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It's bad luck to walk under a ladder. This came from the early Christian belief that a leaning ladder formed a triangle with the wall and ground. You must never violate the Holy Trinity by walking through a triangle, lest you be considered in league with the devil. (And you all know what good Christians did to people they suspected of being in league with the devil.)
Beware of Friday the Thirteenth. Those who know about these things, inform us that Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden on a Friday, Noah's flood started on a Friday, and Christ was crucified on a Friday. Christians also noted that twelve witches plus one devil are present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination.
God Bless You. During the sixth century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.
Don't spill the salt. Although some people believe that Judas spilt salt during the last supper, this claim can't be proven. Salt was a very precious expensive commodity in the middle ages. It was also used for medicinal purposes. If you spilled any, you must immediately throw it over your left shoulder to strike the nasty spirits in the eye, thus preventing sickness.
Wear a St. Christopher Medal when you travel. Historians don't believe there ever was a Saint Christopher.
Black cats are evil. In ancient Egypt, the Goddess Bast, was a black female cat. Christian priests wanted to wipe out all traces of other religions so convinced their ignorant followers to destroy the evil demons that were black cats. While they were at it, they destroyed the kindly little old ladies who cared for the cats believing them to be witches.
Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home. It is bad luck to kill a ladybug because it represents the Virgin Mary.
Pie In The Sky. Of course, this means to search for the impossible dream but it originated in the early 1900's. A famous labor organizer named Joe Hill was extremely critical of the clergy's treatment of slaves. He wrote a tune called 'The Preacher and the Slave" accusing the clergy of making false promises of a better life in heaven while people starved on earth. The song goes: 'Work and pray, live on hay. You'll get pie in the sky when you die. That's a lie!'
Skin Of Your Teeth. This saying means to barely escape from a harrowing situation. It comes from Job 19:20, where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him. Poor Job had all his animals stolen, his children die, his house collapse and his body covered with sores. Job has this to say; "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."
Fleshpot. - Today 'fleshpot' describes decadence. In the time of Moses, it was a large pot in which to boil meat. Somehow, preachers managed to change the meaning to scare their flock about 'sins of the flesh'.
To make a scapegoat. - The poor scapegoat gets the punishment for everyone else's mistakes. God condoned this cruelty to animals in Leviticus 16:7-10 "And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats; one lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat." The scapegoat got to escape, and carry the tribe's sins into the wilderness, to be eaten by some animal instead of being offered alive as a sacrifice for the Lord.
Christmas and the Star of Bethlehem. - There is no historical evidence that Christ was born on December 25th. December 25th was officially adopted by Bishop Liberius of Rome in 354. December 25th occurs during the rainy season in the Holy Land, so it is highly unlikely that shepherds would be outside in their pastures. The Hayden Planetarium in New York recreated the heavens as they were in the time that Christ was allegedly born. Although nothing spectacular happened in the skies on the date of Christ's birth, the Planetarium went back to the year 6 B.C. On that date, there were three stars in close proximity which created a spectacularly bright beacon, which may account for the stories of the Star of Bethlehem. The most plausible reason that December 25 was chosen as a day to celebrate Christ's birth was that the Christian fathers were trying to compete with another growing religion, Mithraism - the worship of a sun god - whose holy day was also December 25.
Easter - The name "Easter' derives from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon dawn goddess. She was traditionally honored at the beginning of spring. Easter wasn't celebrated in North America until after the Civil War when religious leaders decided that the country needed a holiday which stressed rebirth.
"I have heard that the number 13 is unlucky because of the number of attendees of the last supper. I don't have a handy reference however." - pbunt@indiana.edu
"I read in a book on superstitions some time ago that the reason we are encouraged to hold our hand over our mouth when we yawn so as not to let the Devil into our mouth." - Corey Moore4 - cleo@olywa.net
"Of course I don't have a definitive source to cite, but people in my neck of the wood (So. Cal.) have held that it was once believed that when a person sneezed their soul might be expelled from their body at the same time. Therefore it was necessary to bless the sneezer to keep this from happening. Of course, it doesn't make much sense to bless the sneezer *after* the sneeze, when the soul has had its opportunity for escape, but who said superstitions were logical?" - Ken Thompson (MonkeyBoy) kthom@earthlink.net
"Friday the 13th is considered unlucky because of the combination of the day with the number: Friday is the Goddess' day, (Frida in Norse, Venus in Latin languages) and 13 is the number of the moon goddess (13 lunations in a solar year). When originally Saturday was the 7th day (of rest) it was Saturn's day, who needed the rest after spending the previous day with the goddess." - Kimberly McCrea - First.M.Last@CI.Eugene.OR.US
"Don't forget "knock on wood". Supposed to keep the devils living in the wood from hearing your ill-considered idle comments." - Bob Vincent - inocent@exis.net
"I believe the Dec 25th also had something to do with Saturnalia, a popular Roman Holiday, and the Dec 21st solstace (Celebrated in many ancient cultures). The Christian fathers were trying to compete with the old pagen religions and needed to provide holidays in order to distract their "flocks" from their previous pagan celebrations." - Alex Hopmann - hopmann@holonet.net
"Years ago, someone in school told me you were supposed to hold your breath when passing a cemetary so as not to make the dead jealous." - Pamela - myrrdin@interaccess.com
" Breaking Mirrors = 7 years bad luck. Some time ago (ancient Romans, if I remember right), people believed that reflections were actually glimpses of the viewers soul. People had gazing pools in their gardens in which they could look at themselves. A really mean thing to do was wait until a person was gazing at their reflection and throw a stone in the water because the distruption of the reflection affected their soul and brought about bad luck. We don't have gazing pools anymore, but the mirror breaking superstition still lives on." - Donald Wilson - dpwilson@ualr.edu
"When I was a child in Detroit, Michigan, fifty years ago, no one dared open an umbrella in the house. It was said that doing so would cause a death in the family. Someone was always around who knew of a case where someone had opened an umbrella in the house and someone else had died. Surprise! Now I have been living in California for thirty years and no one thinks about the open umbrella superstition. In fact, it is common for people (including me) to leave them open to dry in a corner of a room. Of course, my generation was the first to have the benefit of antibiotics and other effective treatments to prevent sudden death from diseases which were always lurking nearby. We must not forget how different things are today from the way they were when a superstition was formed." - Roger Zabkie - rzabkie@calweb.com
Some umbrellas might be considered back luck indoors, but our patio umbrellas are always great for when you're outside! We also carry this sunbrella to keep the sun out of your eyes too.
"Before we knew about electricity, Christians thought that lightening bolts were thrown at them by devils. During storms, the Christians had people ring the bells in the church towers to scare away the devils. Not suprisingly, many Christians, who were ringing the bells in the towers, got electricuted by these lightening bolts that would hit the towers. This is because in those days the church tower was the tallest thing around and, if you remember, lightening likes to hit the tallest things. But the Christians thought the devils were throwing those lightening bolts at their churches. When Ben Franklin invented the lightening rod and said that lightening was really electricity, not something some devil carried around, the Christians scoffed at installing lightening rods on their churches. But, like the fact that the Christians got over Galileo's odd thought that all the planets revolve around the sun, not like the Christian view that the planets and sun revolve around the earth. And it took them about twenty years before it became an accepted practice to install lightening rods on churches (and of course - remove those bell ringers during the storms)." - Frank Becker - fb12990@deere.com
"I thought you might be entertained by some observations about Christians. One of their primary religious services involves ritual symbolic cannibalism (the Lord's supper features the Lord as the main course after all.) Also, the majority of congregations that have sufficient finances choose to build their houses of worship in the form of, and display very prominently, the form of an ancient instrument of torture, execution and political oppression (this would be the cross.) One wonders when some genius will sell communion wafers that are guaranteed to transubstantiate (sp) only into red meat, without any of Christ's bone, teeth, gristle or hair (not to mention his unmentionables.)"
"If this isn't a fair treatment of Christianity, tough. It's representative of what far too many Christians do to others they hate (Pro-Choicers and homosexuals come to mind.) It's pretty tough to watch half-truths being told and not notice." - C Shaffer - shaffer@fsheb2.hep.fsu.edu
"I read that the word "pagan" actually means one of the country. Pagans were farm people, and farm people were often behind in fashion as compared to those in the city. Those city dwellers first started wearing those pointy black hats we know to be witches' hats. When the fashion hit the countryside, they were behind with the fashions of the city and pagans (witches) became synonymous with the hats.
"Also, the idea of witches flying on broomsticks comes from when the pagans were viewed hopping up and down on broomsticks in the fields...a harvest ritual. (Not actually flying)
"These things aren't superstitions, but neither is Christmas and the Star of Bethlehem, so I thought maybe it would be of interest. :)" - c00kie - (c00kie has 2 zeros, not o's)
"Concerning the Star of Bethlehem: During the year 1 AD there was a quadruple conjuction of the brightest planets. Although Mercury supplied very little in the brightness of the conjuction,it is included. The major players were Jupiter, Mars amd Venus. This was also at a time when Venus was at it closest to the Earth. From the deserts of the Middle East, the view would be to the East before Sun rise. It is also interesting that this conjuction occured in the constelation 'Virgo'. Neat, huh!? Confirm this by using StarMap or similar shareware. Also if you ignore this, it is important that you know that there are only observable PLANETARY connjuctions in the nature you describe. Not 'star' or stellar conjunctions, unless they moved faster then. You need to replace 'star' with 'planets'." - Larry Laird - lairdl@cvn.net
"I had read and I can't remember where though, sorry. That the reason people say God bless you when you sneezed was because when one sneezes it attracts evil spirits and saying God bless you would ward off the evil spirits." - mallen@netcom.ca
"I know it was not posted with any intention of dis-harmony, but I just wanted to put down for the record that the "Christian" beliefs listed in your posting are rather accretions to Christianity than central tenets of our faith. Such alterations of language, dates, festivals, etc.,do not represent the spiritual experience of the Christian believer nor the essential things in which s/he believes. - Andrzej Markiewicz - sidahmed@emirates.net.ae
"My Mom always told me to say "Bless You" after a sneeze because your heart skips a beat when you sneeze, and it may not start beating again. She's an LPN, so I thought she'd been told that in nursing school. She also told me never to put a hat on a bed because it means someone is going to die." - Kelly Walker - kwalker@mhpagency.com
"I don't have any reference for this other than my family, but when I was young my mother told me that you knocked on wood after saying something that might jinx yourself so that the evil spirts in the wood would not hear you and act upon the idea that you might have given them." - PC Warehouse Sales Representative - jessica@techmart-inc.com
"I heard that if you stumble over a threshhold, you need to snap at it to send away all the demons. If you get up on the left side of the bed, you have to go back into the bed by taking 9 steps backward, then getting up on the right side of the bed. " - Melissa - TGO810304@AOL.Com
"My wife is pregnant. A bird (sparrow) flew into our house. She was told it's bad luck. Now she's concerned about losing the baby (probably because she recently watched the movie "Seventh Sign" with Demi Moore, etc.)" - Windsound@aol.com
"Concerning December 25 as the celebration of Christmas: I heard that because the Roman Empire had made Christianity illegal at some point, so Christians chose to celebrate Christmas on December 25 to escape detection. Since their Christmas celebration coincided with a Roman holiday, they could say that their celebrations were for that holiday, not for Christian purposes, and thus, escape arrest, attack, etc. Sorry, no source." - Ramey Ko - erick@computek.net
Here are some additions to the origins of superstitions and holidays:
1. We cover our mouths when we yawn because it was believed that evil spirits could enter our bodies via our mouths.
2. We say "God Bless You" when someone sneezes because it was believed that your soul could escape from your body during a sneeze, and saying "God Bless You" immediately after someone sneezed would stuff it back in.
3. Since the actual date of the birth of Christ isn't known, the early Christians took the date of an existing holiday, the birth of Mithras, an ancient Persian sun-god. The date of December 25th is also meaningful because at the time of the Winter Solstice, when the daylight lessens, people thought that the world was ending...Thus, after a couple days or so, when the days began to lengthen, people celebrated. If you want to figure out the "actual" date of the birth of Christ from clues in the Bible (the sheep at pasture, the alignment of the stars in the sky, later clues of the age of Jesus) he was probably born in late summer or fall. When the cult of Christianity (The Romans)wanted to destroy all the earlier pagan religions that were flourishing, they adopted the days that were sacred to the other religions to keep the followers happy. Sidenote: The Evergreen tree is used as a symbol because its year-round green branches suggested everlasting life.
4. Knocking on wood was supposed to keep the evil spirits that lived in the wood from coming out to spoil our good fortune.
5. Walking under a ladder was bad luck because a ladder leaning against a wall formed a triangle and the Egyptians believed very strongly in the power of pyramids and triangles. To break the triangle was considered very dangerous. Sidenote: Sleeping with a pyramid over your head is supposed to either bring good (prophetic) dreams or is supposed to bring good luck (I can't quite remember). - Ruth
"The reason Friday the 13th is considered unlucky according to the book "Dungeon, Fire, and Sword" is that on that day, I forget the year, the King of France, I forget his name, put the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, Jaques DeMolay, to the stake and burned him alive along with other Knights. The reason for the executions according to the King was because the Templars were secretly Satanists. In reality he was jealous of their wealth and power and had his Anit-Pope excommunicate them and condem them as heretics. The Knights Templar were the richest group in Europe at the time and were loved by most of the 'common' folk. As he was burning, DeMolay cursed the Pope and King of France to die within the year, which they both did. So that is the true reason that Friday the 13th is considered unlucky." - Peter Siegel - psiege@roinet.com
"The new testament states that there were no rooms available in any of the inns as there was a festival on, so Mary & Joseph were stuck in a stable. This festival was the Feast of the Tabernacles, as the goyim call it, or 'Succot' in Hebrew, which is held in October. So Christmas has NOTHING to do with christianity. The pagan festivals held around the mid-winter solstice (Saturnalia to the Romans) were very popular so instead of banning them, the church merely renamed them, and made Jesus the centre of attention. As for Jesus' birthplace being Bethlehem in Judea, that too might be inaccurate. There is a village called Beitlehem HaGlalit (Bethlehem of the Galilee) which lies just north of Nazereth, where Joseph and Mary lived. Herods' decree for a population census required people to return to their native towns. Some people hold that the Bethlehem referred to in the new testament is Galilean, not Judean." - David Ommanney - t03do@abdn.ac.uk
"I just had to add something. The habit of knocking on wood to prevent bad luck was first a Roman custom, to communicate with the dryads, or tree spirits. So when one said something good about oneself or one's luck, one would also knock on the wood of a nearby object because it was also good luck to have the dryads in one's favor. (And being remembered in the wood was nice.) Latin professor was my source." - Mirj - mirjen@ibm.net
"When my father was a boy he went to a friends house. He placed his hat on his friends bed and his childhood friend told him it was bad luck. My father did not believe his warning and the two of them ran off to play. Upon returning to the house, the house was burnt to the ground. My father was never a person to heed superstitious warnings, but until the day he passed on, I was never allowed to place any hat, on any bed, at any time. He actually used to spank me when I left hats on beds! Anyway I was wanting to know if you could possible share the origin of this superstition or connect me to some source of information regarding the rule." - Johnny Chance - JChance@ensemble.net
"I remember, when I was a kid, when the family would drive past a cemetary, we would all hold our breath, to avoid inhaling evil spirits. Also, it was thought good luck to carry a handcuff key with you. It would get you out of trouble. - Felix Xavier Jinx - President, Skitzophrenic Pyromaniacs, Incorperated - sdhslib@cyberg8t.com
"The true reason that breaking a mirror was 7 years bad luck is because when mirrors were first made they were so expensive that if you broke on you would serve 7 years as an indentured servant to the owner of the mirror because not too many people could afford to buy another one to replace it." - JUMPMAS842@aol.com
"I have learned growing up that if you see a penny on the ground and it is heads up you should pick it up and it will bring you good luck. Also, it is said that while you drive over railroad tracks to lift your feet and make a wish for good luck. Finally, good luck charms are used by many people. Things such as rabbit's feet, horseshoes, four-leaf clovers, and other things to peoples interests will bring them good luck." - Brian Prince - dprince@ccpl.carr.lib.md.us
"Now the bride and groom kiss at the ceremony but at one time they made love in front of the village. In the days of arranged mariages this was the only way they could be sure that the mariage would be properly consummated. Also, the ring was placed on the third finger until science discovered that there was no nerve directly from that finger to the heart, making it irrational to employ it in any romantiic connection." - Yggdrasil4@aol.com
"I am not sure if this is true but when you enter a car you are suppose to enter it with your right leg for good Luck." - KimBear444@.aol.com
"Living in Hawaii all my life, I have heard lots of superstitions, like for instance, never give an empty wallet, because if you do, it will be empty forever. Never wear your shoes in the house, because it brings the devil in your house. A pregnant lady should never wear a lei, 'cause the umbilical cord might choke the baby. These are all super silly, But the one I am about to tell you is the mother of all superstitions that I have heard. Never sleep with your feet toward the door, because the mysteries night marchers will come to your home, and steal your soul." - Megan Shibuya - shibuya@aloha.net
"If you secretly put your toe-nail clippings in a glass of lemonade and make someone drink it, then that person is supposed to fall in love with you. I got this superstition from a book called "Cross Your Fingers, Spit In Your Hat.", by A. Shwartz." - Sabrina Beaudoin - SUEMSA@SILK.NET
"I do not recall where I heard this superstition from, but when someone sneezes their heart stops a beat. By saying "God bless you", it merely thanks God for allowing the heart to continue beating again considering if it had stopped they would not be alive." - Patricia Rose - plrose@bond.net
"When I was younger my little brother would tell me to lift my feet when we rode past a cemetary because the people buried there would sneak their spirits into your body (via the wheels of the auto I think). I also was told (by a "witch" at a convention) that the number 13 was considered strange because the five pointed-star represents the maiden, the mother, the crone and the two faces of the gods. The maiden also wore the face of the motherly maiden and the cronly maiden, the mother had the face of the maiden, the mother and the crone - and so on. When you add all of these many faces you end up with the number 13. It represents the power that comes in many forms. If you want to know my opinion I think it kinda scared most (if not all) of the Christians who were rapidly gaining popularity." - Amber Strom - kbell@theshivers.com
"How about the idea of not stepping on sidewalk cracks? "Step on a crack break your mothers back" was the alleged justification. I know nothing of the origin of this one. I do remember a few kids who stomped the hell out of some cracks! Made me wonder about how things were going around home!" - DOWNING - gwhiz@interoz.com"@Interoz.com
"Did you ever hear the superstion that a woman could tell who her future husband would be by standing at the side of the road, waiting until she counted 10 red cars, then saw a red-haired girl in a purple dress, then a man in a green tie, and THEN the next young man she saw would be her husband?&quo; - Jason Mojica - JMojica@aol.com
1. It is bad luck to walk under a ladder because they used to be used only by painters, so if you walked under one, paint or anything else could fall on you.
2 .Friday the 13th is only bad luck for males. The calendars used to have 13 months for the 13 phases of the moon in a year. Men changed the calendar to 12 months. Women also generally have 13 cycles in a year. Friday is also ruled by Venus which represents women.
3. A person is supposedly closest to death when they sneeze. You say "God bless you" so that if they die they may go to Heaven.
4. When passing a cemetary hold your breath because every breath you take supposedly wakes up a spirit. - CAMSILVER@aol.com
"My grandmother would never say "thank you" when she was given a plant as a gift or handed a knife. She believed that the plant would die and she would cut herself, respectively. She would also never point her finger at a plant because it would then begin to wither and die. Also, to this day, opening an umbrella indoors is a BIG no-no in my family." - Jessica Jacques - jjacques@sprintmail.com
Some umbrellas might be considered back luck indoors, but our patio umbrellas are always great for when you're outside! We also carry this sunbrella to keep the sun out of your eyes too.
"The 'walking under a ladder thing' started in northern Europe, and its purpose was that the only time a latter was used, that was big enough to walk under, was for getting a body off the lynching pole. If one were to walk under it, they would meet death.
Friday the 13th...Friday was considered to be a bad day any time of the year. The 13th...the unlucky number had, again little to do with early christians too. In fact most of Central Europe, being mainly christian at the time, Friday the 13th meant nothing to them. Tuesday the 13th was the worst day of the year.
The term 'bless you' came from Egypt about 600 years before your claim. Tyberius Caesar would roam the city and bless all whom would sneeze, because of a sickness.
Salt was considered to be a pure substance. There are many superstitions involving salt. Evil spirits lurk over the left shoulder and if salt was spilt then the person who did the act was open for attack by the spirit.
Black Cats... The Goddess Bias was many colors, and the fear of the cat....not black cat, just cat, came years before Christians took over Europe. In Druid Celtics belief, the cat was a dark and evil verminous creature. If a black, or other cat was to walk to you, this was a good omen, if it were to walk away from you, this was bad.
The ladybug was considered a good omen centuries before Christ was thought of in most of Europe. It meant a good crop and if you killed one, your crop was shit. - Matthew - mdjacks@okstate.edu
"My mother used to say that dropping the silverware meant that company was coming." - Lee Dowler - dowler@alltel.net
"My grandmother is very superstitious and she always told me never to leave shoes on a bed because it would bring you bad luck and if you every left the house and forgot something, when you went back to get it, you had to sit back down on a chair before leaving or your trip would be a disaster. She also taught our entire family that when you ate a piece of pie, or anything pointy, you had to cut off the point and push it to the side. After you had eaten the entire pie piece, you put the point in your mouth and made a wish." - Tricia Bull - Tbull@worldnet.att.net
"Jewish homes have a mezzuzah, or good-luck charm, on their door jambs. Orthodox (very religious) Jews kiss it each time they enter or leave. It contains some religious writing inside and symbolizes the blood left on the doors of Jewish homes (reference the Passover miracle). You are supposed to nail it to your door jamb diagonally, supposedly to symbolize the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (all that's left is the Wailing Wall). I heard - sorry, can't remember where- that it really is due to some rabbis arguing whether to nail it horizontally or vertically. Therefore, diagonally is a compromise."
"There are some that are fairly normal, like leaving the front door open for the prophet Elijah at Passover, so the kids think he drank the wine you left on the table for him, when in reality it was just evaporation."
"I still like to offer the orthodox jews rides on saturday mornings on their way back and forth to shul (temple). They walk, because they aren't allowed to operate machinery on the sabbath (who said so, anyway?)."
"At a jewish wedding: the bride and groom gave everyone a page of information about the ceremony. The information went something like this:
"We do this and that to show our relationship to G-d. We ask G-d to bless this or that, yada yada yada." The "G-d" is because: the name of the lord is not to be defamed in any way, including by improper disposal of material that includes the lord's name. Therefore, any thing on which you wrote "God" should be buried or burned in specific ceremonies. Since we didn't actually write the whole name (came close, though ;) ), we can throw this piece of paper away!"
- Spikat@aol.com
"People would say that spirits could not walk upon a path, so after dark don't leave the path/road. REALLY FOR: So people wouldn't get lost at night."
"If you stare into a mirror by candlelight you will see the spirit of a lost loved one. TRUTH: Your eyes just get so screwed up that you see anything."
"13 is unlucky. EXPLANATION: If you count the original Christian gang with Jesus as 1 and go up Judas is 13 and he betrayed Jesus (According to the Bible." - Jerry Pelton - panda_bear@hotmail.com
"Knock on wood" has a more positive variation than to hide one's ill intentions. The Druids of Briton (about the time of the Romans, too - which might mean that the Romans stole the idea and then corrupted it to a more sinister idea), believed spirits lived in trees, especially in the forests. And they also lived in any kind of wood. The Druids were animistic, attributing supernatural qualities to many things. They built Stonehedge. If a person wanted a favor, such as a GOOD thing to CONTINUE, or to AVOID BAD things, they would make their request (as people make prayers but perhaps not as fancy), and knock on wood to get the ATTENTION of the spirits they wanted to hear their request." - Robert F. Fulton, Ph.D. - rfulton@usa.net
"At least as recently as the 1960's, there were fields in certain farms in Northern Ireland (doubtless also the Republic) where a tree, especially a hawthorn, would be left standing in spite of the inconvenience to ploughing, rather than incur the hostility of the fairies who used it for their celebrations. Sometimes I think that such superstitions offer a welcome counterbalance to the destruction caused by the worship of the most worthless of all gods, Mammon." - Albert Rogers - theSkeptic@angelfire.com
"A woman that used to work as a housekeeper while I was growing up had several superstitions that I never forgot:
She was a very religious Mexican Catholic woman named Elvira Flores." - Ashlee Matthews - aamatthews@mindspring.com
"The concept of 13 being unlucky originated before Moses, much less JC. If you take a look at the Code of Hammurabi, available in electronic form in many places on the web, you will notice that the laws are numbered - but law 12 is followed by law 14 (just like the floors on many buildings today). Notes in several translations point out that 13 was considered very unlucky in ancient Babylon - just exactly why is still a conjecture, but we DO know that 7 and 12 were very sacred to them." - Joe Jackson - jjackson@flash.net
"The four leaves in a four leaf clover represented good luck in fame (first leaf to the left of the stem), wealth, lover, and health. My source is "The Complete Book Of Amulets and Talismans"" - Robert Crix - rob@nmbrokers.com
"If your nose itches, that means someone is thinking about you.
If your left ear rings, someone is saying good things about you.
If your right ear rings, someone is saying bad things about you.
If your left hand itches, you're going to be rich.
If your right hand itches, you're going to be poor.
I dont know where these came from, my friends told me this." - Egypt31611@aol.com
"The word witch is a misspelling of Wicce, a female practitioner of the Wiccan religion. A male is known as Wicca, not Warlock, which is celtic (I think, maybe anglo-saxon?) for Oathbreaker. I have this on good authority from several Wiccans, as well as the Witches League for Public awareness (yes, the WLPA does use the better known spelling). Also, a great number of Christian holidays fall on the eight Wiccan Sabbats (not Black Sabbaths--another Christian corruption). Lastly, the pentagram (point-downwards) is the satanic symbol; the pentacle (point-upwards) is not. Things to think about." - Matt Hackell - mdragon1@hotmail.com
"This may not be considered a superstition, however it is a tradition. The wedding ring is actually a ancient symbol of completion. Far older than the Christian religion. The ring signifies that which does not end or begin but it a circle of forever. Ah how sweet..... " - Tiffany Popham - tpopham@theatrix.com
"My great grandmother from Georgia was the source..50 years ago.
Sharon in Florida - booksrme@BELLSOUTH.NET
"My grandfather believed that if a black cat crossed in front of you, you would receive bad luck. He believed soo stongly that he would drive around the block(a one mile square in those days in the country) just avoid going over the cats trail. My mother is also a believer in the receiveng of knives brings one bad luck in friendship. You will have a falling out with the person that gave you the knife.(It will cut your friendship apart.) I also, as does my family, believe that if you tell too many people about what you want to happen that it will dissapate the energy of that thing happening and will NOT happen." - TOMROB3690@aol.com
"My mother told me you should sleep with you feet towards the door so if you died in your sleep your soul could easily walk out (strictly speaking I just think its practical for a child to be able to see the door should there be a fire or emergency). This is also the reason you never leave shoes on a table -- your soul will go to get the shoes and fall off the table to hell (again more likely shoes could be polished on the kitchen table but why should the mother have to move them to make breakfast). The most intriguing superstition I know is if you give a knife as a gift the recipient must give something in return (usually a coin) if not the friendship will be severed." - robotboy - robotboy@alphalink.com.au
I learned these things from an Old Wife. - Lemuel Stewart - manic97@chaffee.net
"It's superstition that we blame going outside with wet hair causes a cold. I forget the guys name who started th rumor but he was an atheist. That must mean all atheists are silly superstitionists!" - Rush Jamison - eppc@unidial.com
"The number 13 was unlucky to the Babylonians because it was a Prime number. 12 was sacred because it could be divided so many different ways. (Hey, you know those Babylonians & their math...)" - reinhart - reinhart@gvtc.com
- Debi - djarrell@dmv.com
"Some superstitions coming from old Europe"
- Luca Bergamasco, Italy - fornaro@vdiget.polito.it
"My Grandmother told me that when it rains and the sun shines it means that the devil is beating his wife with a frying pan. Also means it will rain the same time tomorrow.
If lightning strikes a tree and you witness it then someone you know will die.
Also, saying "God bless you" when someone sneezes comes from the time of the black plague because sneezing was a sign of the sickness and once you got the plague you were assured of death. "God bless you" was used almost like a prayer that maybe you weren't sick while also asking god to literally bless the person." - Fatmansmle@aol.com
"If Christ was actually born it would of been during the spring sometime. That's when the stars would have been lined in such a way that one would be very bright. Dec. 25 was celebrated by the Romans because it was believed that the devil lurked in the night. Since the days are the shortest this time of the year people would gather together all night to keep the devil and nasty spirits away. They would light candles on trees (Christmas trees) to create light so it wouldn't be so dark. Since catholicism evolved in Rome they just combined the holidays as God and Jesus were also to keep away bad spirits." - BbWinds@aol.com
"My mother told me that, if I ever bang one elbow accidentally, I must bang the other one deliberately, or else I will have bad luck. Since then, this has been a reflex of mine, and one that causes much hilarity among friends. I think the superstition must have been passed down through a few generations." - Tony Barrell in London - tonybarrell@email.msn.com
"I was watching the movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock called Shadow of a Doubt and the characters mentioned that putting a hat on a chair indoors is bad luck!" - Dulciter@aol.com
"My neighbor, Dawn, says don't leave your purse on the floor or you will stay broke, and don't buy your man a pair of shoes or he will walk out of your life forever." - Kads120@aol.com
"When I was young we were told that after eating a boiled egg we should make a hole in the bottom of the eggshell to stop the witches using it to sail across the sea. None of us really believed it, but the habit stayed with me for years." - Martin Thomas - martin.thomas@saqnet.co.uk
"Here are some silly superstitions:
- Dana - MizuAmi@aol.com
People tell me that in order to keep the evil eye away, One must wear a red string around their wrist or sew it onto their clothing. Apparently this comes from the Jewish faith and the string should come from the tomb of Rachel. - Msctw9797@aol.com
My parents always said if you get hit by a car and the paramedics see that you're wearing dirty underwear they won't help you. - ThunarGodi@aol.com
Here are a few dos and don'ts on Maui, some of which may apply to some of the other islands.
- Robert Atha - atha@cie.cendant.com
When I was a little kid my grandmother told us to hold our breath when we were driving past a cemetery because if we didn't the spirits could steal our souls through our mouths... She also used to say that people were "dying to get in there." - jennyphl@aol.com
Here are some interesting superstitions I learned from my Vietnamese family and friends:
- Emily Nghiem - educere@ghgcorp.com - Houston Progressive Webzine
My grandmother has lots of superstitious sayings and actions, but the one she is the most vehement about is to say "bread and butter" if we walked around different sides of an object (such as a light pole or trash can). Something about how things will eventually come between us. - Leslie Soden - lesticia@yahoo.com
From a child's book on history:
The number 13 was thought unlucky by Christians because that was the number of people at the last supper when Christ was betrayed.
They thought 4 was lucky because of the 4 gospels by Mathew, Mark, Luke and John.
Of course people remember unlucky things more than lucky ones.
Alan Urdaibay - urdaibay@eclipse.co.uk
The whole idea of Christianity is superstition, & not based on any facts!! According to the book , "The Women's Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets", by Barbara G. Walker, Jesus was a composite of many! He was Chistos "anointed " This title was stolen from middle - eastern Saviors-gods, like Adonis,& Tammuz, born of a Virgin Sea Goddess Aphrodite-Miria.
Earlier versions of same hero was Joshua son of Nun (Exodus 3:11) The Christian gospel J.C. seems to have made NO impression on his contemporaries! No literate person of his own (supposed) time mentioned him in any known writings! The gospels were not written in his own time, but as late as 2 centuries after his (supposed) life ended.
The books were composed AFTER THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE "church". The details of the Jesus story were accumulated through later adoption of Myths attached to EVERY Savior -god throughout the Roman Empire! Like Adonis - J.C. was born of a consecrated temple maiden in the sacred care of Bethlehem, the House of the Bread of god. Like worshippers of Osiris, those of J.C. made him part of themselves by "eating him," so as to participate in his resurrection. (" He that eats my flesh, & drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, & I in him" John 6:56) Like Dionysus, J.C. was King of Kings, God of Gods, like Hermes, J.C. was the Enlightened One & The Logos. Like Vishnu & Mithra, J.C. was Son of man & Messiah. Like Mot-Aleyin The Lamb of God , and SAVIOR was applied to all of them!!!
His ability to walk on water was copied from the Far - Eastern holy men who claimed this one ever since Buddhist monks praised it as the mark of a true ascetic. Like Buddha, J.C. advocated poverty & humility. I can go on with stolen Myths, but I suggest everyone get the encyclopedia I mentioned at the start. Just one more thing, the "historical" figure in the gospels , Pontius Pilate, to whom J.C. was ( supposed )to have been presented as King of the Jews & simultaneously as a criminal deserving death penalty for blasphemy for calling himself son of the blessed. This alleged crime was NO real crime ! Eastern provinces swarmed with self-styled Christs & Messiahs calling themselves son's of god & announcing the end of the world !!! None of them was executed for blasphemy!!! The beginning of the story probably lay in the tradition of the sacred king sacrifice in Jerusalem, LONG before Pilate's administration, when Rome was trying to discourage such barbarisms!!
Despite centuries of research, No historical Jesus has come to light. It seems his story was not merely overlaid with MYTH ...it was MYTH to the core!!! It seems Christianity is based on the UBIQUITOUS social phenomena of credulity. An idea is able to gain & retain the aura of essential truth through telling & retelling. The process endows a cherished notion with more veracity than a library of facts. The further removed one gets from the period in question, the greater is the strength of the conviction. Initial incredulousness is soon converted into BELIEF in a probability & eventually SMUG ASSURANCE!!! - L. Larkin - plarkin@primenet.com
The actual, historically documented reason why Friday the 13th is considered to be an unlucky day has nothing to do with witches or the day Christ was crucified, or what have you. The real reason is that when Philip the Fair (the King of France) arrested the entire Order of the Templars, and seized all their property for the throne, it was a well coordinated raid that took place on Friday the 13th. The action was so swift, brutal and efficient that the day has lived on in infamy ever since. (sorry I don't have the year, but it shouldn't be too hard to find out.) - Richard Douek - richard_douek@mvbms.com
One of my English professors from college (Mythology class) told me that the earliest documented example of the number thirteen as something bad came from the Song of Ishtar, an ancient Babylonian epic poem. The thirteenth line contains the name of the Goddess of the Dead (which is never a good thing). - Matt Rhodes - MRhodes@FARS.IDINC.COM
Here's a really strange one. My primary school was not far down the road from an overbridge, and a lot of us, including me, had to go under that overbridge to get home from school; also, when we had swimming lessons we used to go as a class to a swimming pool on the other side of the bridge. And we believed that if you talked under the bridge, you got seven years of bad luck. How the superstition began, and whether it applied to any other overbridges as well, I have no idea. - Daniel Copeland - copeyns@es.co.nz
My grandmother told me that you should never allow a rocking chair to rock without someone in it. (Such as if someone should bump into it). If you didn't stop it from rocking immediately then some horrible tragedy would happen. Also you should make sure picture frames that didn't have a picture in them are face down. An empty picture frame face up or set out was very dangerous, a wandering soul that hadn't found its way to heaven could become trapped in it and never find peace. We are from Arkansas, superstitions run rampant and are taken seriously. - LaJeana Cass - lcass@cicoa.org
My mother has always said that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings good luck for the entire year, and if you put a dime in the pot while cooking them, it also brings monetary fortune during the year. As far as I know, she still prepares black-eyed peas every New Year's Day. I have no idea of the origin of this silly superstition, but I thought it was worth mentioning, especially since I've heard others say the same thing over time. Funny how we humans come up with such things... T. Edens - go-edens@texas.net
Here are some superstitions from my family:
· Never sleep with your head facing the door - I was told the reason for this is because they carry dead bodies out of the room head first.
· Never step over somebody - they won't grow.
· Upon first seeing someone's new car you throw money (change) into it for good luck.
· Never receive something sharp, like a knife, without giving the giver money.
· When my children were babies I actually put red ribbons on their crib, stroller and even pinned onto their T-shirts - in case someone said what a beautiful baby or complimented them, such as being healthy or a good eater, then the ribbon would protect them and they would stay beautiful, healthy, etc. - I had all bases covered
· If you purchase an elephant, make sure the trunk is turned upward, it means good luck. I guess downward might be the opposite. - LINDA - LINSCORP@aol.com
Here are a few I have heard as a child:
· My father told me that when a dog starts howling at night in front of someone's house, then it means some one in that house has died. He said they can sense their spirit leaving the body.
· If you have frequent nose bleeds, get a pure lead ball, tie it on a ribbon and wear it around your neck so that it falls in the gully of your throat and your nose will stop bleeding. This one really works because he used it on me.
· Don't sleep on feather pillows because after time, a ball of feathers will form under your head and when it is a complete circle, you will die.
· Moles on your back, bring money by the sack. - Mukayla@aol.com
My mother always told me:
· Never put new shoes on a table, it would cause a family fight.
· Never put new shoes under a bed and then go to sleep, it will cause nightmares.
· Never stare in an animal's eyes, if you look away first it will be very bad luck, if the animal looks away first then you have a bad spirit around you.
· Always pick up pennies only if they were "heads" up. I didn't listen to her advice. I picked up 3 pennies,(all 3 were in a row), and all "tails" up. The next day my car wouldn't start and it cost me over 200 dollars to fix, the second day my daughter fell face first on the pavement and on the third day my back went out, bad enough to go to the hospital. Made me a believer!!! - Angela Whitley - Angell67@email.msn.com
In my family, it is tradition to pull the wishbone when you have a full turkey and the person who gets the larger piece will have their wish come true. Also, my mother once told me that when you wake up on the first day of the month, you should say "rabbit rabbit" before anything else and you will get presents that month. Any idea where these superstitions came from? - Jenn Stuart - a1249@truman.edu
My mother told me to always put my right shoe on first or I would die early. - Carolyn Modica - cmodica@swbell.net
- AT
- David F Mayer - DMayer@via-net.net
Pennies Heads vs Tails....
Any information on whether turning a tails-up penny over - without having it leave the ground and then picking it up on heads - will STILL bring good luck? What supposedly happens if I DO pick up a tails-up penny? BAD Luck...or NOTHING at all? What if I turn a tails-up penny over and then come back to it the next day? Does anyone have any info on this superstition? - Gary Frischman - ital@webspan.net
I once heard somewhere that if you eat dessert right before going to bed, you will have nightmares. Of course, being the non-comformist that I am, I just had to test the theory and though I will admit I've had some really *weird* dreams all of my life, I can't really equate them with nightmares.
One of the most superstitious group of people I know...are actors, actresses, and theatre performers. Being a member of the International Thespian Society and having done several productions on stage and behind the scenes, I know many of them, however I can't say whether or not they are true.
"Phantom of the Opera" seems to have been modified to be the "ghost of the Theatre". Every working theatre seems to have at least one ghost...sometimes this ghost sleeps in the dark storage rooms..sometimes it can be heard running along the catwalks...whenever electrical equipment fails or programmed settings reset themselves, blame was placed on the ghost.
Many of the basic black cat, spilt salt, walking under a ladder superstitions are also practiced by theatre groups. Also, for those thespians who do their performances on a set or for the Silverscreen, also find themselves with similar superstitions, *especially* if they started out in theatre. Source for this Knowledge is based on my own experiences with my fellow thespians of the ITS (International Thespian Society). Whether they are real or not, I practice them for the benefit of those who are hard core believers, else they curse themselves with bad luck and the show bombs anyway. - Gwendolyn - XtremeQriosity@aol.com
I would like to know if there are any wedding superstitions like; what does it mean when your church.that you’re getting married in burns down? The church that I'm getting married at, had a fire. - Nicole Evely - nevely@eaglebrk.com
Have you ever heard of a weird superstition involving bad luck with GREEN CARS? Supposedly, there's statistical data on the number of accidents based on car color, and green is WAY ahead of the others. - Deb Milton - debmaelstrom@hotmail.com
I was told by my Grandmother, that if anyone was worried about becoming bald, then sneakily place some snipped ( or plucked,it doesn't matter ! ) pubic hair into a fresh bowl of chicken soup.( the thicker the better , so as to avoid detection ) . Incidentally, my Grandfather had more hair than chewbacca!!!!! Thus promoting the regeneration of the vital follicles. I believe it works better if one has had one's tonsils removed.......let me know....Thanks - cayte.symonds - cayte.symonds@ntlworld.com
Muslim Superstitions
Regarding the superstition that whistling in the theatre brings bad luck. According to a Terry Pratchett book (Masquerade?) stage hands used whistling signals to communicate with each other while a performance was in progress. This way they could move props etc with sandbags and pulleys without disturbing the performers. If you whistled on stage, you risked having a sandbag land on your head. - isperera@hotmail.com
Here is just a couple of superstitions that I was told by my grandmother:
My grandmother used to say never give knives as presents- they cut love. For some reason my mom always kisses the clock at a repeating time (ie 3:33 or 2:22. 11:11 is the best time) and some of my friends make wishes....does any one know why? Why do we wish on shooting stars? - Valerie Ann Van Alstyne - freakychick4@hotmail.com
To add to your collection of superstitions, my mother always swears that snowdrops picked and brought into the house will mean a pregnancy. She says that my Great Aunt swore by this and when my sister was having difficulty conceiving my mother gave her a bunch of snowdrops and conincidence or not, guess who was pregnant very soon after? What I would like to know is why do undertakers refuse to bury people with their shoes on? - Clare Ansdell - clare.ansdell@ntlworld.com
In my ancient art class we were told that Akhenaten, then pharaoh of Egypt, popularized/enforced a monotheistic sun worshiping religion in 1380-1340 BC. His temples had no ceiling, so that the sun might shine through. Any who opened a parasol (umbrella that keeps the sun off) was denying the sun's blessing, and doing a great evil. Also, the god Amen, is thought by a some scholars to have been a corrupted version of Amun, the primary god of the ancient Egyptians. The Jews, who were then slaves, would say their prayers in Hebrew, and end with the word Amun, in order to fool the Egyptians into thinking that they were praying to Egyptian gods. Its amazing how long some of these things can last. - Reid Simmons - simmons4@email.unc.edu
The reason 'It's bad luck to walk under a ladder' is that hangmen used to use a ladder to hang someone from the gallows, and it was believe that if you walked under a ladder, the hangmen would turn his gaze your way, or 'Death would notice you'. I'm from Yorkshire England, and I was told this by a museum historian. - Tia Dawson - 984020568@98.lincoln.ac.uk
Mark Twain's "Tom Sawyer" has a lot of the superstitions of the day and brief explanations of what they meant (though not why)... He mentions "ticking" in the wall as being a "deathclock", counting down someone's last seconds. - Tursi - tursi@yiffco.com
I have to disagree with Matt Hackell in his explanations of pentacles vs pentagrams. I have been told by many of my pagan and Wiccan friends and acquaintances that the "horned" pentacle (two points up) is used in some sects of Wicca as a sign of a higher ranking or more advanced witch, and not as a satanic symbol at all. I could go off about people mistaking the various horned gods of Wicca and other pagan religions for the Christian devil, but I am tired of hearing about it...
Picking up tails-up pennies, you were either supposed to give them to the first person you met, both reversing and passing on the luck, or place them in your back pocket b/c the act of sitting on them would reverse the bad luck. (I always wondered if it reversed again if you sat on them twice)
A book titled Treasury of Superstitions
I believe in the black cat superstition. When I'm driving and a black cat (or any cat for that matter,who knows if its' ancestors are black) cross in front of me, I lick my finger and put an x on my windshield,to ward off bad luck.----Find a penny,put it in your shoe,you'll have good luck,the whole day through. A howling dog means death. A firefly in your house means death.If a broom is lying in the floor and you step over the handle it is supposed to bring death. If you tell of something good happening to you, you're supposed to knock on wood in order for good luck to continue. Bringing a garden hoe into the house is bad luck.It's bad luck to start a journey and have to return home for any reason. If someone is leaving and you watch them go out of sight they're not supposed to return again. If you are visited by a ghost, ask them,"What in the name of the Father,Son and Holy Ghost do you want?" and they'll either tell you or go away.That one came from my Dad. Most of all these did. - SHANNON CHAFIN - viper69_4u@hotmail.com
These are passed down from generations in our family.
The term 'May God Bless You' Came from the Black Plague in London town. The onset of the plague was heralded by sneezing, as is a cold or flue. The consequences of contracting this plague was certain death. One sneeze would reap no reaction, two sneezes and you would receive the statement "May God Bless You'. because there was more likely hood that you had contracted the plague and would surely die. Three sneezes in a row and people would run away from you. My information was gathered during my second year in high school, when we had to select a city of the world and write of a catastrophic, historical event in that cities past. I submitted two projects, The Black plague and the great fire of London. - Lynn - morello@boztek.com.au
Regarding Friday the thirteenth... You were right to say that Christ supposedly died on a Friday and as for the satanic ceremony crap.... that only came about as a result of the already established superstition of the number 13... the one you're missing is .....THERE WERE THIRTEEN PEOPLE AT THE LAST SUPPER. The reason it is bad luck is because the last person to come to dinner with Christ and his buddies that night was a man he thought was his best friend but had actually sold him out, JUDAS. Christ and him were friends and Christ was happy to see him (the thirteenth and last member of his group to join for dinner) until all hell broke loose and Jesus was captured by the Romans. - Hilary Craig or David Thompson - dmthompson@cableregina.com
If you go through a tunnel, you have to hold your breath. If you can hold your breath the whole time through the tunnel, you make a wish and it is supposed to come true. - Barbara E. Graf - spg@sunlink.net
I was viewing your webpage trying to find information on a specific superstition or ol' wives tale. My mother used to say it whenever she saw one or more crows. Hopefully, you've heard this one. Although I do not know the actual wording, the phrase went something like this:
I had once heard that when you "shiver" for no apparent reason it is because someone is walking over your grave. Not meaning you will die right away, just that it already exists.
Another one I heard, is when you sneeze, your soul is expelled from your body, thus giving evil a moment to get in. This goes back to the Salem witch days.
And one more, about religion now...I read in a book of witchcraft that the Christians "devil" was actually once a God of another religion, a god of hunting, hence the horns...the book said that's what people do, the god from one religion becomes the devil to another.
- Jaime - JaimeLMason@aol.com
I have been trying to find the origin of an old family superstition of saying "Rabbit-Rabbit" before saying anything else on the first of the month. If you do so, you should receive a present that month. Any idea where the superstition originated? - Ted Boyer - woxof1@webtv.net
I am looking for an old wives tale dealing with "thundersnow" or thunder and lightning in Febuary. Anything you can pass along on weather superstitions would be greatly appreciated. katscorner@hotmail.com
Here are a few I've been exposed to by my family and friends:
And a word for the Christians, Jews and Moslems: remember that all religion is based on superstition. Without a belief in rituals, luck, miracles, Gods that can't be seen, evil, or anything else, religion would just be a state of mind. - Steven - scgepp@chariot.net.au
All my friends always say that if the clasp on your necklace shows in the front that someone is thinking good things about you or is missing you. - Emily Wilson - ewilson7@hotmail.com
I am looking for the orgins and meanings of several superstitions. Perhaps you or some of your readers can help me. "Shaking Hands," "itching nose" meaning company is coming, and "horseshoes" as a good luck charm. - Linda Linn - LLinn@sjcd.cc.tx.us
My mom use to tell me that when your nose itched it meant you had to kiss a fool. I have no idea where this came from and the tradition in my home is to then kiss your own hand. I'm guessing that was done so the superstition could be met and nobody was offended! - Stacy Pirog - stacy@mail.rit.edu
I'm pretty sure that there was a St. Christopher because I heard a biblical story that Jesus tested him in the form of a small child that needed to cross the river and Christopher carried Him across on his shoulder. And I have a statue of him and a medal so I think that he was real. - Chris Peirce - Muscles5585@aol.com
Not really related to superstitions. Christmas and, incidentally, St. Valentine's Day were attempts by the new Christian movement to "adopt" pagan festivals such as, Saturnalia (Pamela is quite right) and, more entertainingly, Lupercalia; a celebration of fertility in which young Romans would take young ladies into the fields and beat them with thongs of goat's hide to induce fertility. Amazingly enough, it worked; lots of girls got pregnant. Ain't science wonderful? - Charles Matthews
When I was little my mother used to tell me , "always keep your feet covered while you're sleeping, because if you don't and you have been bad, the devil will come pull your toes". I believe she just wanted to keep me from catching a cold. - Thaihevia Williams - TWilliams@stmary.k12.la.us
Always lift your feet and touch a screw when you go over a train track. - Mallory Myers - 2mallory@home.com
If a child captures a ladybug and lets it go and it flys straight up or behind them, the person that they will marry will stand at the place where the ladybug was released the next day.
If you are with your boyfriend or girlfriend and a sparrow flys to your shoulder,a dead relative approves of the relationship. If a sparrow flys to your head, a dead relative dissapproves of the relationship.
Oh, by the way, my student number in class happens to be 13, and the books that I get in the public library and the school library almost always have the number 13 on the front page. I'm an unlucky child. - Chris - clairerwh@home.com
I heard that if you buy someone cutlery for their birthday, wedding, anniversary, or basically buy someone cutlery as a gift, the person receiving is supposed to give you a penny (basically pay a fee for the cutlery). My mom's friend's brother had cutlery given to him as a gift and he was killed in a car accident days later. It has happened to a friend more than once, so now she gives people money instead of cutlery. Needless to say, this lady never buys cutlery for people. (I would personally freak now if someone gave me cutlery). My girlfriend actually doesn't believe this. When she talked of getting her mother-in-law cutlery for her second wedding I got all freaked out and she didnt' listen to me. She said she doesn't believe in that stuff. In the end she bought something else but hhhmmmmmm, you never know!!!! - Tanya Scrimbit - t_scrimbit@hotmail.com
I don't know if this is just a Texas thing, but have you ever heard the one where if you swallow a watermelon seed a watermelon will grow in your stomach? Also, my mom would say don't eat cookie dough or you'll get worms! Do you know anything about any of these? - Chris Terman - c.l.terman@att.net
When you go through a yellow light, kiss your fingers and touch the ceiling. That way a cop won't see you and you won't get pulled over. - Nick O - skinut101@yahoo.com
I have noticed a number of mistakes that you might want to correct, less people read them and believe that you are wrong on most of your statements. The first was by the skin of your teeth or.....
"Skin Of Your Teeth. This saying means to barely escape from a harrowing situation. It comes from Job 19:20, where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him. Poor Job had all his animals stolen, his children die, his house collapse and his body covered with sores. Job has this to say; "My bone cleaveth to my skin and to my flesh, and I am escaped with the skin of my teeth."
I want to dwell on the line that says "where God inflicts all sorts of terrible things on one of those who love him." The fact of the matter is that it was the devil that was inflicting these things on Job and not God!!! The same is true for bad weather, where often people say that they are acts of God. In fact, if they are acts of God when Jesus rebuked the storm that was causing his fishing boat to sink He would have been rebuking His heavenly Father. Not so! Common failures to understand what the Bible actually is saying. They are acts of the devil. God does not bring bad things on anyone and here is a Scripture to prove it.
"For he (the devil) cometh not but for to kill, and to steal, and to destroy. But I (Jesus) have come that you might have life and that more abundantly." John 10:10
You might want to correct the idea that God is inflicting pain and suffering on people. That is not His way or function. It does however, fall into the ways and desires of the devil. So, give credit to whom credit is due, etc. - Michael G. Murphy - agbtg8@aol.com
Whistling in a theatre relates to the practice of sailors being involved in the rigging of flying gear. They communicated by whistles, so any one whistling might get something heavy dropped on them. - Andy Hoyland - a.hoyland@newmedia.warr.ac.uk
I was told by my mother, that if your second toe , (the one beside the big toe) is bigger than your big toe on BOTH feet, you will be the head of your household. If it is bigger on only ONE foot, you will share the house hold. And if it isn't bigger on either foot, you better watch out, because your spouse is going to be in charge! - Booboles - booboles@utinet.net
I was always told:
I have heard that if a bird flies into a window of your house that it means that there will be a death in the family. Is there some similar superstition when a bird flies into the window of your car? Is there supposed to be some significant meaning to this other that the bird hitting the window in a house? Please contact me at - Jan Lyness - jlyness@ionsys.com
SOME SILLY MALAY SUPERSTITIONS
As for sneezing, Muslims also say "May god bless you", only it's "May Allah bless you" for the first three sneezes. This is to get rid of the sickness inside you, and after more than three sneezes that means you really have a cold.
According to Muslim superstition, while yawning you should close your mouth so that the devil can not enter your body. By covering our mouths, the devil will not be able to annoy us and keep us from doing the good deeds.
As for entering and leaving the toilet, the toilet is known as the devil's lair. Therefore entering must be with the left foot and going out with the right foot.
Do not kill spiders unless they intend to hurt you because a spider helped prophet Muhammad. - Shari Alkaff - i_luv_choc@hotmail.com
Never pass the salt across the table from one person to another, or else you will start a fight. - rockstarangel71@yahoo.com
It is said that breaking a mirror would bring you 7 years of bad luck because the mirror reflects you and your life. Breaking it would destroy the reflection of the good/positive things you have in your life. - mcmanus2001@tinyworld.co.uk
The reason people said god bless you when you sneeze was because your heart skipped a beat everytime. - Scott Weiman - scott726@home.com
My Dad told me when I started racing that green race cars are bad luck to the driver. I do know the only time I ever crashed I was racing a green car for a friend, who, interestingly enough, wrecked a green motorcycle in a race. - Rich Gillies - rgillies@1st.net
If you would be so kind as to let me know what the superstition is for horseshoes. How should it be placed over the door of your house? Right side up to catch the luck. Upside down to let the luck spill into your home....? If you know, could you please share the information with me. - Cynthia - maxine8777@home.com
Although I am no longer a Christian, I was raised that way, in semi-rural Oklahoma. There was a strong, prevailing custom there to never allow any book or article to be placed on top of the bible. I can recall people reacting in a kind of panic when some careless person laid, say for example their Sunday School quarterly, or a folded newspaper on top of the good book. They would stand up with concern on their face to remedy the problem. When I came to a more urban area where people seemed treat bibles just no differently from books they were reading, I began to view this as a kind of superstition. - MichaNew@aol.com
I read in a book that the reason you knock on wood is to call the spirits that live in the wood so they will give you luck and grant your wish. Also, in some wood lived bad spirits, so people knock very hard and loud so the bad spirit cannot hear what you wish and therefore give you bad luck.
In the same book, I read that breaking a mirror will give 7 years of bad luck because in ancient times, people believed that the reflection in the water is your soul, and if it is blurry then you are in for trouble. When mirrors were invented they believed the refletion was an actual person, not your reflection. When they broke a mirror they were breaking the persons soul.
Ancient people believed that if you spilled salt, you would have to throw it over your left shoulder because the evil spirits live behind your left shoulder and when you throw the salt in their eyes, that would prevent them giving you illness. They believed this because salt was very valuable back then in preventing illness, and you could not waste it. - Vic Dallaire - vicdallaire@home.com
Here's two superstitions that I know of:
This is the superstition for counting crows:
Do not place shoes upon a table, for this will bring bad luck for the day, cause trouble with your mate and you might even lose your job as a result.
It's bad luck to leave shoes upside down.
If you drop scissors, it means your lover is being unfaithful to you.
If 13 people sit down at a table to eat, one of them will die before the year is over.
If 3 people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.
Mistletoe in the house protects it from thunder and lightning. It also cures many diseases, is an antidote to poison and brings good luck and fertility.
A girl standing under a mistletoe cannot refuse to be kissed by anyone who claims the privilege.
If a young girl catches a ladybug and then releases it, the direction in which it flies away will be the direction from which her future husband will come.
It is bad luck to kill a ladybug.
"If your nose itches
Your mouth is in danger.
You'll kiss a fool,
And meet a stranger.
Rub an itch to wood
It will come to good."
I was told that if you bury a statute of St. Joseph upside down in your yard it will help your house sell quicker. Have you ever heard of this one? If so, does it matter which direction St. Joseph is facing once he is upside down? - LBarefoot1@aol.com
My mother used to say it whenever she saw one or more crows. Hopefully, you've heard this one. Although I do not know the actual wording, the phrase went something like this:
For information on veiled babies: I just moved my great Aunt to a nursing home. In cleaning out her apartment, I came upon a box. At first I thought it was a baptismal candle, or sealing wax. It looked like a fruit roll up... Yuck when I read the bottom of the box, I learned it was My Great Uncle's veil. He had been born it with at birth.. EEEEwwwww.. This uncle"s sister informed me that he had only a head veil. She had a full veil and still has it. A sea captain, who lived nearby, had made several attempts to purchase it from her. It is said that a baby's veil, kept aboard ship, keeps the ship from being sunk... Any ideas or clues on this topic? - clorox23@aol.com
Knock On Wood: Most people don't know that you are only suppose to knock twice, not three times. Knocking twice prevents what you say from happening while the demons are preoccupied. Knocking three times gets their attention.
When you drive under a yellow traffic light, kiss the back of your hand and tap the ceiling. This prevents you from getting in an accident. - Jennifer
HELP Does anyone know why there is a crescent moon on the outhouse door? I had heard there is a superstition about it. - Doris Holowicki
The Twelve Days of Christmas
The beloved carol was actually a tool to help children learn important tenets of Christianity. Here's what the gifts mean.
When Oliver Cromwell came to power in England, Catholics were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Tradition holds that Catholic parents developed "The Twelve Days of Christmas" to teach children their beliefs.
- Anne Robson robsanne@shaw.ca
In our family one of the superstitions that I have always heard is that a Green Christmas is a full cemetery. - Cofio - stappie@uswest.net
Someone mentioned black eyed peas as good luck on New Years... in Germany, it's pickled herring, according to my stepfather who is of German heritage. He really believes it, so I guess it's worth mentioning. - Brian
I'm not sure where or how these superstitions came about but my grandmother swears by them:
To remedy the bad luck of breaking a mirror: take the pieces to water, preferably running. place the pieces under water so that as your image is restored, so too is your luck. - Randy
My grandmother told me when breaking an egg you must crush the shell so witches can not use them as boats. Where did this come from? - Arlene Sheward
Reading this page made me realize just how superstitious I am. Most of these come from my great-grandmother, who was both Irish (moved to America when she married my great-grandfather) and an Irish Catholic. Some of these I picked up after reading R.L. Stein's *Superstitious*. Here are my list of superstitions:
I've been searching for an old wives tale about a red bird flying into the window of your home. I have had a brilliant red cardinal repeatedly trying to get into the same two windows of my house for the past three days,and it doesn't look like he's going to give up anytime soon. Everyone I've talked to about this says my household is going to come into an over abundance of GOOD LUCK !! I was wondering if there is any truth to this or is the bird probably trying to find a spring time nesting place? - Steve Votaw
I have heard about the superstition of saying God Bless You after one sneezes to congratulate them for getting rid of all evil spirits. Well, my science teacher, Ms. Blyth, told my class that every time you sneeze, your body stops, just for that split second, but sneezing is the closest thing that happens to you to dying, besides actually dying. So, we say God Bless You, so God will bless you, because you just almost died. - Stephanie Wood
Before anyone reads this outloud, never say "MacBeth" in a theatre or terrible things will happen. Macbeth was a play written by William Shakespeare to entertain the king. William wanted to make the play more interesting so he added in one scene an ancient curse ritual with witches and all, and when the play went public the witches were not happy. They put a curse on the play. If MacBeth is EVER uttered in a play (discluding forced saying in play roles), terrible things will happen. In one case, My english teacher's friend had screamed out Macbeth thinking nothing would ever happen....the next day he was 30 minutes late to class. He walked in and sat down. He was as pale as a ghost. Out of no where, he started to vomit blood. The blood was squirting 2 feet in front of him. He fell on the ground and had a seizure. He never had any medical problems or sickness that week and after this happened. If u want to find out more goto this direct link to the story. Never ever utter a word of MacBeth............Chris Tomiko
Deep water sailors who manned the wonderful tall sailing ships of 17th and 18th centuries were a very superstitious lot. They had hundreds of quaint practices and sayings -
It's also known that a sneeze can trigger a fatal heart rhythm. (ventricular fibrillation) So you're blessed before you die kinda thing. - Larry Laird
This one I believe very much, because it actually happened. It is probably the only superstitious thing that I believe in. You should never seat 13 people at a table. It is said that if there are 13 people at a table for a meal, then in one year, one of the people at the table will die. At Chrismas time 1981 my family had dinner and had 13 people seated at the table. September 11, 1982 my father died. It may just be a coincedence, but I have made sure that I have not sat at a table with 13 people. - Nicole
Does anyone the the origin of the superstition about crossing a railroad while lifting up your feet and touching a screw???? - Anonymous
If a broom falls it means a spirit is present in the house - Kittiepurrrfect@aol.com
I saw on practical magic a black dog following the guy who was under a curse. My aunt said that when a black dog follows you it means that you are under a curse. - Peter Land
Friday 13th is Tuesday 13th in Spain - Just to notice that in Spain a bad luck day is Tuesday 13th and it makes reference to the last supper, when Jesus was arrested and the meeting of 13 people in the last supper. Also to remark that in Spain it is considered bad luck to go to the sea on a ship or have a wedding in Tuesday. - Francisco Rodriguez
The superstition of knocking on wood was derived from touching the wood of the cross on which Jesus was crucified, and walking under a ladder should be avoided because the triangle represented the Holy Trinity. - Ged Clapson
The superstition for ladders came from the early Egyptian times when a King or Queen would die or pass on, there would be a ladder left for there soul to climb up to heaven or where ever they believed that they would be going to in the after life. And in conclusion it was believed that whom so ever walked under the ladder would cross or damage the ability for the person that passed on to be trapped here on earth. - Sam
I've been told never to step in a Dust Devil ( when two winds come together and spin dust and trash in its cone ). In fact; I've been pushed out of them by a friend who thinks it to be very terrible luck. There may be a reason it's named a Dust Devil.
As for the Unlucky thirteen, I've heard a few reasons. First the 13 on the Disciples and Jesus. The other pertains to Old american tradition; In the founding of the country, there was little medicine and doctors, so a lot of things were deadly. And in the average two story home on Colonial times, there were 13 steps ( shorter leg length made for shorter steps). If one was to fall from the 7th step, they'd be fumbled but okay. If one fell from the 13th step, chances are they'd die, not just from the fall, but lack of treatment. - Kelli Doyle
My father salutes to magpies. When I quizzed him he revealed that he does it because his mother did before him. He thinks that it is something to do with bad luck. Perhaps someone might be able to shed some light? - Victoria & Roddy Willis
My step d