customs, traditions, and even religion." From the first day of Recruit Training, Marines have countless customs,courtesies, values, and ethics that are embedded into not only their mind, but their lifestyles. Marines are no different than civilians when it comes to believing in superstitions. Some, like most superstitions, are less common or prevalent throughout this small organization, and others are practiced even by the most junior Devil Dog.

Being that Marine are considered "Soldiers of the Sea", we have adapted many maritime superstitions. Sea travelers have been and still are some of the most superstitious people in history. One myth is that women possessed the power to anger the sea gods or had special abilities to cause storms by whistling, however, this superstition is a double edged sword. While some believed that having a woman on board was a sure fire way to have a storm destroy the ship and all of it's crew, others say that if the woman bares her naked body to the storm, all will be saved. Still, most navigators in ancient times tended not to even have women aboard. This probably explains why figureheads on ships were women with breast-a-blazin'! I found it highly ironic too that the names of most vessels are those of women!

Ancient mythology tells of how Greek figures such as Jason, the Argonauts, and Odyssesus encountered exotic winged women called Sirens. These lustful creatures would lure ship captains into the rocks of their island by singing beautiful songs. In the case of Odyssesus, he had his men tie him to the mast while the crew plugged their ears with bees wax. Jason escaped death by having Orpheus play his lyre louder than the Siren's voices.

Ok, back to reality. Before the times of equal opportunity and sexual harassment, ships were crewed by all males. Sailors would, and still do, pull into port looking for "Wine, Women, and Song". Ships are out to sea for long periods of time, and during the time of nature powered navigation, i.e. wind, sails, and good old fashion manpower, distractions would cause even the most disciplined of crews to neglect their assignment. Women brought that distraction to the table. It is a good thing that human intellect has developed, or otherwise ladies would still be used as human sacrifices!

Commonly confused for the "21 Gun Salute", graveside honors for fallen service members began as "cease fire" commands for the two fighting sides. Seven riflemen, as seen in the above picture, would fire three times to resume the fight after the battlefield was cleared of the dead. "This custom may well have originated in a perceived need to scare away evil spirits "escaping" from the dead. As in ancient times, it was believed that the hearts of the recently deceased were ajar at such times, allowing the devil to enter!" Today, it is considered one of the highest forms of tribute for dedicated service. The number seven and it's multiples are considered to be lucky number in naval superstitions. Maybe it is very fitting that all of Marines trousers (pants) have seven belt loops! "The 21-gun salute traces its roots to the Anglo-Saxon empire, when seven guns constituted a recognized naval salute, as most naval vessels had seven guns. Because gunpowder in those days could be more easily stored on land than at sea, guns on land could fire three rounds for every one that could be fired by a ship at sea. Later, as gunpowder and storage methods improved, salutes at sea also began using 21 guns. The United States at first used one round for each state, attaining the 21-gun salute by 1818. The nation reduced its salute to 21 guns in 1841, and formally adopted the 21-gun salute at the suggestion of the British in 1875."

Perhaps the biggest superstition of Marines comes from tracked vehicle [Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV) and Tanks] units. "There are several stories which explain this superstition for each service, but one popular Marine Corps version details that maintenance units claim every Sherman tank that broke down in World War II had canned-ration apricots nearby. Tales are told to this day of tanks breaking down once this piece of fruit found its way on board."

Other superstitions include tapping a full rifle magazine on one's helmet for good luck, caring rank insignia for the next promotable rank in ones cover (military hat), ill luck to the person who lites 3 cigarettes on one match, bad luck to the unit who's flag touches the ground, Charms candy bringing rain during field exercises, and the destruction of Jump Wings if touched by anyone beside the owner.

I could go on and on breaking down these superstitions, but if you want to know more about them, just leave me a comment. Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY LEATHERNECKS!!

Control Your Life, Overcome Your Superstition

Gentlemen, correct me if I am wrong, but it is not very often you are gazing the magazines and newspapers looking at your daily horoscopes. On your wedding day, you probably did not have “something old, new, borrowed, blue” etc. And unless you are that “guy” in Oregon that had a baby, I am pretty sure that you were not dangling a wedding ring over your belly trying to determine the sex of your unborn child!

In an earlier post, I stated that women are more superstitious than men and superstition intertwine with religion, but the question being asked today is, "Why?" Why is it that women tend to lean more on chance and fate rather than individual actions? The answer may be all in your head, literally.

“The desire to combat uncertainty and maintain control has long been considered a primary and fundamental motivating force in human life and one of the most important variables governing psychological well-being and physical health (Galinsky and Whilson.” The concept of Locus of Control was created by Julian Rotter in the 1950’s. Rotter, former president of the American Psychological Association's divisions of Social and Personality Psychology and Clinical Psychology and winner of the American Psychological Association's Distinguished Scientific Contribution award, developed the concept that “[An] individual believes that his/her behavior is guided by his/her personal decisions and efforts (Internal), or [an] individual believes that his/her behavior is guided by fate, luck, or other external circumstances (External) (Neill). “People with a strong internal locus of control believe that the responsibility for whether or not they get reinforced ultimately lies with themselves. Internals believe that success or failure is due to their own efforts. In contrast, externals believe that the reinforcers in life are controlled by luck, chance, or powerful others. Therefore, they see little impact of their own efforts on the amount of reinforcement they receive (Mearns).” Generally speaking, it may be more beneficial to you to be more of an internal believer than external, but there should be some balance between the two.

Females are usually more externally focused. Simultaneously, women tend to me more religious than men as well. Sociologist Rodney Stark believes that there is a biological reasoning behind this hypothesis. By closely studying behaviors of men and women in criminology, Stark concluded that men are more inclined to engage in higher risk activity due to elevated levels of hormones naturally produced by the human male. “If women are more likely to avoid risk-taking, they naturally would be more likely than men not to take chances on the hereafter", Stark reasoned (Wingfield). He pointed to the famous philosophical tool known as Pascal's Wager, which says believing in God is the most logical option available, because even if God doesn't exist and doesn't promise eternal life, the believer loses nothing in the end. But if a person gambles on the belief that God does not exist, there's much more to lose if in fact it turns out God does exist (Wingfield).”

So, how do you know if you are an internal or external believer? The Rotter I-E scale “comprises some 29 items, 23 of which are designed to assess the respondents’ locus of control beliefs… Respondents are required to complete the questionnaire by choosing from a series of two alternatives, the statements that more closely reflect their own beliefs. …The scale is scored by simply totaling the number of externally worded items so endorsed. Thus the higher the score, the more external the respondent, and vise versa (Hodgkinson). If you have the time, take the test. Be sure to read the article relating to your score and how it can help your life. Also, don't forget to come back to my blog vote on your score.

http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_90.htm

"Men would never be superstitious, if they could govern all their circumstances by set rules, or if they were always favored by fortune: but being frequently driven into straits where rules are useless, and being often kept fluc­tuating pitiably between hope and fear by the uncertainty of fortune's greedily coveted favors, they are con­sequently, for the most part, very prone to credulity (Jahoda)."

Works Cited:
Galinsky, Adam and Whilson, Jennifer. "Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception." Science 3 11 Oct. 2008: 115-117.

Hodgkinson , Gerard. "Development and Validation of the Strategic Locus of Control Scale ." Strategic Management Journal 13(1992): 311-317.

Jahoda, Gustav. The Psychology of Superstition. London: Allen Lane, 1969.

Mearns, Jack. "The Social Learning Theory of Julian B. Rotter." 6 Nov 2008 .

Neill, James. "What is Locus of Control?." 06 Dec 2006. 6 Nov 2008 . http://wilderdom.com/psychology/loc/LocusOfControlWhatIs.html


Wingfield, Mark. "Can biology explain why women are more religious than men?." Baptist Standard 06 Nov 2000 6 Nov 2008 . http://www.baptiststandard.com/2000/11_6/pages/biology.html