Title: Rubber Bracelet
General Information:
- Place of collection: Hanover, NH (via a phone call)
- Date of Collection: November 13, 2019
- Genre: Customary Folklore – Superstition
Informant Information:
This informant (anonymous) is a 22 year old student at Lafayette College in Pennsylvania. He was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, but moved to Madison, Connecticut when he was in 8th grade. After his junior year in high school, he began as a volunteer firefighter in the Madison, Connecticut Fire Department. He volunteered with this fire department for 4 years.
Context:
Every time that this informant was in the fire station working as a volunteer firefighter, he would wear one specific rubber bracelet. He felt that this bracelet gave him good luck and protected him from whatever danger lay ahead. He said that he learned this practice from one of the other firefighters, and that it is a common practice within the Madison Fire Department.
Item:
It is good luck/provides protection to wear a rubber bracelet whenever on duty.
Meaning and Interpretation:
Similar to Captain Gilbert wearing his Saint Florian necklace, this superstition is used to give a sense of safety and security to the firefighter; in a field as dangerous as firefighting, any source of protection is desired. To this firefighter and others within his department these bracelets/necklaces/rings provide a measure of protection against the uncontrollable situations that they face every day. The superstition is a magic superstition because there is a cause and effect relationship – if he wears the bracelet, he will be protected or he will have good luck.
Informant’s Comments:
The informant was unsure why he (and the others in the department) started wearing items for good luck. He said that it is simply something that they do with no specific reason that he could pinpoint.