Superstitions in American culture
Superstitions refer to belief in magic and fear of the unknown, which leads individuals to adopt irrational behaviors. The influence of superstitions on individuals has remained strong throughout human history, but this influence has been declining with increased urbanization and education of the masses. The Halloween superstition reflects a fear of some power by human beings, which is beyond their understanding and control. However, some superstitions remain prevalent in American culture and other industrialized societies. During Halloween it is traditionally believed that it is a period that common myths, omens and folklore have more weight for the people who believe in them. This essay explores some American superstitions that contribute to understanding the language and the culture of the country exploring how it can be integrated into teaching the ESL students to facilitate their understanding of the American language and culture.
Halloween is a popular American holiday celebrated on October 31st that is characterized by numerous superstitious beliefs. The name of the holiday originates from the fact that it occurs the night before All Hallows Day, which is a Christian holiday. Despite the Christian nature of All Hallows Day, Halloween has pagan origins. The holiday can be traced to the Celts of Ireland, who were pagans that celebrated the end of their harvest season on Samhain, which became Halloween in the Christian calendar. According to the Celts, the boundary separating the living from the dead was at its thinnest on October 31st, which allowed spirits to roam free in the world of the living (Grohsgal, 2015). It is worth noting that people believed that both friendly and evil spirits roamed the world of the living on Halloween. This explains why many of the beliefs around Halloween involve ghosts and spirits.
The most visible symbol of the Halloween holiday in America is the pumpkin. During Halloween, Americans usually hollow out pumpkins and place lit candles in them, with the resultant creation being referred to as a Jack-o’-lantern. This illustrates an instance where a Halloween practice led to the introduction of a new word in American parlance. However, the Irish, who were the pioneers of the practice, differed from Americans because they used turnips instead of pumpkins. Pumpkins became popular in America because they could be used a substitute for turnips, which were not easily available. In addition, pumpkins were easy to carve out for Halloween purposes. The lit candles in the pumpkins were meant to illuminate the way for the spirits of people’s loved ones as they made their journey to the world of the dead. The light was also supposed to protect the living by scaring off evil spirits (Montillo, 2009). Although the practice of carving out pumpkins and placing lit candles in them remains popular in U.S. culture, the belief that it provides light for spirits has become outdated. Instead, Americans engage in the practice simply to carry on one of the traditions of Halloween holiday.
Collis (1998) asserts that wearing of costumes on Halloween is also a popular practice in American culture. Individuals usually wear scary costumes on Halloween because of the superstition that the costumes can scare off evil spirits. In addition, individuals also believe that wearing scary costumes on Halloween wards off evil spirits by tricking them into thinking that the individuals in costumes are also spirits. Although in the past wearing of costumes on Halloween was common only among children, adults have also embraced the practice in recent times (Ashley, 2012). However, the decline in superstitious beliefs has led to the emergence of costumes that are based on characters in popular American culture. Despite this, such costumes serve a similar purpose to traditional costumes because they enable the wearer to pretend that they possess certain special abilities. The ability of one to acquire the speaking prowess of a new language is based on the learner’s eagerness to understand the language culture.
Animal symbolism during Halloween also contributes some superstitions in American culture. For example, black cats have a reputation of being harbingers of bad luck. This is why Halloween decorations usually feature black cats, which were considered witches’ pets during the Dark Ages. Individuals believed that the witches received their cats from the devil. The association of black cats and witches, who were usually elderly women, has evolved in American culture to an association of all elderly women with cats. Although the majority of Americans no longer believes in witches, popular American culture continues to portray older women as individuals who love cats. However, Collis (1998) states that it is worth noting that not all cultures view black cats negatively. For example, the Irish and Scottish views it as good luck when a black cat crosses an individual’s path. Aside from cats, bats were also associated with witches. People believed that the sighting of a bat for Halloween was bad luck, and the presence of a bat in a house on Halloween meant that the house was haunted. This portrayal of bats remains popular in the American culture, where movies and other entertainment shows associate bats with haunted houses. It also explains why many Americans are afraid of bats, although they are harmless creatures.
Another common superstition is the witch’s broomstick. Witches are commonly portrayed as having the ability to fly on their broomsticks. This superstition arose because the elderly women accused of being witches during the Dark Ages travelled with the aid of walking sticks or brooms. The witches were accused of applying a hallucinogenic ointment on their bodies, which gave them the sensation that they were flying (Rogers, 2003). Modern American culture continues to portray witches as old women carrying broomsticks, which they can use to fly.
The phrase trick or treat entered use in the American English language because of the superstitious beliefs around Halloween. The superstition was that ghosts could disguise themselves as humans and knock on people’s doors on Halloween to ask for food or money. If the ghost’s request was not granted, the owner of the house risked incurring the ghost’s wrath, which could either curse or haunt the individual. According to Collis (1998), this superstition has taken a different form in American culture, where children usually dress in costumes on Halloween and go to different houses asking for candy, always beginning the phrase trick or treat when the owner of the house opens the door. Trick implies that something bad will happen to the house owner if they do not give the child a treat. The practice of trick or treat helped Americans to address the problems of Mischief Night, the title that troublemakers had given to Halloween and designated it as a day for causing menace in society. Mischief Night originated from the ancient Celtic practice of individuals pranking each other on Samhain. The American troublemakers became so rowdy that other people began handing out sweets to them prevent them from vandalizing property. However, some Americans continue to play pranks on each other on Halloween to this day (Rogers, 2003).
The practice of trick or treat led to the introduction of candy apples, which became a popular Halloween treat in America. Candy apples have Roman origins, since the Celtic celebration of Samhain coincided with the Roman festival in honor Pamona, the Roman goddess of fruit trees. The Romans often symbolized Pamona by an apple, which led the apple to become synonymous with the Celtic Samhain celebration (Rogers, 2003). This explains how apples made their way into the symbolism of American Halloween culture.
It is commonly believed that burning a candle while in a lantern on Halloween keeps the evil spirits and demons away. However, if such candles go off on their self during Halloween, it is commonly believed that the evil spirit or the demon has come to call. Halloween is originally said to have been introduced by Irish and Scottish immigrants in the 1800s it evolved over time (Ju Brown, 2006). The celebrations are characterized by numerous superstitions, especially relating to the spirit of the dead, evil spirits and demons. For instance, there is a common myth that any person born on Halloween is always protected from the evil and might even have capabilities to communicate with ghosts.
Aside from Halloween superstitions, there are other superstitious beliefs that are common in most countries. For example, different cultures hold superstitions about different numbers. A case in point is the number thirteen, which is considered an unlucky number in American culture. Subsequently, many residential and commercial buildings in America do not have a thirteenth floor (Collis, 1998). Similarly, Friday 13th is considered an unlucky day in America, and individuals typically exhibit more caution that usual when conducting their affairs on this day. The association of the number thirteen with bad luck has both religious and historical origins (Ju Brown, 2006). Other cultures such as the Chinese believe that four is an unlucky number, while eight is a lucky number. The Chinese beliefs about the numbers are because four sounds similar to death while eight sounds similar to prosperity in the language.
ESL students have always faced challenges when learning the American culture and language and pedagogical approaches have been used in enhancing the teachers to understand how their practices affect the learning of students from diverse backgrounds. The Halloween holiday is a major event in the American culture calendar and it is can significantly be used to enhance ESL students understand the American culture and language. The majority of the conventional constructivist and behavioral learning theories incline towards an assumption that learners are homogeneous and they are less useful as the diversity of students increase, which has become more challenging for teachers. However, if the teachers are able to integrate the interesting events such as the Halloween in the teaching process they will be able to make significant headways towards enhancing the understanding of students.
In conclusion, superstitions play an important role in understanding the language and culture of a society. This is because some cultural practices are steeped in deep superstitions, and outsiders may struggle to understand why the members of a certain culture behave the way they do. The fact that superstitions are based on a fear of the unknown means that the members of a society can fail to realize the detrimental effect of their superstitious beliefs. However, modern societies are becoming increasingly knowledge-based, which is leading individuals to re-examine and abandon their superstitious beliefs. Despite this, the superstitions in American culture, especially Halloween, show that it is difficult for humans to abandon some of their practices, even when they realize that such practices are based on superstitious beliefs.
References
Ashley, L. R. (2012). Halloween: Everything Important About the Most Important Secular Holiday. Bloomington: Xlibris Corporation.
Collis, H. (1998). 101 American Superstitions: Understanding Language and Culture through Superstitions. New York: McGraw-Hill Education.
Grohsgal, L. W. (2015, October 23). Superstitions and Celebrations: Halloween History in Chronicling America. Retrieved from National Endowment for the Humanities: http://www.neh.gov/divisions/preservation/featured-project/superstitions-and-celebrations-halloween-history-in-chronicl
Ju Brown, J. B. (2006). China, Japan, Korea: Culture and Customs. North Charleston: BookSurge.
Montillo, R. (2009). Halloween and Commemorations of the Dead. New York: Infobase Publishing.
Rogers, N. (2003). Halloween: From Pagan Ritual to Party Night. New York: Oxford University Press.
