Growing Up Filipino-American: 7 Crazy Superstitions

Common Superstitions Encountered by the Average Filipino-American Living with Relatives Born in the Philippines

When I was 3 years old, my parents flew us to the United States from the Philippines. They sincerely believed that the USA could offer greater opportunity for their family; they took the risk to relocate to a foreign land and leave the comfort of the country they were both familiar with: the Philippines. Thirty-four years later, I am so grateful that they had the courage to make that international move into another country. I can't imagine living and growing up anywhere else.

Although they left the Philippines more than 34 years ago, along with them they took their Filipino culture which was embedded in their actions and demeanor. Because they were my parents, they sprinkled my life with their rich Filipino traditions through the way they raised me. Moreover, other relatives like my aunts, uncles and grandmother also taught me to embrace my Filipino culture and to never forget where I came from.

Some traditions they taught me were grand and were worthy of self-pride, however, others, like the 7 crazy superstitions below, were traditions I'd rather distance myself from being associated with to protect my own credibility as well as to stay true to my Catholic beliefs. I can only take the superstitions as they are: mere superstitions.

I call them "Filipino" superstitions only because I first heard of them from my Filipino relatives. I have yet to hear of these superstitions through any non-Filipino channel.

Crazy Filipino superstition 1: "Turn your plate."
My mother would instruct my sister and I to turn our plates whenever someone left the table during a meal. By turning our plates, we were ensuring that the individual who left the table would arrive at their destination safely. Failure to 'turn your plate' would prove an ultimate demise for the person who just left. Wouldn't it have been more polite if that person just waited for everyone to finish eating before leaving?