Did somebody scold you for flipping from May to June a few days early, telling you it’s bad luck to flip a calendar early? Well, you’re not alone, it’s probably happened to a lot us. Across the globe, kids flip their calendar ahead for a lot of reasons. Maybe they’re planning out how to save up their allowance for a video game? Or maybe they’re wanting to hurry time up so their birthday comes sooner and they can get all those sweet presents? Either way, a parent usually intervenes and insists that flipping the calendar over early is bad luck!
So, in this article we’re going to try to get to the bottom of why people think flipping a calendar early is bad luck. Spoilers: it’s not clear. Also, we’re going to pay Germany a visit, to see if they’ve got anything to do with this. Heck, maybe there’s some logic to not flipping a calendar early—we’ll think about that too. Finally, we’ll make a judgment on it and decide, once and for all, is flipping your calendar early bad luck or not.
Why Do We Believe Flipping A Calendar Early Is Bad Luck?
Like a lot of superstitions, the origins of this one aren’t exactly clear. In fact, they’re not clear at all.
It seems that the superstition is simply rooted in our fear of the future. Moreover, it’s likely that people are afraid to “tempt fate”. There’s an idea that if we look into the future too much, maybe we’ll inadvertently invite misfortune. Belief being, that if we flip the calendar ahead a month before time, that the whole month will then be filled with terrible luck.
Maybe It’s An Extension Of Another Superstition? Happy Birthday!
Upon investigation, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of historical footing for this superstition. So, maybe it’s an extension of another superstition?
Have you ever wished somebody happy birthday a day too early? Only for them to frown and suggest you’ve given them bad luck? Well, unlike the calendar flipping superstition, wishing happy birthday early is a well documented and widely held belief around the world.
It is believed that this tradition first began in Germany. In fact, the German’s take this belief so far, that they actually gather the night before a person’s birthday and being to celebrate up to the stroke of midnight. As the clock the strikes twelve, then and only then, do Germans wish happy birthday!
So, it’s easy to understand how we could have taken a traditionally held belief—like the early birthday wishes bad luck belief—and extended it to include flipping the calendar over early.
Is There Any Logic To It?
Lots of traditional superstitions turn out to have good sense behind them. Like, for example, in our “Is Eating In The Dark Bad Luck?” article, it actually turns out that—when you really think about it—eating in the old-timey dark would have been very, very silly indeed. Without artificial light, we wouldn’t have been able to see if our food was clean and safe, or if it had, say, for example, a scorpion on it!
So, here’s the question: can we find any similar logic behind the superstition that turning over the calendar ahead of time is bad luck? Well, there’s definitely at least a little sense in avoiding turning the calendar too soon. For example, if you flip the calendar too early, when you look at it, you could get your days mixed up and miss an important appointment. It’d be a terrible shame to miss your appointment to get the oil changed before a big road trip. Other than that, though, there isn’t really much sense to it.
Conclusion – Is It Bad Luck To Flip A Calendar Early?
So, after having looked at the origins of this superstition, along with any possible logic associated with it, it’s probably the case that flipping the calendar a month early doesn’t really engender bad luck. Having said that, though, it still remains an interesting tradition. After all, it is something you will hear time and time again. If anybody ever catches you flipping the calendar early—you’ll be treated like a convicted luck criminal! So, over all, this superstition probably deserves it’s spot in the “maybe” pile!
Remember, though, you make your own luck!
Here’s the final answer:
Is it bad luck to flip your calendar a month early? Maybe.
