Opening an Umbrella Indoors

General Information about Item:

  • Mexican Superstition
  • Language: Spanish
  • Country of Origin: Ancient Egypt
  • Informant: Rosa Mendoza
  • Date Collected: 11-01-18

Informant Data:

  • Rosa Mendoza was born in Texas but her parents originate from Mexico. She is currently studying Biology at Dartmouth College. Rosa mostly speaks Spanish fluently at home with her parents and sister. Although Rosa grew up in America, her parents made sure to instill the Mexican culture in her upbringing.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Although this superstition originated from Ancient Egypt, it is very dominant in America and many parts of the world. Because Rosa’s parents have lived in America for such a long time, they have been able to assimilate some different superstitions of various originations and passed it on to their children.
  • Social Context: This superstition was passed down from Rosa’s father to her at a young age. She believes this superstition serves as a way to prevent household properties from getting destroyed. Umbrellas are mostly used when it rains and thus have droplets of water on them even when they are close. Thus, opening them indoors may cause these droplets of water to fall on different items on the room and cause a mess. In addition to this, opening an umbrella in a room depending on how big the umbrella is or how small the room is may cause items in the room to fall over and break if the umbrella makes contact with them.

Subgenre: bad luck superstitions

Item (translation)

You are not supposed to open an umbrella inside the house because doing so brings you bad luck.

Collector’s Name: Ama Kyerewaa

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