Learn the superstitions about wishing someone a happy birthday and if shards bring good luck or bad luck
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Eric: Hello and welcome to Culture Class: German Superstitions and Beliefs, Lesson 1 - Wishing Someone Happy Birthday and Shards Bringing Good or Bad Luck. I'm Eric, and I'm joined by Jennifer. |
| Jennifer: Hallo! Hi, I'm Jennifer. |
| THE TWO SUPERSTITIONS |
| Eric: In this lesson we will talk about two common superstitions in Germany. The first superstition is about bad luck. What’s it called in German? |
| Jennifer: Zum Geburtstag gratulieren |
| Eric: Which literally means "wishing happy birthday." Jennifer, can you repeat the German phrase again? |
| Jennifer: [slow] Zum Geburtstag gratulieren [normal] Zum Geburtstag gratulieren |
| Eric: Jennifer, isn’t your birthday coming up soon? |
| Jennifer: Yeah, in about a week. |
| Eric: So how do you say “Happy Birthday” in German? |
| Jennifer: I’ll tell you on my birthday, but not before. |
| Eric: Why not? |
| Jennifer: In Germany, it's believed that wishing somebody a happy birthday in advance brings bad luck. |
| Eric: Oh right. In general, Germans think that you can’t be too sure of something before it really happens. |
| Jennifer: The same goes for birthdays. |
| Eric: So I’ll tell you happy birthday on your birthday and not before. |
| Jennifer: Much obliged. |
| Eric: The second superstition is about good luck. What’s it called in German? |
| Jennifer: Bringen Scherben Glück oder Unglück? |
| Eric: Which literally means "Do shards bring good luck or bad luck?" Let’s hear it in German again. |
| Jennifer: [slow] Bringen Scherben Glück oder Unglück? [normal] Bringen Scherben Glück oder Unglück? |
| Eric: So in Germany, do shards of glass bring good luck or bad luck? |
| Jennifer: Hard to say. It's a little bit of both. |
| Eric: Because glass was once very expensive, it was seen as bad luck when glass broke. |
| Jennifer: So, after a glass broke, people would say Scherben bringen Glück. |
| Eric: Which means “shards bring luck.” This way, the bad luck would be counteracted. |
| Jennifer: So depending on what you do, shards can bring good or bad luck. |
Outro |
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| Eric: There you have it - two German superstitions! Are they similar to any of your country’s superstitions? Let us know in the comments! |
| Jennifer: Auf Wiedersehen! |
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