{"id":11558,"date":"2020-03-23T23:00:23","date_gmt":"2020-03-23T23:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/?p=11558"},"modified":"2020-03-23T10:19:37","modified_gmt":"2020-03-23T10:19:37","slug":"german-lucky-charms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/german\/german-lucky-charms\/","title":{"rendered":"German Lucky Charms"},"content":{"rendered":"

Guten Tag! I hope everybody is well. Last time on the blog I talked about the extensive use of the word Schwein<\/strong> (pig) in the German language.<\/p>\n

If you read that post, you might now be wondering why<\/em> the word Schwein is used in so many sayings and expressions in Germany. There are two theories, that date back to the Mittelalter<\/strong> (Middle Ages). One theory is that the ace in a deck of cards back then was nicknamed the Sau<\/strong> (swine). Of course, if you know card games then you know the ace is the highest card, so whoever drew the Sau was lucky. The other theory also dates back to the Mittelalter, when owning a pig was a sign of wealth and prosperity. Because times were difficult, you were considered to have a lot of Gl\u00fcck<\/strong> (luck) if you owned a pig.<\/p>\n

The pig is still considered a lucky charm in Germany today. Das Gl\u00fccksschwein<\/strong> is a miniature marzipan pig that is traditionally given as a good luck gift at Neujahr<\/strong> (New Year) in Germany. But it can also be given in other forms, such as little wooden or glass figurines.<\/p>\n

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Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

Other Gl\u00fccksbringer<\/strong> (lucky charms) in Germany include der Fliegenpilz<\/strong> (fly agaric or \u2018toadstool\u2019 mushroom), which is so lucky it even goes by another name: der Gl\u00fcckspilz<\/strong> (\u2018lucky mushroom\u2019). The same goes for der Cent<\/strong> (a cent), which becomes der Gl\u00fcckscent<\/strong>, and der Marienk\u00e4fer<\/strong> (ladybird), which becomes der Gl\u00fccksk\u00e4fer<\/strong> (\u2018lucky bug\u2019).<\/p>\n

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Several lucky German charms in one place! Chimney sweeps and four-leaf clovers are also considered lucky. Image: Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

I realised whilst writing this post that I have a Gl\u00fcckscent, Gl\u00fccksk\u00e4fer,<\/strong> and a little glass Gl\u00fccksschwein<\/strong> right here in my office!<\/p>\n

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My German Gl\u00fccksbringer!<\/p><\/div>\n

The penny inside my Gl\u00fccksschwein is not a German Cent, but rather a Pfennig<\/strong>, because I got this glass pig around the time when Germany changed from the Deutsche Mark<\/strong> to the Euro. So it\u2019s not a Gl\u00fcckscent in my case, but a Gl\u00fcckspfennig<\/strong> (\u2018lucky penny\u2019).<\/p>\n

Next time I will talk more about the word Gl\u00fcck<\/strong>, and clear up a common area of confusion surrounding this word.<\/p>\n

Bis dann<\/strong> (until then)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

Guten Tag! I hope everybody is well. Last time on the blog I talked about the extensive use of the word Schwein (pig) in the German language. If you read that post, you might now be wondering why the word Schwein is used in so many sayings and expressions in Germany. There are two theories…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":119,"featured_media":11562,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3,8,913],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11558","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-language","category-traditions"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t