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Do you think walking

under a ladder or

opening an umbrella

indoors gives you bad luck?

Does nding a penny or having a

horseshoe bring you good luck?

I don’t really believe in

superstitions and yet I will go

out of my way to avoid walkingunder a ladder. Why?

 

Superstitions are beliefs or

practices for which there is

no rational or reasonable

explanation. Most people agree

that these events are not really

valid and that the “bad things”

associated with the event are just

coincidences. But they followthe beliefs – just in case.

 

Superstitions are associated with

both good and bad luck. Finding

a four-leaf clover is believed to

be good luck. Wishbones -- the

v-shaped bones found in the

breast of chicken (and other

birds) – are good luck too. Each

person makes a wish and pullsone side of it, and the one who

ends up with the larger half will

have his wish come true.

Some cultures have attached

special meaning to numbers.

 

· 13: The fear of the number 13,

called triskaidekaphobia, is a

common superstition in North

America. Fear of the number

13 can be traced back to ancient

times in many cultures. Next

time you are in a high-rise ofce

building, look for the 13th oor.

The numbers in the elevator may

go 11, 12, 14, 15, etc. Have you

ever sat in row 13 on an airplane?

Some communities that number

their streets or avenues jump

from 12th to 14th. How do you

feel about Friday the 13th?

· 4: In China, the pronunciation

of the word for the number 4 is

similar to that of the Chinese

word for death. Many buildings

in China skip a fourth oor, just

as U.S. builders sometimes omit

oor 13.

·9: Just as the number four has abad-luck sound-alike in Chinese,

9 is feared in Japan because it

sounds similar to the Japanese

word for torture or suffering.

·17: Some Italians are superstitious

about Friday the 17th because

rearranging the Roman numeral

XVII can create the word

“VIXI”—translated from Latinto mean “my life is over.”

· 666:

Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia

means fear of the number 666.

In the Bible’s apocalyptic Book

of Revelation, John the Apostle

refers to 666 as “the number

of the beast.” This “beast” is

often interpreted as being the

Antichrist—and thus the number

is a sign of the devil.

Superstitions are based on beliefs, not facts, but we pay attention to them

– just in case. Writer Bruce Kahn lays out the common and obscure beliefs

from around the world.

 Are you feeling lucky?

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Here are some other popular

superstitions.

· Having a horseshoe brings

good luck and keeps nightmares

away, if you hang a horseshoe in

the bedroom or on a doorknobwith its ends pointing upwards.

This belief stems from the fact

that a horseshoe has seven holes,

which is considered to be a lucky

number, and is made of iron, so

it can supposedly ward off evil

spirits that may haunt you in your

dreams.

· Bird poop brings good luck!There is a belief that if a bird

poops on you, your car or your

property, you may receive good

luck and riches. The more birds

involved, the richer you’ll be! So

next time a bird poops on you,

remember that it’s a good thing.

· Something old, something new,

something borrowed, somethingblue. This popular wedding

tradition is said to have originated

during the Victorian era and

involves giving the bride various

gifts. One is something old and

represents continuity; another is

new and represents hope and the

future; the third is borrowed and

symbolizes borrowed happiness

while the last is blue and is

supposed to bring purity, love,

and delity.

· Fingers crossed. Crossing

one’s ngers is commonly

used for good luck. It was used

when ancient Christians were

persecuted, and believers used

it to identify other believers as

a sign of peace. Today however,

this has evolved to excuse thetelling of white lies, which may

have its roots in the belief that the

power of the Christian cross may

save a person from being sent to

hell for telling a lie.

· Wishing upon a star. The

superstition involving wishingon the rst star you see in the

evening is somewhat uncertain,

however Europeans believed that

the gods would occasionally peer

down, and when they moved the

sky, a star would escape and fall

down. The Greeks also believed

that the stars were falling human

souls, making a wish on them

brought luck.

· Opening an umbrella indoors.

According to superstition, if you

open an umbrella indoors, you

are literally asking for bad luck

to “rain on you”. One explanation

comes from the days when

umbrellas were used as protection

from the sun; opening one inside

was an insult to the sun god, whowould then curse you with bad

luck. Another theory states that

an umbrella protects you against

the storms of life, so opening

one inside your house insults the

guardian spirits of your home

(who also protect you from the

storms of life), causing them to

leave you unprotected.

· Itchy palms. There seems to

be a lot of variations on this

superstition, but the idea of having

an itchy palm generally refers to

someone who is greedy or has an

insatiable desire for money. Some

people believe that if the right

palm itches, you will lose money,

while an itchy left palm means

that money is coming your way.