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1Current Superstitions

By Fanny Dickerson Bergen

No matter how enlightened, chances are you've been raised around superstitious lore of one kind or another. Fanny Dickerson Bergen was one of the original researchers of North American oral traditions relating to such key life events and experiences as babyhood and childhood, marriage, wishes and dreams, luck, warts and cures, death omens and mortuary customs, and "such truck," as Huck Finn would say.<br /><br /> You'll be surprised at how many of these old saws you'll know. Here's a quote from Chapter One, Babyhood:<br /><br />Monday’s child is fair of face,<br />Tuesday’s child is full of grace,<br />Wednesday’s child is sour and sad,<br />Thursday’s child is merry and glad,<br />Friday’s child is loving and giving,<br />Saturday’s child must work for a living;<br />But the child that is born on the Sabbath day<br />Is blithe and bonny, good and gay.<br />--Baldwinsville, N. Y.<br /><br /> All of these readings are as short as 5 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes, with plenty of pithy one-liners in the form of proverbs, always given with the locale they came from in Canada or the United States (with clear influences in British tradition). (summary by Denny Sayers)

Robert van Bergen was one of the first Americans to enter Japan after the country opened its borders to foreign visitors following centuries of isolation. He taught English to Japanese aristocrats, eventually becoming principal of the Nobles' School in Tokyo. This book, which he wrote for young readers during his stay in the country, was first published in 1897. It includes many illustrations.<br><br> From the preface: "Our schoolbooks on geography and general history touch but lightly upon the Japanese Empire, and it is for the purpose of enabling children to obtain a correct idea of the people, and of the impulses leading to the rapid progress of the past quarter of a century, that "The Story of Japan" has been written. [...] While the thread of historical events runs throughout this book, many incidents and characteristic stories have been cited to illustrate the manners and customs of the various periods. As the book is designed for children, the stories are clothed in simple form and language, which will, it is hoped, render them attractive to the young mind." (Summary by Kazbek)