This past week, the class briefly discussed superstitions, which is one of the two categories of folk beliefs (the other being worldview). A superstition has no rational basis in reality, but still numerous people continue to practice them and participate in it. Some of these that I have commonly seen is spilling the table salt and throwing of the left shoulder (I think) or crossing your finger in hopes for something to happen or not to happen. Superstitions, like rituals (which can be superstitious), can and do vary all over the world and have a huge cultural influence, but most superstitions have to do with luck. We all have the need to know "what will bring us luck?” This luck can be good or bad, which means a superstitious person wants to know what will bring the good and keep the bad away. The image below shows some common superstitions that many people in the American culture will be familiar with.
One can see that the woman is having a bad day in the superstitious world. She is walking under a ladder. Bad luck. It is Friday the 13th. Bad luck. The mirror is crack. 7 years back luck. She is crossing paths with a black cat on a cracked pathway. Double bad luck. There is an open umbrella, inside probably. Again, bad luck. One could say that this woman is going to have a very bad day. Others could say that this is just another day, nothing is out of normal. What the difference in people? I cannot say exactly why or why not a person is seriously superstitious, but something I do know is that superstitions can be fun, which I probably why some people, including myself, somewhat foolishly participate in them. In my Italian family, having a loaf of bread upside-down is bad luck (why? I don’t know, but it is) and it is something we can all agree and laugh about.
Below is an article I found which was written a couple years ago. It discusses numerous different superstitions around the world. Some I have never heard of, or quite frankly understand, but it is interesting to learn about. Enjoy…it’s short!
Great article! Thanks for sharing it with us!
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ReplyDeleteSpeaking of Friday the 13th, Last Winter quarter, I was the last person to register for Parasitology class on Friday, the 13th of either October or November. Can you believe that? The last person. I didn't have to be wait listed, I squeezed in just in time, and it all happened on Friday the 13th!!!Now that's LUCKY! It's interesting how you say in your blog that superstitions have to do with luck. Do you believe in good and bad luck? What is luck? The dichotomy between good and bad luck is intriguing because many people want good luck and nobody wants bad luck, but they both happen. Maybe that's what keeps the universe in balance.
ReplyDeleteTessa, I really I really enjoyed reading your posts. I was actually born on Friday the 13th and as a young child by sister would always tease me. She would say I was bad luck, I know that she was just teasing me but at one point I began to believe her. On my second birthday, my grandfather died. For a long time I wondered if he died because I cursed him because of my birthday. Of course once I was about twelve years old I knew that I am not bad luck. It just happens that the day I was born happened to be a Friday which was also the 13th. I think it is interesting to hear and see people when they are buying an umbrella. Many people want to open them to make sure that they are working properly and not broken but they are afraid that if they open it inside, they will have bad luck. It makes me giggle when I hear parents telling there children no, you can't open the umbrella, wait till we are outside. Great post and thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas =)
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