Most Common Superstitions And Their Origins
Saturday, Aug 15, 2020, 8:59 am
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1.God Bless you
When someone sneezes, it's almost a reflex for you to say God bless you, and if you don't say it, you are looked upon as rude. But what does it mean? It is thought that you're heart stops beating when you sneeze, and blessing you is to keep the devil away.
2.Itchy Palms
If your right hand itches, money will come in. If your left hand itches, money will go out. The only known origin of this superstition is from Shakespeare's, Julius Caesar, who condemned Cassius to have an itching palm. Probably meaning the left palm so he would lose money.
3.Knock On Wood
How many times have you said something and then got paranoid and knocked on wood. That superstition comes from a pagan believed that good spirits lived in trees and in order to get their wish they would whisper into the tree and knock two times. However, there are others who believe that the knocking on wood wards of evil spirits who could get in the way of your wish coming true.
4.Hat On Bed
It is thought to be bad luck to place a hat on a bed. Why? Well it is said that a bed looks like a coffin and back in the day when someone died, their clothes were laid out on the bed to show respect. Placing your hat on the bed may bring you death, or mean you are already dead.
5.Opening Umbrellas Indoors
The superstition against opening umbrellas indoors for fear of bad luck originated from the ancient Egyptians. They used umbrellas to protect them from the sun, but if they opened them indoors it as an insult to Ra, the sun god. You would be cursed for such an offense.
6.Broken Mirrors
The reason we are afraid of breaking a mirror is that we think we will get seven years bad luck Part of the reason is that in past mirrors were so expensive it would cost people seven years worth of salary to replace them. Another reason is that doctors used mirrors as a sort of x-ray and if the glass broke, the person was given a prognosis that they would be very ill for seven years.
7.Black Cats
If a black cat crosses your path watch out. Or so goes the superstition. It is thought to have from the fact that witches were thought to be able to communicate with animals, especially black cats, who then did their evil dirty work. The cats got a bad rap during the witch hunt days.
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8.Lucky Number 13
The thirteenth apostle betrayed Jesus and therefore the number thirteen must be unlucky. Furthering the superstition, it is said that the thirteenth person at an even is the unlucky one, meaning twelve is a lucky number. Maybe that's why we have 12 months, a day is broken into two 12's and 80% of buildings in the US skip the 13th floor.
9.Lucky Charms
In order for a rabbit's foot to be lucky it has to be his left hind foot and the rabbit had to have been shot or captured in a cemetery during the full or new moon and it all has to occur on a rainy Friday. The most lucky rabbits foot is one that is shot on a rainy Friday the 13th.
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10.Spilling Salt
In the past salt was very expensive so in order to get people not to spill it and waste it, a rumor was started that it was bad luck. People needed a way to get rid of the bad luck, so the superstition started that you should throw salt over your left shoulder because that was the side the devil was on.
11.Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue
Almost every bride wears something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue, but do they know why? The old is to symbolize the connection with her family, the new is optimism for a new life, the borrowed comes from a friend in a good marriage, and the blue was the color of love back in Roman times.
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12.Walking Under A Ladder
Most people are aware that walking under a ladder is bad luck, or at least that's wha they've been told. It's an old superstition that no one really knows the reason as to why it got started. It originated from the fact that a ladder placed against a wall forms a triangle that for the Egyptians was a holy symbol as evidenced by their pyramids. To walk under it breaks the symbol and makes the gods angry.
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