Comparative Analysis of British and Russian Superstitions

MAEI “Centre of Education № 13 Named

after the Soviet Union Hero N.A. Kuznetsov”

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF BRITISH AND RUSSIAN SUPERSTITIONS

PRESENTERS:

… ,

pupils of the 8 th form

TEACHER OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE:

Dolgova E. V.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of the project was to compare the superstitions

in Britain and in Russia and find out

their similarities and differences.

The main objectives were to select common superstitions of both countries, to do research

on their roots and meanings and analyze their usage

in Britain and in Russia.

Superstitions are "irrational beliefs, especially with regard to the unknown"

BLACK CATS IN RUSSIA

It is unlucky to meet a black cat in Russia. This is a sign of bad luck when this animal crosses your road.

can bring bad luck

BLACK CATS

Black cats are featured on many good luck greetings cards and birthday cards in England

can bring luck according to British people

WOOD

BRITISH PEOPLE TOUCH WOOD TO MAKE SOMETHING COME TRUE

WOOD

RUSSIAN PEOPLE KNOCK ON WOOD TO BRING GOOD LUCK AND NOT TO GET BAD LUCK

over the door brings good luck

HORSESHOE

But the horseshoe needs to be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horseshoe if it is upside down.

There are two explanations to it. The first one says that the devil is doomed to rush about from one end to another. The second legend says that once a blacksmith decided to punish a devil and banned him from entering the house with a horseshoe.

NUMBER OF LEAVES

British people believe that it is lucky

to find a clover plant with four leaves

NUMBER OF LEAVES

Some people even believe that if you found such a flower you need to eat it to be lucky.

the five-leaf lilac flower is

a sign of luck in Russia

DON’T WALK UNDER …

a ladder. It brings bad luck

DON’T WALK UNDER …

two electric poles which form the Russian letter “Л”

It is thought that this superstition might have originated in Egypt thousands of years ago. The Egyptians strongly believed in the power of the pyramids. So much so that even a ladder leaning against a wall formed a triangle which symbolized a pyramid. They believed that walking under a ladder would break the ‘power’ of the pyramid and bring bad luck.

BROKEN MIRROR

It is the same superstition for Russians and British. It is supposed to have originated in ancient times, when mirrors were considered to be tools of the gods.

seven years of bad luck

SPILLED SALT

is said to cause a fight or argument during the day

HAIRCUT

if you cut your hair when the Moon is waxing, you will have good luck

HAIRCUT

These ideas are connected to the common beliefs that life on our planet somehow corresponds to the Moon cycles.

In Russia people believe that if you cut your hair when the Moon is waxing, your hair will grow very soon and will be strong and healthy

DIFFERENT IN BELIEFS

British think that on the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbits, white rabbits," before uttering your first word of the day.

DIFFERENT IN BELIEFS

Russians puzzle foreigners by their traditional “sitting before the road”

CONCLUSION

• there are a lot of superstitions shared in Britain and in Russia at the same time

• most of them have common roots

• some superstitions are unique and have not got similar variants

THANK YOU FOR ATTENTION!

Resources http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/magazine/superstitions http://study-english.info/topic-superstitions.php http://www.historic-uk.com/CultureUK/British-Superstitions/ http://www.projectbritain.com/superstitions.htm https://rg.ru/2010/09/10/rbth-primety.html https://www.bloomsbury-international.com/images/ezone/ebook/britishculture-superstitions.pdf