Cultural customs and superstitions

[Brother Oni]

Important caveat: A number of customs and superstitions have basis in folk religion or other prohibited subjects on this board. If a superstition has such a basis, please just describe the superstition then state it is religious in nature and that you cannot explain further.
I don't want to be responsible for people inadvertently picking up infractions or getting (what I hope to be) an informative thread locked.

Anyway, I was recently eating with somebody when they made the social faux pas of sticking their chopsticks upright in their food and I explained why it was bad luck to do this.

This lead me to think about what superstitions other cultures have and what their basis was. I'm specifically curious about cultural habits, rather than personal ones like always letting the 'phone ring twice before picking up or never opening a bag of crisps (chips to Americans) upside down.

I'll start the ball rolling with regard to the above since somebody asked earlier: in Japanese culture, it's considered very bad luck to put your chopsticks upright in your food as this is how you offer food to the dead. Any further discussion of this is classed as religion unfortunately.

Another one is the Chinese custom of eating with your elbows on the table, or rather, eating with your hands in plain sight at all times. This dates back to older times where people were assassinated at banquets and meals - by keeping your hands clearly visible, you're showing people you're not reaching for a dagger or sword under the table.
This unfortunately clashes a great deal with English table manners where you keep your hands in your lap whenever you're not eating and resting your elbows on the table is considered rude.

I look forward to reading about other people's customs. :smallsmile:

[Jokasti]

If you knock over the salt, throw a pinchful over your left shoulder with your right hand.
Turn a rock upside down every day.
Those are the only ones that come to mind.

[AtlanteanTroll]

Black cats are evil
Step on a crack break your mothers back
Eating a pig will give you H1N1

[Coplantor]

When the car passes over a tain rail, lift your feet from the car floor.

[Dallas-Dakota]

Another one is the Chinese custom of eating with your elbows on the table, or rather, eating with your hands in plain sight at all times. This dates back to older times where people were assassinated at banquets and meals - by keeping your hands clearly visible, you're showing people you're not reaching for a dagger or sword under the table.
This unfortunately clashes a great deal with English table manners where you keep your hands in your lap whenever you're not eating and resting your elbows on the table is considered rude.

Hence come in the dutch :smallcool: who keep their hands visible at all times but their elbows off the table.

We are the Dutch, your customs will be assimilated, contact information will be exchanged, profitable deals for us will be made.

:smalltongue:

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

If you break a mirror, it's bad luck.
If you walk under a ladder, it's bad luck.
Don't even get me started on putting shoes on the table...

[Spiryt]

If you spill the sugar, it will mean conciliation, if salt - a quarrel.

[Coidzor]

The whole knocking on wood thing always confused me.

If you come upon a cairn, add a stone to it.

[Castaras]

The whole knocking on wood thing always confused me.


I believe it's something to do with warding off some faelike creature.

There's the old cold iron horseshoe to ward off the fae. IIRC, cold iron is the one substance that can harm the Fae (not fairies, not tiny little things, I'ma talking about the humanoidsized ones that transform into animals and are malicious and/or mischevious and like playing with humans. Don't even get me started on Victorianisation of fae...:smallfurious: Destroying perfectly good mythology with winged little critters that are better eaten with a dash of horseradish...)

[Coidzor]

eaten with a dash of horseradish...

Awww, don't be so hard on yourself. :smalltongue:

[KenderWizard]

In Ireland, you can still see lone trees left alone in the middle of fields because they're believed to be fairy trees, and Irish fairies don't play nice if you make them mad at you. Mushroom rings are called fairy rings, and you shouldn't step in one or disturb it, because the fairies will be able to capture you or follow you home.

On Hallowe'en or Oiche Samhna (ee-ha how-na), people have a brack or bairin breac (baw-reen brack), which is like fruit cake, and there'll be a coin and a ring in it (sometimes more stuff too). The person who gets the coin in their slice will be rich or get a windfall in the coming year, and the person who gets the ring will be first married. Also on Oiche Samhna, you can play a similar game with five little saucers: one with a coin on, one with a ring, one with a little doll, one with a pea and one with some soil. Someone is blindfolded and spun around while the saucers are rearranged, and they put their hand out over the table and choose a saucer. Coin means riches and ring means marriage, same as with the brack, and then pea means poverty, soil means death and doll means babies or pregnancy.

[Castaras]

Awww, don't be so hard on yourself. :smalltongue:

Yeah, I should use a massive dollop of it.

[CurlyKitGirl]

I believe it's something to do with warding off some faelike creature.

There's the old cold iron horseshoe to ward off the fae. IIRC, cold iron is the one substance that can harm the Fae (not fairies, not tiny little things, I'ma talking about the humanoidsized ones that transform into animals and are malicious and/or mischevious and like playing with humans. Don't even get me started on Victorianisation of fae...:smallfurious: Destroying perfectly good mythology with winged little critters that are better eaten with a dash of horseradish...)

Actually, to be perfectly honest, it started back with Midsummer Night's Dream - the names and the mischieviousness of faeries in that play more often than the following facts:
The whole reason the plot happens is because Titania's page was stolen by her husband. That page boy was a slave, who was stolen from his human mother.
The entire plot is malicious and cruel, with the faeries outright manipulating humanity for gits and shiggles
Puck, Titania and Oberon all outright state this, and how much fun they're having. Plus, I'm fairly sure Puck talks about having his way with human females as well.
Anyway, although the Victorians finalised it, Shakespeare started it.

Superstitions and customs . . .
When eating a pasty, you always break a part of the crust off, and leave it out for the knockers, the spriggans and the faeries.
When you walk past the entrance to an old mine or part of a miner's stack, always knock on a stone; this is to thank the knockers for variously, leading the miners to rich veins of tin/etc and so they won't trick you.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I live in Toronto. I can't think of any good superstitions, or any customs that really strike me. I suppose there are things, but to me they're just... things that I don't even notice doing.

[Cealocanth]

Hold your breath when walking past a graveyard to avoid inhaling ghosts.

I gotta say, that's a weird one.

When you see the "watch out for falling rock" sign on a mountain road don't look up at the cliff.

If your birthday falls on a Friday the 13th, you are doomed to have a bad year.

[Dvandemon]

There was an old superstition of writing abracadabra in a triangle like:
a
ab
abr
abra
abrac
abraca
abracad
abracada
abracadab
abracadabr
abracadabra
for good luck
Also, the only reason you shouldn't walk under a ladder is because ladders form triangles and it was considered bad luck to break one. The reason fae are also known as The Fair Folk is because a less flattering name would invoke their wrath

[THAC0]

Don't bring a banana on a fishing boat!

[Project_Mayhem]

Never eat chicken lips

[Thajocoth]

Never eat chicken lips

Chickens don't have lips. They have beaks.

[John Cribati]

Duppies (ghosts for all you non-Jamaicans out there) are afraid of salt, for some odd reason. High blood pressure?

[Elentari]

The whole knocking on wood thing always confused me.


I'm not quite sure, but I think that this custom originated from the belief that the fairies lived in trees, and by knocking on the trees/wood things, you would be thanking them/acknowledging their presence/asking them not to play tricks on you.

[Serpentine]

I'm guessing that's the joke. I've had "duck chin", though.
Another one is the Chinese custom of eating with your elbows on the table, or rather, eating with your hands in plain sight at all times. This dates back to older times where people were assassinated at banquets and meals - by keeping your hands clearly visible, you're showing people you're not reaching for a dagger or sword under the table.This one reminds me of the clinking glasses together in the "cheers" custom. This is from back in the day, when anyone could be out to murder anyone else. To guard against poison, everyone would tip a little bit of their drink into everyone else's cup, thereby assuring that if one person was poisoned, they all would be.

I did a class once called "Custom and Community: Popular Culture in Britain 1650-1850". I just checked one of my essays from it then to check the name. As it turns out, it's about superstition - "Why Did So Many Labouring People in Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Britain Believe in Magic, Superstitions, Omens and Rituals?" If anyone's interested I'll post the whole thing. Note that there's mention of religion in there, though, so if I do, no discussing those bits.
Anyway, the reason I brought it up was because the lecturer for that unit (best lecturer ever) had some grandmother issues. Well, that's not actually why I brought it up, specifically, but his grandmother had some of those superstitions. For example, she would keep a loaf baked on Christmas day on the mantlepiece all year long, to stop other bread from getting mouldy. Ah... There was more, but I can't remember it. Something about avoiding Evil Eye. He also told us about how once when they were renovating or demolishing his house, they found kitten bones under the threshold*. Kittens were put alive into buildings to keep witches and the like away.

Not very many here... If you see a flock of black cockatoos, the number of birds is the number of days until rain. Ants swarming is a sign of rain (except this one can actually work...). Um... I suppose there's the native superstitions about going to certain sacred sites (a man was recently beaten half to death by a couple of aboriginal kids over it).
There's lots of horseshoes over doorways... Oh, and horseshoes have to be open-end up to catch all the luck - upside down lets all the luck spill out.
I tried to start a superstition with my dad about spaghetti bolognese. I asked him, "so what happens to the person who gets the bay leaf?", and he said, "Um... they get extra flavour?" Work with me, dad :smallannoyed:
"Step on a crack, break your mother's back. Step on a line, break your mother's spine."
Crystal healing :smallsigh: Can't believe my friend's into that... And aura photography :smallsigh:


*Not a superstition, but anyway: The threshold was originally a board put in the doorway to hold in all the straw and stuff (the "thresh") that was used to cover the floors. Thus, threshold.

[Mauve Shirt]

I knock on wood to keep faeries from playing tricks, and I throw spilled salt over my left shoulder to blind the devil.

[KenderWizard]

There was an old superstition of writing abracadabra in a triangle like:
a
ab
abr
abra
abrac
abraca
abracad
abracada
abracadab
abracadabr
abracadabra
for good luck
Also, the only reason you shouldn't walk under a ladder is because ladders form triangles and it was considered bad luck to break one. The reason fae are also known as The Fair Folk is because a less flattering name would invoke their wrath

This was an old cure for fever, I heard. You write a new line every day and keep the piece of paper tied around the patient's neck. Then on the last day, you throw the paper into a river, and when the ink has dissolved, the fever will be gone.

A totally unrelated fact: a fever will burn itself out after about 10 or 12 days if left untreated and the patient doesn't die of it. :smalltongue:

[Serpentine]

Abracadabra really is an old magic word. Wearing it as an amulet kept away bad magic and the like, and there were a bunch of other uses as well. Been a while since I read about it, though.

You can watch The Shirallee for a sort-of example, but it's not so much superstition as outdated medicine: "Sweating out a fever". If someone's sick, you make them as hot as you can to get rid of the disease. Unfortunately, it tends to have the side-effect of death. However, something I learned in the last couple of years, that the body gets a fever because there is a temperature over which most human viruses and bacteria can't survive but at which humans can, so the body tries to heat up enough to kill the disease without killing the body, makes me wonder if there might not be something to it...

I suppose there's the smearing of vegemite to keep away dropbears...

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

I suppose there's the smearing of vegemite to keep away dropbears...

Is it sad, that I had to actually pause for second to remind myself certain things about Australia? having something to do with whether or not dropbears actually exist...

[golentan]

Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, may be permitted to finish uttering the phrase "What's the worst..." when in or discussing the field.

[Marnath]

Is it sad, that I had to actually pause for second to remind myself certain things about Australia? having something to do with whether or not dropbears actually exist...

Koala's right? When my mom's pen pal came to the U.S. years ago with her husband, they gave me and my brother koala-shaped backpacks and told us about how if you walked under a drop bear they'd drop onto you. :smallbiggrin::smalltongue: And he gave us vegemite about 1/4 of an inch thick on toast....and thats how i found out i hate it with a passion >.>
Hehe, his wife was scandalized when she realized the trick he'd played on us poor americans :smallsmile:

[factotum]

Hold your breath when walking past a graveyard to avoid inhaling ghosts.

I gotta say, that's a weird one.


Even weirder when you consider that ghosts traditionally haunt the place they died, not where their body lies...how many people actually die in a graveyard? :smallwink:

[Marnath]

Even weirder when you consider that ghosts traditionally haunt the place they died, not where their body lies...how many people actually die in a graveyard? :smallwink:

More than you'd think, in older graveyards. People got buried alive all the time before modern medicine. It's where the idea of holding a wake comes from. You set them out and see if they regain consciousness.

[rakkoon]

My mother said to put your shoes next to each other at the end of your bed to derail evil spirits. I'm thinking about repeating this line to my kids so that they'll clean up a bit more...

[Melayl]

Among most medical staff (nurses in particular), it is bad luck to say q-u-i-e-t, as it will cause things to hit the fan. We always just say "the Q word" instead.

Also, if it is a full moon, your shift will be busier/crazier.

I never used to be superstitious until I became a nurse.

[Ponderthought]

Some weird ones from the south (or maybe just my family):

Nail a horseshoe above your door for luck, but beware if it swings so the ends face down- all your luck drained out.

If you stumble across a headstone, clean it up a bit (more common than youd think, lots of old graves out here get overgrown)

If you stumble upon a headstone, say the name. The dead get lonely.

Gypsies will steal your dog (I dont even know, Ive never met a gypsy. Seems abit prejudiced)

Never wear your hat indoors.

It used to be an urban legend that their were aligators in lake worth, until it turned out to be true.

[Eldan]

Let's see...
Moving a boundary stone cursed you to carry it on your back forever as a ghost, trying to setting it back, but being unable to. That's of course more a legend than a superstition, but:
If you touch a boundary stone with your hands (feet don't count), you have to also touch the soil on each side afterwards.

Living downwind or below (if it's on a hill) from a graveyard curses your house. Can be warded off by building a metal cross into the wall. I've heard that earlier, this was supposed to be a pentagram.

Thirteen people at the same table is back luck for all of them.

Oh, another one: basilisks. Fairly common legends around here, actually. They show up in coats of arms and statues quite a few times. Let's see.
Origins: a toad incubating a chicken egg gives birth to a basilisk.
Similarly, a black male chicken (stupid censor) can turn into a basilisk.
There is actually a documented case of a male black chicken being sentenced to death by a court for laying an egg. The charges were "upsetting the natural order", since it was male, and "attempting to create a basilisk".

On new years eve, and only on new years eve, the future can be predicted by pouring molten metal or candle wax into a glass of cold water. There's entire books describing the possible shapes and what they can mean. Most often love and different kinds and results of pregnancy.

Leaving crumbs of bread under the table attracts dwarves/gnomes, who come to eat them and then play pranks and refuse to leave.

Edit: gypsies stealing dogs? Around here, they were said to steal children and bring the plague.

[Quincunx]

All but one of the places I've lived here has had a new coin of the same denomination put over every fireplace and under every radiator. It's a small sample size, but by the third dwelling I began to wonder if it was deliberate.

[The Succubus]

Hmmm.....opening an umbrella indoors is considered to be bad luck. I can understand this, especially if the one of the spokes jabs someone in the eye because its an enclosed space. Oh, another one is that Friday 13th of any month is supposed to be bad luck.

As for the bayleaf bolognaise thing....hmmm, I think I have one:

"If you eat the bayleaf on a bolognaise, your cooking improves for seven more days?"

The idea behind it being that eating the bayleaf will give you inspiration for other culinary ideas?

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

One must never mention the name of the Scottish Play. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h--HR7PWfp0) :smallcool:

[IonDragon]

I knock on wood to keep faeries from playing tricks, and I throw spilled salt over my left shoulder to blind the devil.You also throw salt to kill the Brain Slug crawling up your back.

More than you'd think, in older graveyards. People got buried alive all the time before modern medicine. It's where the idea of holding a wake comes from. You set them out and see if they regain consciousness.
"Saved by the bell" because they would tie a string to your toe so if (after you were buried) you started thrashing about they could hear you
There was another one or two along this line, but I can't remember them.

[Eldan]

Oh, another one.

You can get rid of nightmares by drawing a picture of your dream, burning it and scattering the ashes.

[katans]

A few from France:

- Never whistle on a boat.
- Blowing away one of your fallen eyelashes grants you one wish. So does sighting a shooting star, or dropping a coin in a well.
- Touching a hunchback's hunch brings good luck.
- Crossing your fork and knife during dinner means an argument will start soon.
- Black cats do not bring bad luck per se, but they could be the Devil's spy. You can drive the Devil out by tugging on the cat's tail.
- Never open your door to a stranger while the church bells rings noon or midnight. It could be the Devil.

[Serpentine]

And he gave us vegemite about 1/4 of an inch thick on toast....and thats how i found out i hate it with a passion >.>
Ugh. That person should be ashamed of themself. You do not know that you hate it with a passion, because you haven't eaten it properly. Very, very few people eat it that way, and we all think they're weird. The best way is thusly: Toast a piece of bread to your liking. Put on plenty of butter to melt. Wipe a really, really thin layer of Vegemite over it. Really thin. If you can't see the bread underneath, it's too thick. Try it that way, and if then you still think you hate it, I'll accept it.
Now I feel like vegemite on toast. Wonder if we have any...


Origins: a toad incubating a chicken egg gives birth to a basilisk.
...
There is actually a documented case of a male black chicken being sentenced to death by a court for laying an egg. The charges were "upsetting the natural order", since it was male, and "attempting to create a basilisk".Alluded to here, but the version I know is that it has to be a rooster's egg incubated by the toad.
As for the bayleaf bolognaise thing....hmmm, I think I have one:

"If you eat the bayleaf on a bolognaise, your cooking improves for seven more days?"

The idea behind it being that eating the bayleaf will give you inspiration for other culinary ideas?Eating the bayleaf? Blegh :smallyuk:

[Kasanip]

Do not kill spiders
Do not wrap gift in white paper
You should hide your 'thumbs' if you see 'funeral car'
Do not lick chopsticks
Do not write names in red color

maybe it is a few.:smallredface:

[Project_Mayhem]

Chickens don't have lips. They have beaks.

*slowclap*

[drakir_nosslin]

Things that cause bad luck according to some old book i found once.

Cutting a loaf of bread from both sides
Leaving your keys on the table
Destroying a spider's web (killing a spider brings rain)
Wearing socks with holes in them
Spilling salt

[The Succubus]

I still like the idea of coming up with our own superstitions - anyone got any suggestions for forum-related superstitions?

[AtlanteanTroll]

Dont break the rules.

[faceroll]

Ever hear of (South) Korean Fan Death? (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death)

That is one hell of a superstition.

[Eldan]

And another good thing: I found a small booklet with superstitions and potion ingredients.

There's of course the Mandragora, a root in the shape of a human, which cures all diseases.

Moss growing on a skull, so called Brain Moss, cures epilepsy and other seizure disorders.

Weasels can cause you to break your bones by hissing at you.

Trapping a special kind of spider (no idea what they are called in english, the dictionary just seems to call them garden spiders) in a cage would mean it would turn to gold.

[ForzaFiori]

If a pictures falls face down and breaks, it's a death omen for the people in it.

Hold your breath whenever you pass a cemetery. if you don't, you can be possessed. (comes from the same idea as saying "bless you" when someone sneezes)

Cardinals mean company is coming.

That's it for now. I'll be back later and might post more.

[The Succubus]

And another good thing: I found a small booklet with superstitions and potion ingredients.

There's of course the Mandragora, a root in the shape of a human, which cures all diseases.

Moss growing on a skull, so called Brain Moss, cures epilepsy and other seizure disorders.

Weasels can cause you to break your bones by hissing at you.

Trapping a special kind of spider (no idea what they are called in english, the dictionary just seems to call them garden spiders) in a cage would mean it would turn to gold.

I'm not sure of the actual species but a tradition I recall from my childhood involves money spiders. A money spider is little bigger than a pinhead and the superstition goes that if you twirl said spider around your head 3 times, it means money is coming your way. In actuality, what I found was that this resulted in a dizzy spider and when a relative tried it, it resulted in her shrieking "itsinmyhairohgoditsinmyhar" over and over. >.>

[Serpentine]

Oh yeah, "money spiders". They're just any tiny spider, really - probably the babies of any number of species. If they land on you, it means you have money coming your way.

When a shiver runs down your spine for no reason, someone's stepped on your grave.

[Yora]

"Everytime you lighten a cigaret at a candle flame, one sailor drowns on sea."
(It's because a lit candle would be set in a window, so a sailor at sea would find his way home. Don't treat that candle casualy.)

Among most medical staff (nurses in particular), ...

Also, if it is a full moon, your shift will be busier/crazier.
That's no superstition. My father works in a psychiatric hospital and a friend is a police officer who often takes emergency calls. They know when it's "crazy weather". Full moon is a common one.

[The Succubus]

Oh yeah, "money spiders". They're just any tiny spider, really - probably the babies of any number of species. If they land on you, it means you have money coming your way.

When a shiver runs down your spine for no reason, someone's stepped on your grave.

I think I've figured out the money spider thing. The money spider is a juvenile black widow and when it lands on you, it means someone else has money coming to them, on account of the whole "Last Will and Testament" thing. Happens all the time in Australia, because there's nothing there except lethal spiders and Serp.

[Brother Oni]

If you stumble across a headstone, clean it up a bit (more common than youd think, lots of old graves out here get overgrown)

If you stumble upon a headstone, say the name. The dead get lonely.


There's an eastern custom when paying respect to your ancestors that you tidy up their grave site and make offerings.


"Everytime you lighten a cigaret at a candle flame, one sailor drowns on sea."

There's a similar western superstition that taking the third strike of a match for lighting a cigarette is unlucky. This dates back to WW1 and trench warfare: the first strike, the enemy sniper notices you; second strike, he aims; third strike, boom headshot.


Happens all the time in Australia, because there's nothing there except lethal spiders and Serp.

Judging from the rumours, I'm more afraid of Serp than the spiders. :smalltongue:

[Starfols]

Don't bring a banana on a fishing boat!

It's a bad omen to discuss bananas on GitP. :smalltongue:

[Rockphed]

Hot dog ends in ramen bestow, alternately, luck and curses. Now I want some ramen.

[CurlyKitGirl]

I did a class once called "Custom and Community: Popular Culture in Britain 1650-1850". I just checked one of my essays from it then to check the name. As it turns out, it's about superstition - "Why Did So Many Labouring People in Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Britain Believe in Magic, Superstitions, Omens and Rituals?" If anyone's interested I'll post the whole thing. Note that there's mention of religion in there, though, so if I do, no discussing those bits.

YES PLEASE!

Oooh, Serpy, you still have that encyclopaedia series on the supernatural and whatnot?
Didn't most every book in that series - especially the Christmas one - have lists of superstitions and suchlike in it?


Thought of some more:
Never take a pasty onto a boat. If you do someone will drown.
Never say 'hello' to a vicar or priest when walking from [wherever] to boarding your boat; it's extremely bad luck to do so.
Same for if a rabbit crosses your path - there will be a bad storm that will damage your boat (or the entire fleet) and/or kill someone.
DO NOT EVER kill seagulls or dolphins. They are the souls of sailors, fishermen and everyone who died at sea.
If your boat isn't blessed at the Blessing of the Fleet you will be in for a poor year's fishing.

Yes, I do live in a fishing village. Why do you ask? :smalltongue:

[Dr. Bath]

Or albatrosses. Don't kill them either.

I find the fact where you position you eating implements when you finish a meal changes from culture to culture. Pretty crazy!

[Haruki-kun]

One must never mention the name of the Scottish Play. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h--HR7PWfp0) :smallcool:

Strangely enough, actors never say the name of the Scottish Play, but when referring to the character, they're allowed to say it. Saying the name of King Macbeth or Lady Macbeth is not bad luck. Saying it as the name of the play is.

While it's the subject of theater, actors are never to wear yellow costumes, as it brings bad luck. It is also considered bad luck to wish an actor Good Luck.

Best of luck would be to say a certain swear word to them. In English it starts with S.

[KenderWizard]

OhmyGod, it's Friday the 13th RIGHT NOW!! So, is Friday the 13th lucky or unlucky? I think I've mostly heard it's unlucky, but I've also heard lucky. Is it different in different countries?

Also, you get a wish if a ladybird flies off your finger (falling or being flicked doesn't count). Finding a shiny penny is good luck: "Find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.". And magpies are portents, based on how many of them there are:
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver and
Six for gold and
Seven for a secret never to be told.
But in my school if you saw a lone magpie and saluted him, you could avoid the sorrow.

[Ceric]

A few Chinese ones:

Don't wear white, the color of death.
Don't have things in groups of four, or have any 4s in your telephone number, address, etc, because 4 is death. (The pronunciation of "four" is similar to "death".)
Instead, have lots of 8s. Eight is lucky.
Don't clean the house or wash your hair on New Year's Day, because it will wash away all the new year's luck. (Yeaaah. We don't follow this one in regards to washing hair.)
The house-cleaning must instead be done prior to New Year's, because how your house looks on New Year's will be how it stays all year. (Probably goes for lots of things, not just the house.)
When serving meals, don't put rice on the table first. Put some other dishes and then you can put rice. Probably because if you're poor, rice may be the only food you have, so prove you're not poor by having other foods. (Chinese restaurants never serve rice first, I've noticed.)

I might think of more later.

[Melayl]

That's no superstition. My father works in a psychiatric hospital and a friend is a police officer who often takes emergency calls. They know when it's "crazy weather". Full moon is a common one.

Yeah, full moons generally cause long days/nights for medical staff and police officers. Not every time, but many.

[KenderWizard]

Okay, so, if you peel an apple with a knife, around in a spiral, so you end up with just one long piece of peel in the end, you then turn around and throw the peel over your shoulder, and the peel will fall in the shape of the initial or initials of the person you'll marry. Surprisingly, S comes up a lot! :smalltongue:

[Eldan]

A slightly silly one my father told me:

Put a penny on your windowsill and you'll always have money. At least one penny.

[Serpentine]

I think I've figured out the money spider thing. The money spider is a juvenile black widow and when it lands on you, it means someone else has money coming to them, on account of the whole "Last Will and Testament" thing. Happens all the time in Australia, because there's nothing there except lethal spiders and Serp.Hee :smallbiggrin:
But it's red-backs here, not black widows :smallwink:
YES PLEASE!Heh. Alright then, if you like. Few years old now, mind.
HIST319
Custom and Community: Popular Culture in Britain 1650-1850

Assignment 2

Why Did So Many Labouring People in Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Century Britain Believe in Magic, Superstitions, Omens and Rituals?

Life for most labouring people of eighteenth and early nineteenth century Britain was hard and unpredictable. Many were rural folk, tight-knit and close to nature, and few had any comprehensive education or access to the grand new discoveries in the field of natural sciences being made in the cities at this time. Christianity could offer hope and reassurance and even a shallow sort of explanation for the events and phenomena they observed, but only magic and portents could give the ordinary people the sense of power, control and comprehension they craved.
It was frequently noted that it was the poor, undereducated and generally rural folk who clung most tightly to their “superstitious” beliefs. In a time when Darwin, Wallace and Lamarck were formulating their theories the educated elite could scoff at their inferiors’ ignorance. Without access to this information, the people formulated their own thoughts on the nature of the world, and shared and expanded upon them within their close-knit and communicative communities. Instead of scientific logic, they had that of magic, tradition and communal knowledge to explain all that they saw and experienced, from ordinary, every-day experience to the highly unusual or just plain weird. Although it is easy to consider superstition counterintuitive, much of it had a firm basis in logic and made a great deal of sense, at least within its own context. A custom would survive and be handed down on the quite reasonable condition that it worked. If something had been shown previously to work, and was of little cost but potentially a good deal of advantage to a person, there was no reason not to continue doing so and quite good reasons to persist. Such an act was an insurance policy against strife and inconvenience and was, indeed, self-perpetuating: should that which a certain rite or act was intended to prevent or fix in fact occur or continue, it was likely to be assumed that the measures were not properly enacted, or in any case was likely to be quickly forgotten in the face of other successes.
Many rites and rituals were sympathetic in character, in keeping with an uneducated logic closely bound to nature – in a ritual intended to heal a child’s hernia, for example, a split sapling represented the rupture Even similarity in appearance could indicate an intimate association between two things: a plant with a heart-shaped leaf could be harmful or beneficial to the heart, a nut to the head or maidenhair fern to hair. Such rituals also demonstrate the immediacy of the natural world to that of the rustics – it was alongside and within their environment and its rhythms that ordinary people worked and lived, and it was upon their immediate surroundings that they relied upon for their livelihood, well-being and survival. All creation, it was believed, was fundamentally connected, and there were microcosms within microcosms. Everything in the human world had an equivalent in the natural, and also in the spiritual realm, and they were all intimately entwined. Any change in one had an immediate and tangible effect on the others.
Magic and superstition, as well as connecting the people to the world around them, gave them things to blame, enemies to fight. Among those with little knowledge and less understanding of the causes of disease, plagues and destructive weather – which for a long time after their discovery was the vast majority – they turned to evil spirits, malign forces, malicious persons and the devil to explain their misfortunes. These were enemies that could be fought, that could be battled through their own efforts or of those versed in the necessary skills. Of the enemies, witches are perhaps the best documented, for they were frequently brought before a court of law, heard, judged and their cases recorded. They made convenient scapegoats for everyday misfortune, and were accused of using a great variety of sinister methods to work their evil, which could include everything from inconveniences such as butter not “coming” to impotence, infertility, damage to property, and disease, injury or death in animals and humans. Like the rural folk they terrorized, they were closely bound with the unpredictable forces of nature with their animal-shaped familiars.
Christian clergy generally preached that the people should place their trust in God, to endure all their hardships and patiently await their ultimate reward in heaven. While reassuring in a broad sense, this ideal had little real comfort for those at whom it was directed, or at least those who failed to embrace it fully, preferring practical solutions to their more immediate and earthly problems to concerns over their immortal soul. The prosperity or devastation of an individual, family or community could hinge on weather, a harvest, fire, health, an accident, or any number of uncontrolled, unpredictable, poorly understood factors. The people needed to feel that they had some sort of command over the uncertainties in their lives, a tangible way to encourage fortuity and to feel that they could fight back against their misfortunes. Popular belief, so-called “superstition”, satisfied this need far better than the often distant and almost naïve established religion or even the poorly understood and, at that stage, mostly useless or downright harmful natural and medical sciences.
By predicting when malicious powers would be at their heights or when something tricksy might be afoot, and correctly identifying and interpreting omens and unlucky days allowed the people to take appropriate steps to divert any unwanted attentions from unseelie forces and thus take control of their own fortunes. Omens good and bad were innumerable: everyday portents could be detected in natural irregularities, unexpected physical changes, odd appearance or behaviour of birds, insects and animals, unusual incidences involving household items, the weather, minor accidents and particular happenings on certain days; less mundane were the banshees, fetches, and Death him (or her) self. Upon the identification of omens of ill-luck, precautions could be taken to avoid or redirect the misfortune – spitting and crossing were common methods. Persons learned in astronomy, palmistry and other means of expansive aided in identifying days lucky and unlucky and the best times for nearly every task. They could discern the meaning of dreams and everyday omens and advise courses of action, and many other useful things. A great variety of homely divinations – dreams, rituals, and so forth – gave specific glimpses into one’s future, especially their prospects in life’s major defining moments – birth, marriage and death. The sex of a baby, a person’s fortunes and the identity of a potential spouse could all be divined through such methods – the latter was especially popular among young ladies and means for its discovery abounded. Any divination could be performed on one’s own or through the agency of a professional fortune-teller or cunning-person, and could also be used for such matters as locating lost property or identifying a wrongdoer. As well as answering questions and offering hope and the security of a discerned future, divinations helped bolster confidence in a chosen resolution and to encourage bold actions that a person might otherwise be too timid to take.
For less predictable misfortunes, there were a great variety of protective measures available to the pre-industrial English labourer. They guarded against everything from mould and other inconveniences to disease, destruction, and death, which could be caused by fairies, spirits, witches, Satan or simply some poorly defined wayward force or bad luck. Precautions could be as simple as the placement of potent materials or short spoken charms or prayers, or highly complex, as the rite in which a toast and verse was offered to apple trees to ensure a healthy crop. There were rituals for specific events such as the construction of a new building, childbirth, weddings and death. There were customs of harvest and sowing and those intended to protect livestock or crops from chance or hostile forces or to ensure their productivity. Cold iron in particular was used to ward off witches, fairies and other enemies, just one of many safeguards against these and general misfortunes. Charms, amulets and talismans inscribed with Christian text or mystical nonsense were obtained from a knowledgeable neighbour to ward off a huge variety of ailments, treasured and handed down through generations. Conversely, there were numerous taboos, deeds and events that could attract bad luck. Certain precautions could be made in an effort not to attract the attentions of a witch, or to avoid offending her, or to keep her and her magic away. Care had to be taken even with those creatures not considered generally malevolent: various fey, such as the mine-dwelling knockers mines and household elves, could be kind or helpful, but still had to be treated with respect and often offered titbits of food, drink, gifts or pleasing conditions to ensure their good will. They were contrary beings, tricksy and volatile at best, and an offender could be quick to regret the loss of their favour. Whatever the precaution or its object, the layman could be confident in his security and his mind relieved of that anxiety.
If the protective measures failed, the English rustic could seek the remedial power of magic. Hedge-witches, cunning folk, even members of the clergy were far more accessible and frequently consulted than a licensed doctor, and their diagnoses and cures often even better trusted, more pleasant, or at least significantly cheaper or consulted in conjunction. Similarly, they were the most readily available and reliable means for the recovery of stolen items. If a person believed that they were in the grasp of a vindictive force, a more benevolent practitioner of the Arts could be turned to in an effort to seek out the assailant. Fortune-tellers, healers, charm-writers and spell-casters, white witches – often doubling as the local blacksmith, clergyman, midwife or crotchety old neighbour – were the enemies of their dark counterparts and friend to ordinary folk. They could heal wounds, sickness and other ailments such as warts, find lost items or animals, treat impotence, lay blessings, curses and good or bad luck, foretell the future and expose thieves, ill-wishers and cursers – almost anything anyone might want or need. So feared and respected were these people and their means that merely the threat of their getting involved could cause a wrongdoer – at least the mundane – to make amends and a thief return their plunder, and their status sometimes blurred between helper and harmer.
Much of a healer’s craft must surely have been based on genuine skill: they were often noted for their knowledge of herbs, midwifery and other proficiencies, and many descriptions of their practices include factors that make a great deal of medicinal sense. It was the art and ritual, however, which the people remembered and trusted, the mystical flourishes and weird errata confirming in their clienteles’ minds their supernatural power and efficacy. Even if their magic was merely a façade, the wise folk could offer a sympathetic ear, solid advice, generations of accumulated local lore and often sound knowledge of medicine, herbs and midwifery. If nothing else there was always the placebo effect, but as what we now know or presume to be the probable causes were then far from the layman’s consciousness they attributed their cures and solutions to that which they knew was fundamental to everything: magic. Without an understanding of the workings of bacteria, poisons or other causes of ill health, foreign agents were blamed for sickness. These foes could be warded off with amulets, charms or rituals or, failing that, exorcised or transferred with the same. Innumerable items were considered to have healing or curing properties – plants, corpses, holy wells and parts of animals to name just a few – as well as charms, amulets, words and small rituals, combinations of several various devices or touch alone, and sympathetic magic too had its place. A beleaguered person with the knowledge or access also sometimes could take on their adversary directly, lashing out with home-grown magic, such as charms or their own spells. Many condiments, items and rituals were potent antidotes to sickness and misfortune caused by hostile magic. Alternatively, the enemy might be negotiated with, placated or appealed to for pity. In the case of witches, should this fail they could usually be injured as any other person or even taken to court for damages.
Orthodox religiousness was frequently implicitly involved in healing, and often met and complemented popular belief. The church grounds and much religious symbolism were heavily involved in popular belief, usually employed as forums for ceremonies or weapons against evil forces, respectively: a great many religious articles were extremely popular as potent charms, protections and divination tools; the clergy themselves were imbued with powers, especially exorcism, over the ghosts, evil spirits and fiends that tormented their parishioners; and blessings and prayers were as good as, and frequently indistinguishable from, charms and rituals of safekeeping and curing. This cooperation and interrelation created a harmony between the two orders of belief, a blurring of the boundaries of each and an official legitimisation or at least tolerance of magic most of the time. The bible itself even offered opportunities for sympathetic magic. The common person was rarely forced to choose between his religions, for he could see no clear distinction, and certainly no discord.
What all these rituals and rites, precautions, predictions and remedies have in common is their practicality. Everything about the popular beliefs of the labouring people served specific, utilitarian purposes. So long as they served their purposes, or appeared to do so, they would continue to be employed. Even when the magical element is removed, there remains the placebo, psychological and communal benefits. Hope, optimism and a sense of control over one’s own fate and wellbeing could be outcomes equally as valuable as the “real” magical results. But how these “superstitions” worked did not really matter to the practisers, nor, often, did the true frequency of their successes. Their real value was of a far more profound nature: they offered hope, self-confidence and security, boons neither eroded nor claimed by scientific advancement or religion for a very long time.


References

Bushaway, Bob, ‘Tacit, unexpected, but still implicit faith: Alternative belief in nineteenth-century rural England’, Popular Culture in England, ed. Tim Harris, Macmillan, London, 1995

Harrison, J.F.C., The Common People: A History from the Norman Conquest to the Present, Fontana, London, 1984

Jenkin, A.K. Hamilton, Cornwall and the Cornish, J.M. Dent & Sons, London, 1933

Lehane, Brendan, The Enchanted World: Wizards and Witches, Time Life Books, Amsterdam, 1986

Macfarlane, A.D.J., ‘Witchcraft in Tudor and Stuart Essex’, Crime in England 1550-1800, ed. J.S. Cockburn, Methuen & Co., London, 1977

Malcolmson, R.W., Life and Labour in England 1770-1780, Hutchinson, London, 1981

Phythian-Adams, Charles, Local History and Folklore: A New Framework, Bedford Square, London, 1975

Reay, Barry, Popular Cultures in England 1550-1750, Longman, London, 1998

John Rule, Albion’s People: English Society 1714-1815, Longman, Essex, 1992

Sharpe, J.A., Early Modern England: A Social History 1550-1760, Arnold, London, 1997

Thomas, Keith, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Penguin, Middlesex, 1979

Time Life editors, The Enchanted World: Ghosts, Time Life Books, Amsterdam, 1985

Time Life editors, The Enchanted World: The Lore of Love, Time Life Books, Amsterdam, 1987

Time Life editors, The Enchanted World: The Secret Arts, Time Life Books, Amsterdam, 1987

Wrightson, Keith, English Society 1580-1680, Hutchinson, London, 1982

Oooh, Serpy, you still have that encyclopaedia series on the supernatural and whatnot?
Didn't most every book in that series - especially the Christmas one - have lists of superstitions and suchlike in it?Of course :smallcool: You still have yours, don't you? :smallconfused: If anyone wants any particular types I'll dig them up. There's a bunch on identifying one's future husband and the like.

Also, you get a wish if a ladybird flies off your finger (falling or being flicked doesn't count).Ladybird, Ladybird
Flyaway home.
Your house is on fire,
Your children are gone!

[Lioness]

On new years eve, and only on new years eve, the future can be predicted by pouring molten metal or candle wax into a glass of cold water. There's entire books describing the possible shapes and what they can mean. Most often love and different kinds and results of pregnancy.


Since I've started spending NYE with my BF's Russian family, I've been doing that with lead. It's awesome fun.

[Rawhide]

It's bad luck to be superstitious.

[Lioness]

It's bad luck to be superstitious.

/thread


I'm not incredibly superstitious. No Friday the 13th scares or black cat woes. I'm not keen on breaking mirrors, but that's because glass goes everywhere.

[Ashen Lilies]

Hmm...

I've heard that the American custom of cutting their meat the wrong way all at once also comes from a darker time, where stabbings at the dinnertable were presumably commonplace. Everyone cut their meat into pieces, and then the knives would be taken away to stop them from being used in anger.

More locally, traditional Thai houses sport raised thresholds (several inches at least, much like a baseboard that forgot to stop) in every doorway. The superstition is that they keep malevolent spirits out: the spirits can only travel along the ground and promptly brain themselves against the large plank of wood in their way when trying to enter. When crossing one, you must always step over it carefully, since touching it with your foot or stepping on it will cause some of the evil to rub off on you. Conveniently enough, this also serves to prevent you from tripping over one and breaking your neck.

[Serpentine]

That first one is similar to why it's rude to point your steak knife at anyone - it could be taken... poorly.

[IonDragon]

In regards to cultural customs; In (Spain I believe, though feel free to correct me) if you clear your plate you will be brought more food, since you are clearly still hungry, so you must leave a small amount of each dish on your plate to show that you are satisfied and full. In American households it is the opposite, and you are expected to eat all the food on your plate.

Elsewhere, (or possibly Spain again, I think I learned about both of these from my HS Spanish teacher) if you lean your fork and knife up on your plate in a certain way it denotes that you have finished eating and the server/family member will clear your plate for you.

[KenderWizard]

In regards to cultural customs; In (Spain I believe, though feel free to correct me) if you clear your plate you will be brought more food, since you are clearly still hungry, so you must leave a small amount of each dish on your plate to show that you are satisfied and full. In American households it is the opposite, and you are expected to eat all the food on your plate.

Elsewhere, (or possibly Spain again, I think I learned about both of these from my HS Spanish teacher) if you lean your fork and knife up on your plate in a certain way it denotes that you have finished eating and the server/family member will clear your plate for you.

Here, anyway, knife and fork apart
/ \
means "I'm still eating", and knife and fork together
||
means "I'm finished now", regardless of the food left on the plate. So if you put your knife and fork together, the waiter might take your plate before you're finished!

[Project_Mayhem]

That first one is similar to why it's rude to point your steak knife at anyone - it could be taken... poorly.

According to the people I was eating out with last night it's apparently rude to flip your steak knife into the reverse knife fighting grip and slash your rare steak while mouthing bleed for me. *Grumble*

[Eldan]

It's just impractical. The reverse knife fighting grip doesn't help much with steaks. You need to grab your knife with both hands and hold it in a high guard over your head before bringing it down in a vertical slash to bisect your steak. Various Kiai shouts are optional, but recommended.

[onthetown]

While it's the subject of theater, actors are never to wear yellow costumes, as it brings bad luck. It is also considered bad luck to wish an actor Good Luck.


Similarily... A lot of western riders and cowboys won't wear yellow in the show ring or arena because it's supposed to bring bad luck. It stems from yellow representing cowardice, which is not something that cowboys want to represent.

Other horsey ones:

A horse named "Chip" won't make the strides.

It's bad luck to change a horse's registered name.

Don't place a cowboy hat on your bed -- if you do, take it outside and stomp the bad luck out of it.

Breathing in a horse's breath was thought to cure whooping cough.

In racing, a grey horse or a horse with four white hooves is unlucky.

Dreaming of a white horse means death. Seeing a white horse is unlucky, but if you're with your lover then it's good luck. If you see a white dog, be silent until you see a white horse.

Just some of the ones off the top of my head. :smalltongue:

[Project_Mayhem]

It's just impractical. The reverse knife fighting grip doesn't help much with steaks. You need to grab your knife with both hands and hold it in a high guard over your head before bringing it down in a vertical slash to bisect your steak. Various Kiai shouts are optional, but recommended.

But, but, the blood splatter is so much more satisfying my way. It wasn't my fault the lady next to me had an expensive white dress on. She should have planned ahead

[Eldan]

You have to multitask. See, stabbing your steak is satisfying emotionally, but helps little with preparing it for consumption.

[Project_Mayhem]

You have to multitask. See, stabbing your steak is satisfying emotionally, but helps little with preparing it for consumption.

I see now! Your telling me I need two knives! Slashstabcut! It's obvious now!

I swear this conversation is going to use as evidence in court at some point

[Eldan]

And your name probably won't help.

Anyway, you'll notice that most restaurants provide you with a fork, which makes a convenient combination of off-hand stabbing weapon and parrying tool.

[Project_Mayhem]

And your name probably won't help.

Anyway, you'll notice that most restaurants provide you with a fork, which makes a convenient combination of off-hand stabbing weapon and parrying tool.

But why would I want a fork when I could have another steak knife? If only there were a way ... to ... quadruple ... wield

http://i230.photobucket.com/albums/ee139/billyadavies/cutlerychucks.jpg

Cutlerychucks, yo

[Eldan]

I see... that deserves investigation. I'll be back soon.

[GolemsVoice]

We got a lot of the more common ones, like the one with the ladder, the mirror, or the black cat.

My father always winds up our clock, because somebody dies when the clock is left standing still for too long.

On April 30th, Walpurgisnacht, witches dance on the mountain Brocken in Harz, in Germany.

A bad dress rehearsal means a good performance.

[Gwyn chan 'r Gwyll]

When setting the table, the knife is always placed facing inwards. If the blade is facing out, it's a threat, so you point it inwards.

[Winter_Wolf]

You silly people with your steak and dinner knives. Get in there and eat with your hands and rend the flesh with your teeth! :smallbiggrin:

On a side note, back home (Southwest Alaska) there was a saying that one shouldn't whistle at the Northern Lights. I'm still kind of confused about the *why* of that, it seemed to vary a bit depending on who said it.

[AslanCross]

From the Philippines:

Superstitions:
1. Fireflies in forests are the embers from the cigar of an ogre smoking in a tree.
2. When walking over termite mounds or anthills, one has to ask for permission from the gnomes that live in it. Also, urinating on them is asking for a curse.


I only remember one custom off the top of my head, as it's probably the only one I practice.

When meeting one's elders, as a sign of respect, one touches the elder's knuckles to his/her forehead, asking for a blessing. Usually done with grandparents, but some families are more old school and do it with all older relatives. I'm not exactly sure if this practice was actually Spanish in origin, because the name for it is. ("Mano" or "hand")

[Remmirath]

Strangely enough, actors never say the name of the Scottish Play, but when referring to the character, they're allowed to say it. Saying the name of King Macbeth or Lady Macbeth is not bad luck. Saying it as the name of the play is.

While it's the subject of theater, actors are never to wear yellow costumes, as it brings bad luck. It is also considered bad luck to wish an actor Good Luck.

Best of luck would be to say a certain swear word to them. In English it starts with S.

I've always heard it that you should say 'break a leg' instead of good luck. Leastaways, that's what everyone's always said to me. I think it has something to do with the curtains (a leg is a type of curtain), but what exactly I'm not remembering right now.

You shouldn't whistle backstage, either. I've no idea where that one comes from.

Also, you should always leave what's known as the ghost light on in the theatre when all the other lights are off - the ghost light usually being a small light more or less in the middle of the lighting grid. The reason for this was that it was supposed to ward off ghosts, I believe (though it could've been to placate them or some such - not really clear on that).
Of course, it makes sense to leave some light on so that if anyone has to go into the theatre it isn't pitch black. That's not superstition, though.

That's all that I can think of that haven't been mentioned already. I'm not superstitious at all myself, so I only tend to notice them if they're ones that must be observed to avoid offending/freaking people out or if they make sense for some other reason.

[Dvandemon]

Duppies (ghosts for all you non-Jamaicans out there) are afraid of salt, for some odd reason. High blood pressure?

I remember reading some sort of folktale about a guy that died in a streetlight accident I went like this:[hr]One night, a policeman (the narrator) was walking home when, after passing the shadows between the streetlights, a man suddenly appeared next to him. He was a very tall man, wearing a trenchcoat, a hat with a cigarette in his mouth. He kept bothering the policeman for a light until eventually he said, "There are only two kind of people that walk the streets at night, thieves and policemen; I'm one of them, what are you". At this the man started to laugh as his cigarette suddenly set alight. While it did not burn, he did, until only his disembodied mouth and laughter were left. The policemen was horrified and ran as far away from that place until he could no longer hear it. When he could run no longer, he found himself at the porch of an old lady and her dog. She quickly stuffed his mouth full of salt.

that's all I remember

[Ponderthought]

I've heard that the American custom of cutting their meat the wrong way all at once also comes from a darker time, where stabbings at the dinnertable were presumably commonplace. Everyone cut their meat into pieces, and then the knives would be taken away to stop them from being used in anger.

It's true, we are a stabby people. My dad dose the whole roman forearm grab handshake just to make sure whoever it is isnt palming a blade.

[Serpentine]

Salt's meant to represent purity or somesuch.

[Dvandemon]

Salt was also pretty darn important (maybe valuable) back then. I think the spilling salt superstition came from the idea that when you spilled it, someone (spirits?) will try to take so you're supposed to throw salt over your shoulder into their eyes (or something)

[GolemsVoice]

You shouldn't whistle backstage, either. I've no idea where that one comes from.

I believe this comes from the fact that the people above the stage, those who managed the backgrounds, communicated by whistling, so if you whistled on the stage, somebody above you might think you meant him. Since backgrounds were counterweighted by heavy sacks,there was the chance he might drop them without being aware of you.


I've always heard it that you should say 'break a leg' instead of good luck. Leastaways, that's what everyone's always said to me. I think it has something to do with the curtains (a leg is a type of curtain), but what exactly I'm not remembering right now.

There's the german phrase "Hals und Beinbruch", which, if translated as it reads, means "I wish you break your neck and legs". What most people today don't know is that Bruch is Hebrew (or Yiddish, don't know) and actually means blessing. Quite the opposite, really, but strangely related to the phrase you mentioned.

[Silly Wizard]

There was one my mom used to freak out about when I was a kid. She'd always tell me it was bad luck to go to bed with my hair wet, and that if I do it often then I will be bald as an adult. It's apparently an old Filipino superstition.

[Eldan]

Salt was very valuable, at least in medieval Europe. It was one of the only ways to conserve meat for winter, but the only ways to produce it, for quite some time, was by either distilling salt water or mining, but salt mines were rare (Switzerland had some).
The phrase "worth one's salt" comes from that time, when mercenaries were paid in salt. Salt caravans were also a prime target for robbery, as the goods were difficult to trace and worth just as much as gold, depending on the place.

[factotum]

The phrase "worth one's salt" comes from that time, when mercenaries were paid in salt.

It's also the ultimate derivation of the word "salary"...Latin "salarium", "salt allowance".

[Science Officer]

On a side note, back home (Southwest Alaska) there was a saying that one shouldn't whistle at the Northern Lights. I'm still kind of confused about the *why* of that, it seemed to vary a bit depending on who said it.

Well, you see, those lights in the sky are gods, or spirits or somesuch dancing about. If you whistle, that'd attract their attention and they might snatch off your head. (To play football with, I was told)



Here's something that doesn't make any sense.

A university professor (of Philosophy, or Psychology, I forget) presented his class with an ornate box.
He told them it was from Africa, and had a very powerful magic about it. Anyone who was skeptical and disrespectful of superstition and magic would feel great pain if they were to put their hand in that box.
No one was willing to put their hand in the box.

Pretty paradoxical, eh?

[Winter_Wolf]

A university professor (of Philosophy, or Psychology, I forget) presented his class with an ornate box.
He told them it was from Africa, and had a very powerful magic about it. Anyone who was skeptical and disrespectful of superstition and magic would feel great pain if they were to put their hand in that box.
No one was willing to put their hand in the box.

Pretty paradoxical, eh?

Sounds like a psych professor to me. 'Cause they're EVIL! (Actually the psych people I've known have been varying degrees of crazy but not evil.)

I did get the joke, btw. It just took me a bit. Damn homework melting my brain. :smallannoyed:

[Pyrian]

Pretty paradoxical, eh?Not in the slightest, given that the immediate assumption of everybody present (superstitious or otherwise) is that there's a shocker in the box. :smalltongue:

[ForzaFiori]

Two I learned from my Kuk Sool class.

In korea, white is a death color, so the gi's of martial arts students are black rather than white.

When shaking hands (a tradition that shows your unarmed), your supposed to put your left hand at about your right elbow, flat against your arm. That way you show that BOTH hands are unarmed.

Salt, by the way, is also how you kill a hag. If you can find a hag's skin when they're out terrorizing (and therefor not in it) and put salt in it, when they come back and put it on they'll die.

[Melayl]

Salt is also supposed to represent purity and goodness (since it is white in its natural form). That's why it is useful against evil spirits, and why it is bad luck to spill it. IIRC, throwing it over your shoulder was supposed to prevent the bad luck after you spilled it. I could be wrong, however.

[Serpentine]

I'm guessing the purity probably also has something to do with its preservation qualities.

[Shmee]

Here is a Greek superstition: its called "The Evil Eye".

Its said that when someone gives you too many insincere compliments or praise, something bad happens to you, (normally you get very bad headaches/migraines) Now, if you beleive you have got the evil eye, there is a way of testing it: you take a glass of water, and place a drop of olive oil. If the oil floats, then all is good, but if it begins to sink, then you have the evil eye. (I've actually seen this done when my friend had an incredibly nasty migraine)

In order to get rid of the evil eye, there is a special type of chant said by a relative of the opposite sex. It is repeated 3 times, and can only be taught to you by a relative of the opposite sex, and likewise you can only teach it to someone opposite of your sex. When you are done saying it 3 times, then the evil eye is removed and the person feels better.

[Serpentine]

"Evil eye" is just about everywhere.

[onthetown]

In medicine, the "evil eye" is actually still present.

When learning about the eyes in Anatomy, we learned that the abbreviations for each one are OD and OS.

OD stands for oculus dexter, which is your right eye. Most people are dexterous on their right side.

OS stands for oculus sinister, which is your left eye. It comes from the long-standing association of the left side to the devil, therefore is "sinister"; the evil eye.

[Serpentine]

Erm... I think you're getting things a bit confused, there. "Sinister" comes from Latin "sinestra", meaning left. The connotations of "left" stuff with evil resulted in the word "sinister" gaining... well, sinister meanings.
Similarly, "dexter" literally meant "right". That resulted in "dextrous" meaning "nimble".

So, what you have there is literally "right eye" and "left eye".

[Dusk Eclipse]

Oh yeah, "money spiders". They're just any tiny spider, really - probably the babies of any number of species. If they land on you, it means you have money coming your way.

When a shiver runs down your spine for no reason, someone's stepped on your grave.

I have never understood this. If you can feel a shiver running down your back you are alive right? then how can anybody step on your grave.

Incidentally I am prone to have shivers for no aparent reason

[Serpentine]

Yeah, I know :smalltongue: Maybe it's "where your grave will be"? For a while there I think mine was in the middle of a walkway...
Out of curiosity, how old are you? I haven't had those shivers for years, wonder if it's age-related.

[hamishspence]

I figured it was "stepped on the plot where you will be buried"

Which does raise the question of whether people who have their ashes scattered, never had shivers up the spine in life :smallwink:

[Serpentine]

Or all the time :smallwink:

[Dusk Eclipse]

Yeah, I know :smalltongue: Maybe it's "where your grave will be"? For a while there I think mine was in the middle of a walkway...
Out of curiosity, how old are you? I haven't had those shivers for years, wonder if it's age-related.

Seventeen going eighteen next october.

[Serpentine]

Be about the right age, then. Right, get back to me in a few years and tell me if you're still getting the shivers.

[Dusk Eclipse]

If I remember in a few years definetly.

[Miklus]

In Denmark you must put a bowl of rice porridge in the attic at christmas. It is for the resident gnome. I you don't, the gnome will be mad and things will get ugly.

[HellfireLover]

I still get random shivers - my mother calls it 'a goose walking over her grave'.

Superstitious practices in common use around this area:

Don't put new shoes on the table.
Never kill a spider or it will rain. If you put one out of the house, ask it politely not to return.
Tell news of any births, deaths and marriages to the bees, or they will be offended and leave.
Never leave a cut onion, it attracts germs.
If you put your clothes on inside out, before putting them on correctly you must turn them three times to negate bad luck befalling your plans for the day.
Washing your face in the first dew on May Day will ensure your beauty for another year.
Eggshells are used as boats by witches, so always crack the bottom of your eggshells with a knife.
A stye can be cured by rubbing a black tomcat's tail in your eye.

And probably many more already mentioned, but these come to mind as fairly well-practiced, if unusual.

[mangosta71]

A common superstition around here is that people in the South are courteous. Of course, nobody who has ever seen these idiots drive believes it...

[Serpentine]

Never kill a spider or it will rain.If that were true, there would be no spiders left in Australia. The rest I've mostly heard before, but never in a modern context.

[Eldan]

Spiders in the house are a sign that the house is lucky/blessed. You can remove the webs, but not kill the spider.

[Melayl]

Be about the right age, then. Right, get back to me in a few years and tell me if you're still getting the shivers.

Thirty-five and I still get them. Frequently.

[IonDragon]

Spiders in the house are a sign that the house is lucky/blessed. You can remove the webs, but not kill the spider.
We used to be sure to keep most of the spiders in our house alive because they killed the ants and there's a giant problem with ants in my town. Ants and rats. They're not huge or anything, they're just EVERYWHERE.

[GolemsVoice]

After a marriage, the bride throws her bouquet behind her, and all the girls try to catch it. Who catches it will marry next year.

It is traditional to give something new, something borrowed and something blue as a gift for a wedding. Why exactly eludes me, but I'm sure there is a reason.

[Eldan]

Watch Doctor Who, then it will make sense.

[TheThan]

Well lets see

Breaking glass/mirrors brings seven years bad luck
Crossing a black cat’s path also brings bad luck
Walking under a ladder brings bad luck also
A penny found on the ground with its head facing up brings good luck
Finding a four leaf clover brings good luck
Seven is always a lucky number but 13 is always an unlucky one.

If you stare into a mirror and say “bloody marry” I think three times, will cause blood to run down the glass and then she’ll appear to kill you or terrorize you or something of the sort.

Left-handed people are cursed/evil or some such. Apparently the devil is left-handed or something. (this annoys me as I’m left-handed).

Saying bless you after someone sneezes keeps their soul from escaping.

After a marriage, the bride throws her bouquet behind her, and all the girls try to catch it. Whoever catches it will be the next to get married. Also done by the groom with the bride’s garter.

[Fifty-Eyed Fred]

It is traditional to give something new, something borrowed and something blue as a gift for a wedding. Why exactly eludes me, but I'm sure there is a reason.

You forgot the 'something old'.

[Dvil]

The 'break a leg' phrase from theatre (apparently) is because before they had a pulley system to open the curtains, there were people on stilts walking across and manually dragging the curtains open/closed. The idea was that if you were lucky and the audience asked for enough encores, one of these stilts would snap, hence 'break a leg'.

[onthetown]

Erm... I think you're getting things a bit confused, there. "Sinister" comes from Latin "sinestra", meaning left. The connotations of "left" stuff with evil resulted in the word "sinister" gaining... well, sinister meanings.
Similarly, "dexter" literally meant "right". That resulted in "dextrous" meaning "nimble".

So, what you have there is literally "right eye" and "left eye".

I have officially been let down. I knew that it was just too cool to be. :smallfrown: I'll have to email the professor and let her know.

[Serpentine]

It is traditional to give something new, something borrowed and something blue as a gift for a wedding. Why exactly eludes me, but I'm sure there is a reason."Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue." The bride should be wearing them all as she gets married. I don't know where it comes from, either. You could write a whole book of bridal superstitions, though. In fact, I'm quite certain someone has.

[devinkowalczyk]

Knocking on wood and throwing a coin in a well is supposed to appease the faerie/spirit inside them.

Saying bless you after someone sneezes...
that is a weird one
plague based?

[Cealocanth]

Knocking on wood and throwing a coin in a well is supposed to appease the faerie/spirit inside them.

Saying bless you after someone sneezes...
that is a weird one
plague based?

No. It's because people used to believe that when a person sneezed, their heart stopped for just a split second. The bless you is to start it up again just because that sneeze could be your last.

[Lord Loss]

They've probably ben mentioned, but...

Deaths/ Bad Things come in threes
If a bird flies into your house, it means there will be a death in the family
Broken Mirrors give you seven years of bad luck
never step under a ladder

There are many variations of the Bloody mary superstition. Some have you saying it once, thirce, a 100 times, thirteen times, seven times, etc. others say you must say it at midnight, at nightfall etc.

I know lots, lots more but can't remember them, i may dig some up later...

[Moonshadow]

Don't believe in superstitions at all. In fact, I jokingly say that 13 is my lucky number just to spite them :smallwink:

Oh, and don't walk widdershins around a church, for some reason.

[GolemsVoice]

In medieval times, people thought that while yawning, your soul could escape through the mouth, and that's why you cover your mouth. Wikipedia says the Greek and the Mayans believed that.