Title: Eating Labneh (Lebanon) 

General Information About Item:

• Customary Folklore: Pre-test custom, superstition
• Language: English
• Country of Origin: Lebanon 
• Informant: TM
• Date Collected: 10/28/21

Informant Data: 

• TM was born in Trenton, NJ in 1968 to a Lebanese father and an English mother. She grew up in Yardley, PA and currently owns a captioning, subtitling, and audio description business with her husband. She and her husband have two children and currently live in Millbrook, NY.

Contextual Data:

• Cultural Context: Yogurt, the main ingredient in labenh, is an abundant food in Lebanese culture. It is incorporated into many different dishes or eaten by itself. My informant told me that she suspects that since this food is so prevalent in Lebanese culture, that is why it is connected to this given superstition. 
• Social Context: This informat shared this piece of folklore with me years ago (and retold it to me recently for the purposes of this project). She shared with me how her father was a first generation immigrant whose parents emigrated from Lebanon to the US only a few months before he was born. His three other siblings were all born in Lebanon. His mother — TM’s grandmother — would make him a labneh dish to eat during lunch at school. She would do so only on days that he would have a test or quiz. It was a treat that would hopefully bring him good luck before he took the assessment. The informant’s father would make the labneh from a yogurt starter that his mother taught him how to make. During his family’s cumbersome process of immigrating to the U.S, she brought very little with her, however one item that she brought all the way from Lebanon to Pennsylvania was a yogurt starter. He went on to do the same thing for TM throughout her childhood. 

Item: Eating labneh yogurt — an authentic Lebanese yogurt like dip/spread — is to give you good luck for a test or quiz.  

Associated File

This is an image of labneh being made. It is a simple recipe that only has two ingredients: whole milk and salt. However, the dish takes 24 – 48 hours to prepare. 

Transcript: 

• “I almost looked forward to the days in which I had a test — it meant that I was able to have my favorite snack! I remember how much care my dad had when putting together my lunches those days. It brings a smile to my face when I think about it.”

Informant’s Comments:

• The informant stated that not only does she think that this superstition brought her great luck before taking tests, but that she also has many fond memories of opening her lunch at school to see labneh there waiting for her to have before she would go into the classroom to take her exam. The informant said that it made her feel calm and comfortable, reminding her of her father at home. 

Collector’s Comments:

• This superstition pulled at my heart-strings. I loved the history that came with it and how much it meant to the informant even years later. The informant my (the collector’s) mother and I have been lucky enough to have had her continue this practice with me. From elementary/middle school through high school she would prepare me the dish. It is delicious and brings great luck!

Collector’s Name: Claire Macedonia

Tags/Keywords:

• Labneh 
• Superstition 
• Lebanon