Introduction:
For this project, we compare and contrast superstitions regarding good and bad luck between the ‘East’ and the ‘West’, collected from representative Dartmouth students. However, as these geographical terms are too broad, we decided to focus on superstitions in the United States for the ‘West’ and focus on various South and East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Japan and India for the ‘East.’ Through our collection project, we seek to examine the various types of superstitions regarding luck and the social and cultural context behind these superstitions. Finally, we attempted to see if there were any similarities or differences between these superstitions and theorize on why they might exist.
Presentation:
Our class presentation slides: Student Superstitions Presentation
Items:
- Korean Superstitions by Kyoung Tae Kim (Tim)
- Superstition #1: Birds & Fans
- Superstition #2: Birthday Festival & Name in Red
- Superstition #3: Taffy & Seaweed Soup
- Superstition #4: Red Wallet & Empty Wallet
- Superstition #5: Alcohol & Fingernail
- Chinese Good Luck, Bad Luck Superstitions by Xinhao Lei (Leo)
- Superstition #6: Numbers 8 & 4
- Superstition #7: Chopsticks
- Superstition #8: Dreaming about Toddlers/ Children and the Elderly
- Superstition #9: Turtle as a Pet
- Superstition #10: Sweeping and Cleaning on Chinese New Years
- Superstition #11: The Number 8 Brings Good Luck (Gaurav Varma)
- Japanese Superstitions, Good and Bad Luck by Natt Chan
- Superstition #12: New Year Foods
- Superstition #13: New Year Dreams
- Superstition #14: Eating with Chopsticks
- Superstition #15: Salt cleansing
- Indian Superstitions Good and Bad Luck by Mitchell Tang
- Superstition #16 Cutting Fingernails at Night
- Superstition #17 Adding a Rupee to a Gift
- Superstition #18 Books on the Floor or Feet
- Superstition #19 Touching Elder’s Feet
- Superstition #20 Cleaning at Night
- American Superstitions, Good and Bad Luck by Gaurav Varma
- Superstition #21: Don’t Break Any Mirrors
- Superstition #22: Skip the 13th Floor of Hotels
- Superstition #23: Don’t Open Umbrellas Indoors
- Superstition #24: If You Find a Penny, Pick It Up
Collectors:
- 💡 Xinhao Lei (Leo)
- Gaurav Varma
- Kyoung Tae Kim (Tim)
- Natt Chan
- Mitchell Tang
Contributions:
- Kyoung Tae Kim (Tim): Presentation Slides and Folklore Collection(Korean superstitions, Similarities) & Pages on Korean Superstitions #1-5
- Xinhao Lei (Leo): Presentation Slides and Folklore Collection (Chinese superstitions,context, differences between American and Asian superstitions pertaining to good and back luck) & Pages on Chinese Superstitions #6-10
- Natt Chan: Presentation Slides and Folklore Collection (Japanese superstitions, context) & Pages on Japanese Superstitions #11-14
- Mitchell Tang: Presentation Slides and Folklore Collection (Indian superstitions, context) & Pages on Indian Superstitions #15-19
- Gaurav Varma: Presentation Slides and Folklore Collection (Chinese/American superstitions, context) & Pages on Chinese Superstitions #11 and Pages on American Superstitions #21-24
Tags/Keywords
- Superstitions/Good Luck/Bad Luck/China/Chinese/Japan/Japanese/Korea/Korean/India/United States/American/good/bad/homeopathic/contagious/magic/sympathy