When Do You Make Your Wish?

Greetings to All

During our childhood we all are exposed to several articles of faith. One of them is the belief that if you make a wish at a certain occasion, that wish is most likely to come true.  In our lives these articles of faith serve a very useful purpose; they help us negotiate through the harshness of life.

Have you ever tried to circumambulate a Neelkanth (Blue Jay)?  In 1957 when  I was about ten years old, a friend of mine confided to me that if I circumambulate a Neelkanth (Blue Jay) sitting on  a tree, pole or electric wires seven times and then make a wish, my that wish was guranteed to come true.

I have never been able to test the truthfulness in the claim. I have tried several times, but till today, I have never succeeded in making more than two circles of any Blue Jay. Do what I may the clever bird some how senses what I am trying to do and flies off -leaving my wish-making incomplete. I dare you to try this feat and confirm if you could reach the wish making stage (when you write a comment to this blog).

 

I am not sure if we all realize how tenaciously we hold on to such article of faith specially those inbibed in our child hood. Having grown up and even after realizing the folly of our article of faith we continue to be loyal and remain partial to that belief. I still hope to be able to defeat some Blue Jay some day!

 

People around the globe have their own favorite occassions for making wishes.  I have collated below some commonly believed  ‘wish-making’ instances. Relive in the list below your favorite wish making occassions and add a few new ones to your compilation.

 

Are there some occassions  you know for wish making not in the list below?   Would like to share them with others? If you have some new ones or variations of  these write them out in your comments to this blog.

 

Enjoy ……

 

  Blowing out candles on a birthday cake Make a wish before you blow out the candles on your birthday cake.   

Wishing when blowing off a fallen eyelash off of a  finger .

   Blowing  off dandelion achenes.     

                               

Tossing a coin into a wishing well or fountain.Throw a coin in a fountain; make a wish when the water clears so you can see your reflection.

     Locking pinky fingers with someone who just said the same thing as you at the same time (as an alternative to a “jinx”).

  Wishing on seeing a shooting star.

  Seeing the time 11:11 on a clock.

  

Finding, or breaking, the wishbone in a turkey or a chicken (

Another version, you and a friend will pull on the two ends of the wishbone. Whoever gets the “joint” as well as their “leg” gets the wish.!

OR

Make a wish with another person on a wishbone. Each takes an end and pulls until it breaks. The person with the largest piece of bone gets the “lucky break” and the wish. 

When a lady bug lands on you and you make a wish before it flies off.

     

When you catch a feather and blow it off your hand.

 When you see 8 magpies together.

Touch blue and your wish will come true.

 

Make a wish each time you eat a green M&M .

Make a wish when you see three birds on a telephone wire.

  

Put a watermelon seed on your forehead and make a wish before it falls off.

 Make a wish on the first star you see in the evening.  

 

 Make a wish on a new pair of shoes before you wear them for the first time. 

 Make a wish on the first robin you see in the spring. 

 Find a penny, wear it in your left shoe, and your wish will come true. 

  

Wishes made on Midsummer’s Eve (June 23) are most likely to come true.

Hold your breath and make a wish while crossing a short straight bridge.

 

In households in the Indian sub-continents when kerosene lanterns,  lamps were lit in the evening for the first time a wish for well being was always made. Now with the electricity becoming available in most house holds the wish making continues when bulbs are switched on in the evenings. .