Princeton Superstitions

Title: Princeton Superstitions – Emma Kee

General Information about Item:

Informant Data:

Emma Kee is a female Princeton student in the class of 2023. She is from Cincinnati, Ohio but left home to go to boarding school in Faribault, MN in 8th grade. She is currently living in Princeton, NJ. Emma is on the ice hockey team and recently completed an internship in Washington, DC, which she hopes to return to full-time next year. Emma performs a superstition on game days that has been passed down throughout her family and is very meaningful to her.

Contextual Data:

Cultural Context: The cultural context is that putting gear on in a specific order is very common amongst hockey players in any league.
Social Context: The social context is that Emma performs this superstition with her sister after following their brothers’ lead.

Item:

This item is a customary type of folklore under the genre of magic superstition. Emma performs these before each home game.

Transcript:

“My older brother used to tie his skates before he put on his shin pads after seeing one of his teammates do it, and I always looked up to him growing up. Now I do as well, and my sister and I both follow his lead before our games, creating our own family superstition in order to play well.”

Informant’s Comments:

Emma recommended others who have siblings to create their own family superstitions that can be passed down for generations to create meaning to each time they play the game that they love.

Collector’s Comments:

I found this superstition to be very interesting. Emma told me her father performed the superstition, as well as her uncle, and knows her relatives did before them. This small way for her family to stay connected is very enlightening to me about how folklore is prevalent in our everyday lives.

Collector’s Name: Currie Putrah

Dartmouth Folklore Archive