Superstitions abound the world over. Most people don’t believe in them, but find themselves commiting them just for good measure.
Photo by greekgod
Panic washed over me. I tried telling myself that everything would be OK, but remained unconvinced.
Suddenly I leapt out of my seat and pleaded my way past the flight attendants. My progress was halted by security.
“I lost something in the waiting area. Can I go get it?” The security guard gave me a thousand yard stare.
“Please!” Amazing how far this word can get you.
He relented. “OK. Be quick because we’re about to close the gate.” I flew out and dived under the seats of the lounge, which caused a businessman to jump.
“What did you lose?” the security guard asked as I returned to the plane.
“My lucky coin. I can’t fly without it.”
“Lucky coin!” His colleague looked at me in disbelief.
The guy who let me out reproved him. “You can’t leave without a thing like that, man!” He was a believer in the power of lucky charms as well. Prior to this incident I had traveled with my coin unfailingly for five years and then intermittently for six years.
My lucky charm is a humble penny with a stretched image of Queen Mary. The panic I felt at its momentary loss alarmed me, but its also an inevitable travel truth that you will lose stuff.
The Power Of Superstition
The last few times I’ve traveled without it I’ve attributed any and all misfortune to its absence. Illogical, I know – but superstitions aren’t exactly rational.
Dictionary.com defines superstition as “a belief or notion not based on reason or knowledge.” I agree.
Dictionary.com defines superstition as “a belief or notion not based on reason or knowledge.” I agree. Go ahead and think of as many superstitions as you can. Now try to find a rational reason for each one. Tricky, isn’t it?
There is a push-pull relationship with superstitions. You try to avoid succumbing to a superstition, but then at the last minute you decide to follow through, just for good measure. This is how some superstitions become traditions.
To think I may never see Rome again because of the Trevi fountain coin toss superstition. I went to Rome twice in one month. On my first visit I threw a coin into the Trevi fountain. On my second visit I forgot. I haven’t been back since.
In From Here to Eternity, Deborah Kerr’s character explains that if you throw a lei into the Pacific and it floats away from you, you’ll never come back to the Hawaiian Islands.
I’ve spent my summers in Honolulu since I was eight and this was news to me. I wonder – if you’re ignorant about a superstition, does the adage “no harm no foul” apply?
Unlucky 13
Many superstitions center on the significance of numbers, especially 13, the fear of which is called triskaidekaphobia. There is no definitive reason why 13 is so abhorred.
Photo by Jeff Yang
Some attribute triskaidekaphobia to the Vikings or to the Last Supper, but rest assured the fear is ancient. And it effects still affects us.
Recently, Brussels Airlines came under fire for employing 13 circles in their logo. The uproar caused them to paint one more circle onto all of their planes.
Have you ever noticed that some planes have no row 13? The entire Cathay Pacific and Continental fleets are missing it. Sensibly, British Airways has refused to succumb to the nonsense. Other airlines have reached a happy compromise and insert row 13 in their smaller aircrafts, thereby screwing the short-haul passengers.
There is an Italian superstition about the number seventeen because the roman numerals can be rearranged to spell vixi, which in Latin means ‘I have lived’.
Lufthansa’s entire fleet except for the Dash 8Q and ATR 72-500, the smaller planes, are missing row 17. In an exercise of cultural sensitivity some airlines like Delta skip row 13 and 17 in their 757-200s.
Next time you enter a high-rise hotel pay attention to how they’ve numbered the floors. You may suddenly go from the 12th floor to the 14th floor. In an article by Barbara De Lollis for USA TODAY, she quotes J.W. “Bill” Marriott Jr., who states “‘it was one of the first things I learned: Don’t go to 13.’” It’s a tradition to ignore the 13th floor.
Ever refuse to travel on certain days or wonder if there is a day that’s best to avoid? Don’t travel on a Friday! Besides the awful traffic and whatever else the world throws at you it’s been said journeys should not be started on this day.
Lord Byron sailed for Greece on a Friday and died. Embarking on Friday didn’t directly cause his death but it doesn’t matter. The outcome only added weight to the superstition.
All In The Mind?
Some superstitions are cultural (i.e. the number 13) and some are self-created. I know people who have to clean house before a trip. If the house is dirty the trip will be bad, and there’s nothing worse than coming back to a dirty house and a fridge full of moldy food.
In life and travel, fortune decides too many factors. Superstitions feed into this lack of control and the desire to gain it back.
I used to keep my old inspection stickers and tags on my suitcase until my dad scared me by suggesting a confused baggage handler may send my stuff to the wrong destination.
However, I’ve found that I’m not the only one with a fondness for tags. The sister of my American Social History professor keeps the tag as a good luck charm for another trip and then replaces it with the new one.
Many superstitions are also rituals. I used to always pack in the same manner, placing my beloved battered books by W. Somerset Maugham and F. Scott Fitzgerald on the bottom, but I’ve since broken this habit.
I broke some of my habits by asking a simple question – why am I doing this? Do I honestly believe if I carry a coin and pack my books ‘just so’ I can thwart my plane from crashing?
Eventually, the reason came out: If the prior trip was successful (meaning I got back more or less in one piece), I try to repeat the same conditions as closely as possible. So, if I hold unto the baggage tag, remember my lucky coin and pack my suitcase in the same way, then maybe I will have another good trip.
Then again, the times I left the coin at home, I’ve had unusually bad flights. Serious arguments cast a shadow over my last two trips, along with bad weather. I’ve been plagued with canceled ventures to South America.
In life and travel, fortune decides too many factors. Superstitions feed into this lack of control and the desire to gain it back.
Next time I think I’ll take my coin with me.
What travel superstitions do you have? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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12 Comments... join the discussion!
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Every time before I take a trip, my family and friends would tell me, “Have a safe and fun trip.” Notice that “safe” comes before “fun.”
I suppose that’s a superstition they all have. It works apparently, since I’m still alive and well after getting ill, injured, and lost all over the world.
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This is off topic a bit but has anyone noticed that people don’t applaud anymore after take off and landing on flights? It used to be so commonplace when I was growing up but the last few flights I’ve been on there have been no applause for the crew. I thought it gave everyone such a satisfactory feeling at the end of a flight.
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Grace – People usually still applaud the crew coming from or going to Italy. I guess it depends on the first brave person not being afraid to start the applause that gets it all going. It is nice after a long flight to let out some of that excitement for finally being back on the ground.
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Applauding – that’s funny. My friend told me only Jamaicans did that at the end of flights because they were all happy to have made a safe journey. I’ve never had it happen on any other flights, except a smaller flight in Hawaii. But now you’ve piqued by interest – on the next flight, I’ll start the clap and see if it catches on…
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There was a lone clapper on a recent flight who turned red and stopped when only two – four people joined in as opposed to a couple dozen people. Everyone was busy with grabbing their luggage. It was a bit sad because I finally freed my hands to make some noise. Also, I have to say that most of the applauding in my experience occurred on flights to and from Hawaii.
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When I lived in Japan I lived on the fourth apartment of the fourth floor, but it was numbered 505, because the Japanese are superstitious about the number 4 (sounds like “death”!). But hey, it was still the fourth floor, wasn’t it? I don’t think the gods of superstitions would care what number was actually on the door.
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Amanda, that is funny. I didn’t include it in the article (I couldn’t verify whether 4 sounded like death or resembled the Chinese character for death) but I found out that a lot of ANA planes don’t have row 4.
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Yeah, “shi” for four and the kanji for death. As far as the clapping is concerned, I thought that was standard for landings of all international flights? Maybe I’m just riding with a lot of superstitious people.
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But what happens if two people on a plane believe in a lucky charm? And one leaves it behind? Will leaving behind a lucky charm only be harmful for the person who owns it? Or can it affect others around them? (e.g. causing a plane to crash). Because if I carried a lucky penny and someone else forgot theirs under a seat in the gate, and the plane crashed, I’d be mightily pissed!
As for the clapping bit, I can’t stand that! The last time I heard that was a flight from Munich to Burgas two years ago. (I think it is a German thing)…although I guess at least the crew who is responsible for getting you there safely is around to hear the applause…what I hate more is the clapping at the end of a movie…(or is it for the person running the projector?)
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In Russia (at least Siberian Russia) the number two is unlucky. Since that’s kinda hard to avoid, it seems to be reserved for significant gestures. For example, if you give a gift, you try not to give something in an even number because it’s symboloic of division or splitting up. However, to my knowledge they don’t go so far as to give second floors or rows a miss.
Carlo – TSA regulations demand everyone have their lucky charms stapled to their bodies as long as they aren’t incendiary or explosive. Absence of such charms – also known as FADs (Fortuity-Assisting Devices) can adversely affect the field of probability, resulting in criminal mayhem for which passengers may be liable. It’s in the fine print.
Regarding the clapping thing. though I don’t think it’s superstition as much as silly tradition. Unless it’s live entertainment, I see no reason to applaud for someone doing their job. When the pilot or projectionist come out to give a bow, maybe I’ll reconsider but probably not.
“Thank you, Mr. Spielberg! I know you’re someplace in Hollywood Heaven, but I’m clapping for you! See me clapping? Thank you for making $100 million this weekend, invisible director!” Weird.
If there’s anyone in a theater that deserves applause, it’s whoever cleans up afterward. Just a hunch, but somehow I don’t think it was the janitor who came up with the bright idea of cheese nachos in a darkened room. I mean really, it’s like yellow plastic… what’s next, supersized bowls of soup? “Yay! Clap clap clap!”
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I’m not hooked on numbers but I do carry two Chinese lucky coins in my wallet – and when I backpacked for a few years, my lucky green tin mug, Kermit, never left my side. I only stopped backpacking when the mug broke. Superstitious? You bet!
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