Things Are Getting Strange, I'm Starting To Worry...

...This must be a case for Mulder and Scully.

Happy Friday 13th! And what better day to finally write up this article.

The X-Files was fairly popular in Japan a few years back and most of the students know the names of the two FBI agents. It's a nice introduction for one of my favourite lessons; superstitions. It doesnt focus on language building too much, more a cultural lesson, but it's very interesting finding out which superstitions are the same here as back home, as well as which students are 'Mulders' and which are 'Scullys'.

What follows is a list of superstitions that bring good and bad luck:

-As I've posted already, the numbers 4 and 9 are unlucky, meaning death and suffering, respectively. Interestingly, they add up to 13.
-You shouldn't whistle at night as it attracts snakes. According to some students, there's some truth to this.
-You also shouldn't cut your nails after midnight. Wait until the morning. No explanation.
-It's unlucky to sleep with your head to the North as this is the direction the dead are positioned in.
-On the subject of death: if you see a funeral car you have to hide your thumbs in your fists, wrapping your fingers around them. In Japanese, the name for thumb literally translates as 'parent finger' and if you don't cover them when a hearse passes, you can't see your parents after you die.
-Still with death: if you return from a funeral, someone has to throw a small amount of salt at you before you enter your house, in order to ward off bad spirits.
-Apparently, finding a spider in your room in the morning is good luck in Japan, whereas finding one at night is bad. I'd beg to differ; both seem like bad news to me.
-It is bad etiquette to stick your chopsticks directly into food; rather you should attack the food from the side. On top of this, food should never be passed between chopsticks; rather you should put it on a plate for the other person. Both deal with the symbolism of bones at funerals. A morbid lot, the Japanese, eh!
-Many Japanese eat fried pork before exams or interviews as the food's name is 'tonkatsu' - 'kat-ta' is the verb meaning 'to win'.
-If someone is ill, friends and relatives collectively make 1000 cranes from origami, and tie them together in groups, with thread. Then they are hung up around the patient's bedroom, for good health. 1000! Dedicated as well as morbid.
-My favourite: "maneki neko" - which means 'welcoming/inviting cat'. It's history is very interesting and, although there are many versions of the story, the majority are very similar. The main gist is that a nobleman is travelling along a road and a cat waves his paw at him. Intrigued, the man goes to look and, just in time, is saved by some terrible fate - a wagon or lightning and so on. From this, it was believed that cats are clever and intuitive. Many shops and members of the public display/carry one; a raised right paw attracts money, while a raised left paw attracts customers.

This is mine:
So, the big question is: Are you a Mulder or a Scully?