All of us experience pre-exam stress and nervousness that can make us do some pretty bizarre things. Using a lucky pen to write the paper, carrying a lucky charm to the exam hall, eating special food and praying are some of the more common ones.
Here are 7 exam rituals followed by students across the world to make sure they clear their tests with flying colors:
Slippery Seaweed
In South Korea, the widely eaten seaweed soup is given a pass on the day of the exam. Why? Because people believe the slippery nature of seaweed will cause all the knowledge to ‘slip’ out of the brain and the student will end up forgetting everything during the exam. It is also believed to bring bad luck. So, to combat this, students in South Korea believe in eating yeot, a type of sticky candy, before an exam, so that all the knowledge sticks to their brain, thus bringing good luck and good marks.
Pork Slice
Cutting a roast pig in half is an age-old tradition followed in Hong Kong. After taking all exams, students return to their halls and get one try at chopping a roast pig in two halves. If successful, they believe they will pass all exams; if not, they might have to re-take some. After this ceremony, they eat kiwis, since the Chinese word for kiwi translates roughly to ‘easy to pass exams’.
Chicken Soup
In several Asian countries like South Korea, China, Malaysia and Singapore, it is believed that drinking chicken broth or chicken juice before an exam helps boost the brain and increase concentration. Chicken juice is especially marketed in Singapore during the exam season for this very purpose.
No Handshake
In Zambia, it is believed that shaking hands with anyone on the day of the exam will lead to all knowledge slipping right out of that hand! So, people avoid shaking hands with anyone before the exam so as to not let anyone ‘steal’ their knowledge.
Lucky Underpants
In the UK and China, students have a special pair of lucky underwear that they wear on the day of the exam to boost their luck. Red is considered to be one of the luckiest colors in China, so people often prefer to wear a bit of red clothing on the day of their exams, some even wear red underwear! And so, anytime someone passes with flying colors, there is a saying in Chinese that translates to “are you wearing red underwear?”
Superpass
In Hong Kong, university students gather for a ‘superpass’ or a series of activities that will help them get good grades in exams. One important activity at a superpass dinner is eating pork cubes with cashews, since the Chinese word for “cashews” is a homophone for the word “wish to pass”, and “pork cubes” a homophone for “desire for a distinction”
No Eggs
In several countries, many parents ban their kids from eating eggs on the day of the exam. Why?Well, it looks a lot like zero and having an egg on such an important day may lead to them scoring a zero!
Do you have any exam rituals that you swear by? Tell us below!
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