Something made me really laugh while watching Celebrity Countdown one weekend – the contestants bring in a lucky mascot. Well, Josie, she brought in the weirdest selection of ‘lucky’ items I think the show had seen! It included an aged conker, a strange little donkey that her friend had bought for her while on holiday and a key from her dead grandmother’s house – her entire collection is kept together in case each item plays a different part in her luck – and if she were to remove one of them, she would be scared that it might upset the lucky balance.
…and all this got me thinking about lucky charms or totems for competitions!
My husband has a lucky black cat enamel badge that he kept in his pocket while he was competition in sidecar racing. He never came last! I don’t have a lucky object to carry around but I ALWAYS salute single magpies – even driving in the car; it’s lucky that I haven’t crashed so far! I also try out winning holiday competitions when I see a small white feather.
Lucky charms have a deep history. From way back to the dark ages, people thought that objects and sights held special lucky powers. I think this is so interesting because science cannot prove that luck cannot exist. Also, as we read in the blog post about Luck, science has actually proved that people that think themselves lucky ARE generally luckier!
I’d carry anything around with me if it meant I would win a family holiday. So, if I see competitions featuring any of these lucky creatures or symbols – I’m going to enter! Why don’t we ALL do it!
Bat – Is a Chinese creature of luck, The Chinese word for bat is Fu, and that means Good Luck – so that’s a great one to start with! They were particularly lucky in happiness and wealth – so a charm that has something to do with bats might help with winning cash prizes!
Beetle – Egyptians thought that scarab beetles contained the power of the sun. So maybe a lucky beetle might help us win a holiday!
Elephant – In India, the elephant is a potent luck symbol for wealth. They report that for any elephant object to be lucky – the trunk must be upturned.
Four-leaf clover – Many of you know how lucky these are – and you can actually buy them now! Encased in glass, they can be worn as pendants for necklaces or carried around or pocket totems.
- Sixpence – If you are trying to win a wedding day, then maybe a lucky sixpence is your thing? Brides traditionally attracted luck by wearing one in their shoe. I think I’d rather carry one around as falling over because I’ve got a coin in my shoe might not grant me much luck, but you never know!
So – we want all your lucky charm stories! Are you going to capture some luck with the suggestions above, or have you already got one? Let us know all about it!