Tejesh Week 3: No Eating Meat on Saturdays
Superstitions.
People have mixed opinions about them. I am sure that, for some of you reading this, you may not believe in them. Others, like me, are strong believers in them.
The superstitions that I follow have been passed down through my family to me and my older brother, and they play a relatively big role in shaping my everyday life. There are too many for me to go into detail about here, but I would like to talk about two of my most impactful superstitions.
For many of the Hindus reading this, you may know about the bad luck that comes with cutting your nails or hair past 6 PM. My family takes this belief to the next level, as we also do not cut them on Tuesdays or Fridays. You might think to yourself, “Oh, well, that can’t be that bad. Right? It’s just two days of the week.” I cannot tell you how infuriating it is to have overgrown nails on a Tuesday, or after 6 PM, with a whole afternoon of free time but still having to wait until the next day, when your whole schedule is packed and there is essentially no time to do so in peace (yes, I am slow at cutting my nails). Even worse is missing the opportunity to reserve an appointment with my barber on a Friday evening and then having him be booked over the weekend. As a result, I am forced to either wait for a couple of weeks or be forced by my parents to go to Lori’s and accept my fate (if you know, you know).
The second superstition, and the one I have had a love-hate relationship with, is the disrespect towards God that comes with eating meat on a Saturday. Gosh, I can’t recall how many times I’ve been at some party or event and have had to restrain myself from blitzing toward the tender, juicy chicken or sour fish that just melts in my mouth. I remember how often I would think to myself when I was younger about how I wish this superstition took place on a day like Wednesday instead.
Despite everything I have said so far, I didn’t write this blog to rant about my frequent feelings of frustration towards the superstitions I follow. In fact, I’m extremely proud of myself for almost never giving in to my desires. The reason that I never did so in the first place is because I love my parents and appreciate them for giving me such a prosperous life, and I feel the least I can do for them is to inherit their beliefs. The message I want to leave is that although you may not agree with your parents on many subjects, I feel that you should listen to some of their beliefs, not always because they are meaningful to you, but because of the love you have for your parents.
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| Image from Jessica Xing |
Hi Tejesh, like you, my family also follows superstitions; however, unlike you, I never really bothered to follow them. I'm not supposed to eat meat on Tuesdays, but I never really cared for superstitions such as this one and kept eating meat regularly. Your perspective on superstitions was intriguing to me, as I have hardly seen anyone who consistently follows superstitions set by their family.
ReplyDeleteI wish you had further elaborated on your mention of “lori’s,” as I would really like to know what this means, but I cannot find it anywhere. References like this are really cool when the reader can relate to it; however, this time, I could not.
Reinforcing that you follow these superstitions in order to respect your parents makes me respect you more as a person, as you make your life inconvenient just to show how much you love your parents. The image showing those different superstitions was really nice, as it was a comedic yet thoughtful way of mentioning superstitions that were not discussed deeply in the blog.
Overall, fantastic blog; I wish to see more from you in the future.
Hi Tejesh, your blog was really compelling! For me, my family does not really believe in superstitions at all, so I don’t have that much exposure to them. It was interesting to learn about two superstitions that affect your life pretty often. I had never heard about not cutting your hair or nails after 6 PM; however, I have heard about practices of not eating meat on a specific day. It is interesting how different people practice it on different days, like you practice it on Saturday, but other people do not eat meat on Fridays.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your sense of humor throughout the post! Your specific quips when talking about your frustrations and the troubles of practicing your superstitions were really funny. It’s nice that you continue to practice them (despite the occasional trouble) as a form of appreciation for your parents.
Your image got me thinking about the portrayal of superstitions. When I looked at it, I immediately recognized all the superstitions shown, even though there was not any description of them. All the superstitions in the image are often seen as silly when portrayed in television shows or movies, since superstitions are not seen as very important in Western culture. Meanwhile, the superstitions that you talk about are a common and significant practice, and they are rarely shown in the media, which I thought was interesting.
Your blog was really insightful but also light and funny. I liked your use of a one-word paragraph to begin your blog. It added an almost eerie feeling that is commonly associated with superstitions, so that was a unique stylistic choice that I found really compelling. I’m curious about the other superstitions that you follow as well!
Once again, I’m delighted to see you talk about culture. As I consider you a good friend of mine, I love learning about my friends’ cultures and beliefs. This allows me to understand you guys more and more as people in society.
ReplyDeleteI, too, have my fair share of believing in superstitions. Like not cutting fingernails or toenails at night and not looking into mirrors in the dark or at night. I feel like these superstitions that were told to us as kids may come from real-world experiences our elders may have had. Some might make sense; some completely don’t. Maybe they told me not to cut my nails at night since it’s dark and I might hurt myself — who knows?
But at the end of the day, as you said, we should choose to believe in these superstitions not because of their logical reasoning or scientific evidence, but because of our love for our elders and understanding that their intentions were always for us to be safe and cared for.
Hey Tejesh, while I don’t have any superstitions, my family certainly does. My mom has a really big superstition during Chinese New Years where we have to pray 6 times for good luck and prosperity. While I don’t believe in it at all, I still do it every year for my mom. Just like you said, superstitions go much further than just being unlucky. It shows a lot about your commitment, resilience, and love. I really respect your unwavering faith in your family's superstitions; if I saw that juicy tender chicken, it would be gone the moment my parents turned their backs. I really appreciate your final message as it reminded me that family is the most important thing; nothing can beat your parent’s love.
ReplyDeleteI also really like the sense of humor that you added throughout your post; it really makes the blog engaging and appeals to my excitement. While I have never been to Lori’s or stressed over barber appointments, I still find myself laughing at your references. I think these niche, personal additions in your blogs really allows it to stand out and be engaging. I really can’t wait to read your blog next week and see what other references you add!