WHO knew aspiring lawyers could be a superstitious lot?
Aside from burning the midnight oil to review their notes and pore over their books, bar exam takers also follow some practices believed to bring them a bit more luck when they take the grueling, four-day test.
Here’s what to do to get Lady Luck on your side.
1) Wear red underwear
Red is popularly known to be the color of luck, joy, and happiness, so it’s not a leap to think that wearing red underwear can be auspicious.
2) Wear anything red, for that matter
Your red garment doesn’t need to be limited to your undies. A red top or red shoes could also bring you luck.
3) Don’t cut your hair or shave your facial hair until the exams are over
Ellizar Castelltort, who became a full-fledged lawyer earlier this year, did not cut his hair from the time he graduated from his law studies in April 2021 until he completed the bar exams in February 2022.
“Sabi-sabi lang, para hindi mabawasan yung inaral,” Castelltort told republicasia.
He also did not shave his facial hair from the time he finished his review up to the time he completed the bar exam. This was a period of about two months.
4) Give away your review materials after you finish the bar exams
Castelltort did not hold on to his notes and his reviewer once he turned in his exam papers. This was to symbolize that he would have no need for these because he would not have to retake the bar. This was the same thinking behind the previous practice of law graduates which involved leaving their pens in the exam room after they had completed the test.
However, the bar exams are now taken on laptops, and it would be pretty hard to leave these gadgets behind.
5) Enter the exam room with your right foot first
This is to symbolize that you will always give the right answer during the test, said Castelltort.
6) Tap the topmost part of the room’s blackboard
This is to manifest that you will top the tests. It’s a practice done by bar and board exam takers alike, Castelltort noted.
7) Wear the same lucky outfit on each of the four days of the bar exam
Lawyer Eleanor Abellar wore her lucky UP shirt when she took the bar. It’s a practice that she and her classmates did to make sure fortune would favor them. The shirts can be washed in between exam days, of course.
8) Have your pens or exam permits blessed
The exams were not yet digital when Abellar took the bar. Her pen was her tool, and she and her friends brought these, along with their exam permits, to church so that these could be blessed by a priest.
9) Offer eggs to the Monasterio de Santa Clara in Quezon City
The eggs are offered to the church for when you want the nuns to pray for your intentions.
10) Pray, especially to St. Joseph of Cupertino
St. Joseph of Cupertino is known as the patron saint of taking tests. Castelltort said he prayed every day to this saint from the day he started his review up to the day he completed the bar exam.
Nothing to lose in trying
Castelltort is well aware that these practices or superstitions aren’t necessarily rooted in science.
But these helped him feel that luck is on his side.
“It’s more of a mental game,” he said.
Doing these things has been a tradition of sorts for aspiring lawyers, he noted, and it would not hurt to try them.
“Why not just do it? Wala naman mawawala,” he said.
Photo credit: Philippine News Agency
