Changing the clocks is not only a reason to make sure all devices are set correctly, but also to reflect on the importance people have long attached to time. Many superstitions and prejudices are associated with clocks: some concern the stopping of the mechanism, others a broken dial, or identical numbers on a digital display. Styler gathered the most common beliefs and explained how to distinguish modern prejudices from traditional folk ideas.
Stopped clocks: from funeral custom to symbol of stagnation
In superstitious views, clocks that suddenly stopped working were often associated with disturbing events, illness, or even the death of a loved one. A coincidence where the hands stopped right at the moment a person died was considered especially eerie. Such an event was perceived as a symbolic sign of the end of life's journey. The belief has historical parallels in European folklore: in Ireland and Great Britain, there was a funeral custom of intentionally stopping clocks in a house after someone's death. In some cases, this marked the time of death so that those coming to say goodbye could see it. Over time, this custom and the belief about clocks supposedly stopping by themselves at the moment of death could become intertwined in folk tales. In modern interpretations, a stopped clock also sometimes symbolizes stagnation in affairs, delays, or the completion of a certain stage of life. In real life, however, a clock stopping usually has quite prosaic causes: a dead battery, a mechanical failure, or the need to wind it.
Broken clocks: not to be confused with a broken mirror
Broken clocks can also cause anxiety in people prone to looking for symbolic meaning in random events. In certain mystical interpretations, broken clocks are associated with the need to let go of the past, reconsider plans, or pay attention to what a person constantly postpones. At the same time, it is important to distinguish between a broken clock and a broken mirror: the sign of seven years of bad luck after breaking a mirror is widely known in Western tradition, but there are no grounds to automatically apply it to clocks. In modern superstitious interpretations, damage to things is sometimes associated with upcoming changes or the end of a certain period of life.
11:11 on a digital display: a modern tradition with archival confirmation
Seeing 11:11 on an electronic clock and making a wish is a popular modern tradition. Some consider this moment special and try to mentally formulate their most cherished wish before the numbers change. The existence of such a belief is documented by the USC Digital Folklore Archives — the digital folklore archive of the University of Southern California. The archive collects stories of people making wishes at 11:11, as well as their explanations of where they learned about this habit. Researchers, however, draw attention to an important nuance: identical numbers in this format are especially noticeable specifically on a digital display. Therefore, this belief is more connected with modern culture, and it should not be considered an ancient traditional custom.
Clocks as a gift: Chinese tradition and normal practice
Clocks are not considered a lucky gift in all cultures. In Chinese tradition, giving a clock can have an undesirable symbolic meaning due to the consonance of Chinese expressions related to giving a clock and seeing a person off on their final journey. Specialists at the USC Digital Folklore Archives note that such a gift can be perceived as a hint of the transience of life or its end. Meanwhile, in many other countries, a clock can be a completely normal gift for a birthday, anniversary, or other important event — and there is nothing troubling about it.
Time in traditional culture: from calendar to construction rituals
In traditional culture, time mattered not only for everyday life. It was associated with calendar holidays, rituals, economic work, and ideas about favorable and unfavorable moments for certain tasks. Ethnologist Roman Syletskyi, in his study of traditional concepts of time, describes beliefs according to which certain days, months, and hours were considered lucky or unfavorable. These ideas could be traced even in construction rituals: starting the construction of a house, people uttered wishes that the work would begin "at a good time, in a good hour," and the new home would bring prosperity to the family. The folk calendar also occupied a special place: holidays and the Eves of major holidays were perceived as special periods when the usual order of life changed — certain household chores were postponed, while certain ritual actions, on the contrary, were performed precisely on specific days.
