Superstitions

Superstitions have been a big part of our lives for generations. Whether or not you believe in them, they have affected our lives. A groom carrying his bride over the threshold. Covering your mouth when you yawn. Saying "God Bless You" when someone sneezes. There are numerous amount of superstitions, some more unusual than others. Here are just a few:


1) Nails should be bitten, not cut, for the same time, for that would make them thieves.
2) If you go to the bathroom in the night with no clothes on, insects will fall on you
3) An apple a day, keeps the doctor away.
4) If you want to see a friend again, then don't ever say goodbye to them on a bridge.
5) If soot bums in a ring at the back of the grate, pleasure and happiness are on their way to you.
6) Malice and envy are to be feared when sparks jump out of the fire.
7) To put on your stockings or socks inside out is an omen that you will shortly receive a present. If your stocking comes down, your lover is thinking of you.
8) If thirteen people sit down to dine, the last to rise will meet with ill fortune.
9) To wash in water, which has been previously used by someone else means that you will quarrel with him, unless you clasp your hands together over the water when you have finished.
10) Never pour water into a tumbler which already holds some, for it is an invitation to evil spirits to visit you.
11) Watching someone else yawn makes you to yawn.
12) An itchy nose means your going to have a quarrel with someone.
13) Spit on your hands for strength. This originated from seeing animals lick their wounds, making people think saliva had some magical healing power.
14) To get rid of a cough, take a hair from the coughing persons head, put it in between two slices of buttered bread, feed it to the dog, and say - eat well you hound. May you be sick and I be sound.
15) To prevent an unwelcome guest from returning, sweep out the room they stayed in immediately
16) If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.
17) Evil spirits can't harm you when you stand inside a circle.
18) If a clock which has not been working suddenly chimes, there will be a death in the family.
19) Clover protects human beings and animals from the spell of magicians and the wiles of fairies, and brings good luck to those who keep it in the house.
20) If you bite your tongue while eating, it is because you have recently told a lie.
21) All wishes on shooting stars come true.
22) A spider is a repellent against plague when worn around the neck in a walnut shell.
23) You sleep best with your head to the north and your feet to the south.
24) If you sing before seven, you will cry before eleven.
25) Dropping an umbrella on the floor means that there will be a murder in the house.
26) A wish will come true if you make it while burning onions.
27) An onion cut in half and placed under the bed of a sick person will draw off fever and poisons.
28) If your nose itches, someone is coming to see you. If it's the right nostril, the visitor will be a female, left nostril, male.
29) A white moth inside the house or trying to enter the house means death.
30) Mistletoe in the house protects it from thunder and lightning.
31) People would say that spirits could not walk upon a path, so after dark don't leave the path/road.
32) Don't step on sidewalk cracks. "Step on a crack break your mothers back" people say.
33) It is considered bad luck to pass a black cat after 9pm
34) f your feet itch it means that you will be walking on new grounds.
35) If you wash your face in the dew on the morning of the first of May, and you will either see faeries or see your future spouse.

There are many, many more. Some have a history behind them. If anyone wants me to maybe do a little research on one particular, post a comment and let me know. I'll do my best to find whatever information I can.

To view more superstitions go to: http://www.oldsuperstitions.com


*Eric (2005) General Superstitions. Retrieved on June 30, 2005 from the Old Superstition website: www.oldsuperstitons.com