Tag Archives: American

Catholic Pre-Exam Prayer- American (Caroline Carr)

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Title: Catholic Pre-Exam Prayer

General Information about item:

  • Customary Folklore, Superstition
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: RW
  • Date Collected: 10-27-2021

Informant Data:

RW is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She is a sophomore (‘24) at Dartmouth College. She is an English major and plans on attending law school. She attended The Mount school in Flourtown, Pennsylvania which is an all-girls Catholic high school. Her mom also attended this high school. Both of RW’s parents were raised Catholic so her and her sibling were also raised Catholic, and they attend church regularly on Sundays.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: RW’s high school, The Mount, was very faith focused. Many members of the administration and teaching staff were Sisters of Saint Joseph which is an order of Catholic Nuns. All four years of high school, students were required to take a religion class. In addition, each Friday the whole school attended church together. The Mount prayer which is unique to her school and was said often throughout the school day.
  • Social Context: RW remembers the first time that she learned the prayer was during her freshman orientation. She learned it from the principal who was giving a speech at their orientation. It wasn’t until her first test that she learned about the pre-test superstition her new high school had. Before her first test which was a math test in September of her freshman year, her teacher started with The Mount prayer. She soon realized that every other teacher started with The Mount prayer when they had a test that year. After asking a teacher, RW learned that it had been a long-standing superstition that if they said the prayer, they would do well on the test because they would have God’s help and protection. RW and the rest of The Mount student body continued to say this prayer before every test throughout high school. This piece of folklore was collected during an in-person interview with RW.

Item:

Before each test, RW and her classmates would say The Mount prayer: “Gracious god, make me an instrument of unity and reconciliation, so that like you, I may serve the dear neighbor. Amen”.

Transcript:

“My pre-test superstition is saying a prayer before a test or exam. I went to an all-girls catholic high school, and this is where I learned this superstition. Before any test in any class, not just our religion class, we would say our school’s prayer.  The prayer is “Gracious god, make me an instrument of unity and reconciliation, so that like you, I may serve the dear neighbor. Amen”. By saying this, we would have good luck and God’s help to do well on the exam. My friends and I who are now in college will still say this prayer to ourselves right before a big test.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • “I was just talking to my friend the other day, and we were talking about high school, and she said that she still does this before tests. I knew that I still did it, but I was shocked how so many of my friends still said the prayer before test even in college”.

Collector’s Comments:

  • It was interesting to hear RW talk about her pre-test superstition that she still has today. I went to a Catholic elementary school but then went to a secular high school, so it was interesting hearing how much religion played in her high school academics.

Collector’s Name: Caroline Carr

Tags/Keywords:

  • Superstition
  • American
  • Female
  • Prayer

Using a Harry Potter Themed Pencil – United States (Jea Mo)

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Title: Using a Harry Potter Themed Pencil (United States)

General Information:

  • Customary folklore: Pre-test custom, superstition
  • Interview language: English
  • Location of origin: New York, United States
  • Informant: MK
  • Date collected: 11/5/2021

Informant:

  • MK is a sophomore at New York University who is from Concord, Massachusetts. He described himself as a “huge Harry Potter fan” who has an obsession with Harry Potter items. He also said that his Harry Potter house was Ravenclaw, the house known for its intellect and wits.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: The Harry Potter series, both book and movie, have been very popular among children and young adults for many years. It has been a trend for fans of the series to do the Harry Potter Sorting Hat test and collect relevant items such as socks, pencils, hats, scarves, etc.
  • Social Context: The item was conducted over a zoom call with the informant. The informant mentioned that the item is a superstition that is endorsed not only by himself, but also by his close circle of middle school friends who are all fans of Harry Potter.

Item:

  • When taking an important test, the informant would use his Harry Potter themed pencil that has the markings of the house Ravenclaw.

Associated File:

Amazon.com : Set of 6 Genuine Harry Potter House Pride Wooden Pencils Erasers Gift Boxed : Office Products
This picture shows a set of Harry Potter themed

Transcript:

  • “I always use my Harry Potter pencil when I take a test. I know some people think it’s, um, a little childish. But I think it helps me a lot. I think it’s maybe because I’m in Ravenclaw. You know, Ravenclaw is known to be smart and all that. I feel like if I’m using my Ravenclaw pencil, I somehow think I’m enhancing my intellect.”

Informant’s comments:

  • “My favorite color and my lucky color also happens to be blue. So, it kind of matches. Also, if I don’t have a Ravenclaw pencil at hand, I’d use a Hufflepuff pencil because it’s the next house I identify with.”

Collector’s comments:

  • I thought it was interesting that using an object of a certain identity that one identifies with boosts one’s sense of confidence.

Collector’s name: Jea Mo

Tags/Keywords

  • American
  • Customary Folklore
  • Pre-test ritual

Christmas in Hawaii

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General Information 

Informant: Naia Morse 

Place: Hanover, NH 

Date: 11/9/21 

Genre/Form of Folklore: Customary/ Material 

Title: Christmas in Hawaii 

Informant Data: Naia Morse is a student at Dartmouth College – a member of the 2022 class. Naia lives on The Big Island of Hawaii, where she was born. She majors in economics modified with engineering and is involved in the student-led organization “Hokupaʻa”, created by and for students who are from or are connected to the Pacific Islands. 

Contextual Data: Christmas in Hawaii is a major annual celebration, as in most of the Western world. The different cultures and ethnic groups that have settled in the Hawaiian Islands celebrate the Christmas traditions of Hawaii in their own unique ways, which may be religious or plainly secular. Even Santa Claus (Hawaiian: Kanakaloka) himself is not wearing his traditional red and white suit but has swapped it for flowery Hawaiian clothes instead. 

Social Data: This item of folklore was collected through a face-to-face interview of the informant just before the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Item: Christmas, a holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities – observed primarily on December 25th. Different types of decorations developed across various cultures and local traditions. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How does you and/or your family go about decorating your house during the Christmas season? What sorts of decorations do you put up every year and what factors do you think influence this decorative style?” 

Informant: Well, I’d say since we’re slightly disconnected from traditional American holidays and celebrations… Christmas isn’t as traditionally festive in Hawaii, but we’re festive in our own way. Something cool about Hawaii is we have our Christmas trees shipped to us in refrigerated containers. I wouldn’t say we decorate outside of your typical seasonal house decorations. Most decorations are Christmas trees, poinsettias, lights, depictions of Santa in Hawaiian shirts. And everyone decorates the palm trees with Christmas lights.” 

Informant Comment: 

It’s Christmas but Hawaiian style. 

Collector Comment: 

I’ve heard of some roof decorations in Hawaii during Christmas that depict Santa on a surfboard being pulled forward by dolphins rather than reindeer. The Hawaiian Islands, even though they are American, share unique Christmas customs unlike the other forty-nine states. It’s clear that Hawaii decoration during Christmas time is heavily influenced by their own cultural celebrations previously, and their current culture. 

Collected by: 

Joshua Betts, 21 

Bradenton, FL 

Hanover, NH 

Dartmouth College 

RUSS 013 

Fall 2021 

Giant Tree

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General Information 

Informant: Gavin Muir 

Place: Hanover, NH 

Date: November 3rd, 2021 

Genre/ Form of Folklore: Customary/Material 

Title: “Giant Tree” 

Informant Data: Gavin Muir, 20, is a member of the class of 2023 at Dartmouth College. Gavin was born and raised in Connecticut with two brothers and a sister where they attended Greenwich High School. Gavin is majoring in economics and is affiliated with the Greek Life system. 

Contextual Data:  

For those who celebrate Christmas, the tree is typically the holiday’s most cherished centerpiece. Decorating a Christmas tree to mark the holiday season is a tradition that dates back to 16th-century Germany with Americans adopting the custom as early as the 1800s. Now, the giant Rockefeller Center tree, laid under 25,000 Christmas lights, is displayed for the entire world to see during the holiday season. For some families, getting a big tree into the house is truly a Christmas miracle. But for others with the space, it’s just a way to set a very merry tone for the holiday. 

Social Data: This item of folklore was collected through a face-to-face interview of the informant just before the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Item: During the holiday season, in the corner of Gavin’s living room sits an eighteen-foot-tall artificial Christmas tree. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How does you and/or your family go about decorating your house during the Christmas season? What sorts of decorations do you put up every year and what factors do you think influence this decorative style?” 

Informant: “My parents don’t like to decorate too much, but one thing we’ve always had was a huge Christmas tree. We could never find a real one that big, so we got an artificial tree that’s eighteen feet tall. It’s pre-strung with lights and looks like it has snow on some of the branches. It has realistic-looking branches and needles, but it doesn’t smell like a Christmas tree, unfortunately. 

Informant Comment: 

My living room ceiling is probably 25 feet tall, that’s the only area we can fit the tree. The top of the star is just a couple feet from the ceiling.  

Collector Comment: 

Gavin is one of the few, if not the only person I know that has a larger-than-average Christmas tree, ant it sparks curiosity as to the origin of this family tradition. However, knowing Gavin’s background and circumstances enabled me to deduce that his sub-culture has an expressive body of folklore, and the extravagance of his Christmas tree is exemplary of this. 

Collected by: 

Joshua Betts, 21 

Bradenton, FL 

Hanover, NH 

Dartmouth College 

RUSS 013 

Fall 2021 

A Jewish Christmas

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General Information 

Informant: Josh Greene 

Place: Hanover, NH 

Date: October 29, 2021 

Genre/Form of Folklore: Customary/Material 

Title: “A Jewish Christmas” 

Informant Data: Josh Greene, 21, is a current junior at Dartmouth College majoring in Government while serving as the football team’s starting long snapper. Josh was born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, FL where he attended The Benjamin School. Josh lives with his parents and younger sister when he is home on off-terms. He follows a Jewish faith and is also a columnist for The Dartmouth and writes bi-weekly to highlight his journey as a student-athlete.  

Contextual Data: For many Americans, December 25 is a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus, but for those of a Jewish religion it is a time to consider one’s relationship to the wider society. Some Jewish families have chosen to adopt the Yuletide festivities. Some have emphatically rejected the rituals and symbols of Christmas. Still others have sought ways to meld Christmas and Hanukkah. Christmas, in effect, has become a prism through which Jewish individuals can view how living in this land of freedom has shaped their religion, culture, and identity.  

Social Data: For centuries, the Jewish people of Central and Eastern Europe feared Christmastime. At any other time, religious Jewish individuals would be studying Torah in the synagogue, but not on Christmas. Wary of being attacked in the street, they took refuge in their homes, playing cards or chess with their families. The story was different in Western Europe, where, for the Jewish elite, holiday symbols — such as the Christmas tree — signified secular inclusion in society. Today, thousands upon thousands of American Jewish people have become vested in Christmas through Hannukah and mitzvot. Now, Christmas is an occasion for many American Jewish people to proudly affirm their identity as both American and Jewish. This item of folklore was collected through a face-to-face interview of the informant just before the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Item: Decorative menorahs and dreidels hung on the walls with festive lanterns illuminating the house. Instead of green and red décor, blue and white items pervaded the scenery. Additionally, Jewish families typically top their trees with the Star of David rather than an angel/star. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How does you and/or your family go about decorating your house during the Christmas season? What sorts of decorations do you put up every year and what factors do you think influence this decorative style?” 

Informant: “Well I think there is this preconceived notion that Christmas and Hannukah are the same holidays, but they’re not. Jews don’t celebrate Christmas quite the same, at least my family. We never really decorated too much… sometimes put up a Christmas tree, maybe a big family Christmas dinner. We always knew it was Christmas, and still recognized what the day was for, but never felt the need to put up a lot of decorations for it. The most I think my parents ever did was hang the Star of David above the front door, and these blue menorah banners that hung in our dining room. Growing up we had a small artificial tree with a menorah top and with blue and white lights, but we haven’t done that in a while.”  

Informant Comment 

Now, I celebrate Christmas with some of my friends and family the same way most people do – but’s usually a pretty small and informal thing. 

Collector Comment 

Historically and culturally, Jewish people haven’t celebrated Christmas because it was once a tragic day – So I understand why Josh and his family don’t celebrate or decorate the way many other non-Jewish American families do. But I was happy to hear that they are being festive by means of Jewish holiday. Josh and his family don’t celebrate Christmas because of the folkloric tradition of recognizing and utilizing the day as a day of rest in preparation for Hannukah. 

Collected by: 

Joshua Betts, 21 

Bradenton, FL 

Hanover, NH 

Dartmouth College 

RUSS 013 

Fall 2021 

The Whole Nine Yards

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General Information 

Informant: Justin Ko 

Place: Hanover, NH 

Date: October 28, 2021 

Genre/ Form of Folklore: Customary/Material 

Title: “The Whole Nine Yards” 

Informant Data: Justin Ko was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where he attended William Penn Charter School and was the Class VP and Varsity Tennis captain. He is a current student of the Class of 2023 at Dartmouth College studying economics. Justin Ko is a member of a fraternity on campus, and often attends Sheba dance shows and Rockapella performances. Ko has spent several months in New York City during his Winter off-terms working internships and visiting family. 

Contextual Data: Christmas in the Northeast is nothing short of spectacular. With a fast-paced ambience and excessive festivity, a truly “white” Christmas brings the holiday season to a completely different level. Christmas is most proactively celebrated in the Northeast and most recognized. Culturally, Christmas is depicted in cold, snowy weather, under big city lights where neighboring families actively decorate and transform their properties to fit the spirited theme. 

Social Data: Celebrating Christmas in ways that avoid the aspects of religious beginnings show that for many, Christmas is rather a time of sharing love with one another. Families use this time to recognize that simply being with your loved ones brings joy into their lives. As Christmas becomes a growing secular celebration, we see how decoration amid the holiday becomes a means of exercising this belief. Putting up decorations early extends the excitement of the festive season and acts as a pathway to old childhood magical emotions, ultimately making those who do it together happier. This item of folklore was collected through a face-to-face interview of the informant just before the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Item: Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities – observed primarily on December 25th. Different types of decorations developed across various cultures and local traditions. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How does you and/or your family go about decorating your house during the Christmas season? What sorts of decorations do you put up every year and what factors do you think influence this decorative style?” 

Informant: “Every year, an entire month before Christmas, my family and I decorate literally the entire house with festive decorations. My mom has furniture and decoration replacements totally designated for Christmas in 5 massive boxes in the attic. My dad and I carry them down and unload them one by one so my mom can set them up where she wants them. There would be lights, ornaments, stockings, a wreath, curtains, pillows, ribbons, candles, and some figurines. After that was all done, we’d set up the tree together as a family and take turns putting up the ornaments. When the inside was done, we’d go outside and put some yard decorations up and finish with the roof lights. We really do the whole nine yards every year. My mom loves it.” 

Informant Comment: 

My family has always been super festive around the holidays. My grandparents follow the same protocol. But most of the decorations we put up aren’t necessarily related to the origins of Christmas, but more whimsical and childish, for lack of a better word.  

Collector Comment: 

For this American family in the Northeast, decorating for Christmas is a ritual that they take pride in and always do together. Regarding their family’s more pagan decorative style, their time living in the Northeast likely heavily influenced this. Because Justin and his family all grew up in the Northeast, where Christmas decoration and celebration is practiced the most, it is probable that the folk custom of pagan-style decorating influences the way they go about decorating for Christmas.  

Collected by: 

Joshua Betts, 21 

Bradenton, FL 

Hanover, NH 

Dartmouth College 

RUSS 013 

Fall 2021

A Christian Christmas

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General Information 

Informant: Ethan Davis 

Place: Hanover, NH 

Date: October 28, 2021 

Genre/Form of Folklore: Customary/Material 

Title: “A Christain Christmas” 

Informant Data: Ethan Davis is a 29-year-old former U.S. Marine and current student of Dartmouth College where he is pursuing a medical degree. As a member of the Class of 2022, Ethan is avidly involved in outdoor activities such as fishing and hunting and serves as a member on the board of a wildlife conservation club here in Hanover. Ethan was born in Boston, Massachusetts but lived much of his life in Andover. Ethan Davis is a registered EMT and leads a Sunday service group at his local church, while also engaging in community service events and helping non-profit organizations with their various goals. 

Contextual Data: At its roots, Christmas is a religious holiday, with its purpose being to observe and celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ of the Christain religion. During this holiday, folk of the Christain religion use this time to express their gratitude to God and memorialize his exceptionality. Many rituals and decorations are utilized to express this, and members of the folk have found differing cultural methodologies for doing so.  

Social Data: When the Christmas season comes around every year, members of a Christain religion come closer together to celebrate what they all share, their faith. As a holiday that stems from this religion, this time of year brings commonality amongst family and friends, regardless of external factors. Christmas is a time of happiness and celebration and allows families to recognize the reasons they believe they are able to enjoy their lives. This item of folklore was collected through a face-to-face interview of the informant just before the beginning of the Christmas season. 

Item: Christmas, a Christian holiday honoring the birth of Jesus, has evolved into a worldwide religious and secular celebration, incorporating many pre-Christian and pagan traditions into the festivities – observed primarily on December 25th. Different types of decorations developed across the Christian world, dependent on local tradition and available resources, and can vary from simple representations of the crib to far more elaborate sets. 

Transcript: 

Collector: “How does you and/or your family go about decorating your house during the Christmas season? What sorts of decorations do you put up every year and what factors do you think influence this decorative style?” 

Informant: “My family has always kind of looked at Christmas as a fairly religious holiday. Rather than your typical green and white decorations, my mom usually decorates the house with a lot of white décors. Things like pillows with Christmas carols on them, signs with “joy”, “hope”, and “peace” on them, and small nativity sets and figurines. In our front yard is usually an inflatable nativity set with a cross and even the lights around the house would be little angles rather than Christmas-colored bulbs. I think one of the biggest things I have noticed about our decoration is the angel on top of our Christmas tree, rather than a star or other symbol.” 

Informant Comment:  

Christmas has always seemed controversial in my opinion. It feels like it’s meant to be celebrated religiously, but it feels so culturally separated that it’s sort of ambiguous now. 

Collector Comment:  

Hearing about Ethan’s Christmas decorating customs and formalities was intriguing and somewhat relatable. Ethan and his family celebrate Christmas in a way so many others do, but even more are unfamiliar with. His family follows a strict narrative in recognizing the holiday and using a unique decorative style to express this. The holiday is recognized by Ethan and his family at its roots, rather than its cultural alternatives, which I believe emphasizes the aspect of folklore in this collection. 

Collected by: 

Joshua Betts, 21 

Bradenton, FL 

Hanover, NH 

Dartmouth College 

RUSS 013 

Fall 2021

Brush Every Time (Tanner Palocsik)

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Title: Brush Every Time

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Magic Superstition, Homeopathic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: D. E.
  • Date Collected: 11-3-21

Informant Data:

  • D.E. is a 20-year-old student athlete at Dartmouth College in the class of 2024. He is from Arizona and is on the Track and Field team where he participates in the javelin throw. He played many sports growing up and kept the same mindset for his performance through them all.

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: D.E. grew up under a lot of influence from his coaches. He takes a lot of pride in their advice and tries to be like them. He played a lot of sports growing up and was always taught to respect what they taught him and always work his hardest.
  • Social Context: D.E. has been doing this since high school. He picked it up from a coach that told him many great players have done and do this superstition. It is meant to give him performance powers and he does the superstition right before putting on his last piece of equipment (hat or helmet) or right before he heads out to his competition surface.

Item:

  • The item here is a superstition that D. E. has performed since high school. He takes a brush to his hair before putting his hat on during his meet. Even if he doesn’t wear a hat, he still brushes his hair back.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “When I was 15, I was a freshman in high school and one of my coaches told me that an old superstition in the sport of football is, if you brush your hair back under your helmet, you’ll be faster than every guy on the field. I’m not sure where this came from or where he learned it, but he passed the info on to me. I don’t play football anymore, but I still perform in the Javelin throw for Dartmouth. So, before every meet, I still brush my hair back into my hat with the belief that it will give me a great performance. At this point it is more so just a habit of tradition and I don’t really believe that it makes me perform better.”

Informant’s Comments:

  • He doesn’t think that this really changes anything but practices it out of habit of the tradition. It’s a force of habit for him at this point and on a side note he also told me he plans to pass this down to his kids or a younger teammate someday.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This is a great superstition. I think that everyone has their own unique performance techniques that can help them, but they don’t always have some supernatural power. Maybe this is one of those. I think Derek may just do this out of respect for his old coach now.  

Collector’s Name:

Tanner Palocsik

Dartmouth College

Russia 013 Fall 2021

Professors Apresyan and Gronas

Same Socks Skier (Tanner Palocsik)

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Title: Same Socks Skier

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Magic Superstition, Homeopathic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: D.P.J.
  • Date Collected: 10-29-21

Informant Data:

  • D.P.J. is a 21-year-old student athlete at Dartmouth College in the class of 2023. He is from California originally but then moved to the area of Vail, Colorado.  He is a member of the ski team. He was raised very closely to his family and has a special relationship to his father.    

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Skiing is an individual sport but also has team competitions as well. D.P.J. has been skiing since he was young and has always lived in mountainous areas where skiing is popular. The team competition has always driven him to succeed.
  • Social Context: Skiing requires a lot of detail put into their equipment and skill into their performance. D.P.J. learned of his superstition from an older teammate and was told that this was something all great skiers have done since skiing was first invented. Dash believes it has been the key to his success.

Item:

  • The item here is a superstition where D.P.J. has worn the same pair of lucky socks his whole ski career. He still washes them and keeps them clean and sanitary but he has the same ones that he always wears in his ski boots.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “When I was young, an old captain on my team said that I should pick out a pair of socks and make them my lucky socks. He said it was a superstition that all the great skiers have and that if I wanted to be great I had to do the same thing. So when I was 13 I picked out a pair and have been wearing the same socks ever since. I think now looking back, I realize it was just a mental tactic to make yourself think you have luck on your side, but I am a believer in the motto of ‘You create your own luck’”.

Informant’s Comments:

  • He is not a strong believer in this as shown in the transcript. Even though it has always been a popular thing in the ski world, at the end of the day you just need to perform. There is no actual magic that will help you.

Collector’s Comments:

  • This superstition made me laugh a little bit. It’s interesting to see what pieces of equipment (merely socks in this case) are valued throughout different sports.

Collector’s Name:

Tanner Palocsik

Dartmouth College

Russia 013 Fall 2021

Professors Apresyan and Gronas

A Chant and a Prayer (Tanner Palocsik)

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Title: A Chant and a Prayer

General Information about Item:

  • Genre: Magic Superstition, sympathetic
  • Language: English
  • Country of Origin: United States
  • Informant: C.B.
  • Date Collected: 11-1-21

Informant Data:

  • C.B. is a 21-year-old student athlete at Dartmouth College in the class of 2023. He is from Texas and is on the football team. He was raised very closely to his family and has a special relationship to his father.  

Contextual Data:

  • Cultural Context: Superstitions are important to sports teams. In football there are many players on the team that all contribute to the win. In C.B.’s case, Texas football is one of the most serious things in this country. They have a ton of pride in their teams and victory.     
  • Social Context: Team’s rely on every guy to contribute toward a winning effort. C.B.’s superstition came from his father who may have learned it from his father before him or somewhere else, he wasn’t certain of the whole chain. He is strongly religious in the Christian faith and performs his superstition before every game. This is something that puts Cameron in the most optimal mindset heading into

Item:

  • The item here is a superstition unique to C.B. Before every game he calls his father on the phone and says a prayer right before he is about to go on the field. He believes that God’s power gives him strength and confidence going into the game and that this will help him perform to the best of his abilities. Another is a team superstition where they all say the same chant before heading out for the game.

Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

Transcript:

  • “I pray with my dad before going out to the field before every game. I started this my freshman year in high school when he would physically be with me to do it but now I just call him before each game right as I’m about to go out to the field and he is expecting it as well. This one originated from my faith and just the fact that I want to glorify God before anything else in my life. I definitely believe strongly in this one.”
  • “As far as team stuff goes, we all start chanting “juice” together loudly in the locker room. Then one of the leaders on the team (it will be the same guy for that whole year) will chant “juice check” three times and then we all finish it off with one more shout saying “juice” And that tradition has been going since I’ve been here”

Informant’s Comments:

  • He believes in these superstitions and believes in their power to help him perform and the team get a win.

Collector’s Comments:

  • I think this is a very powerful superstition. It clearly has some power that enables him and their team to perform. They have an extremely good record and won the Ivy League Championship last year.

Collector’s Name:

Tanner Palocsik

Dartmouth College

Russia 013 Fall 2021

Professors Apresyan and Gronas