Strange Superstitions and The Superstitious Among Us

[Harp]

"If you have a bullet with your name on it nobody else will" and all that, so despite the expectations of what'll happen if it ever flies it's actually a lucky charm for me.

...just don't fast draw any 5.56m bandoleers laced with tracer ammo. [huh]

 

[hutch]

Never iron clothes while your hair is wet.

If a person receives a timepiece (watch, clock, etc.) as a gift, the recipient must pay the person giving that timepiece. It's usually only a dollar or some change.

 

[scottyrocks]

My mom was the one with the superstitions. Not too many, though. Not walking under ladders. No hats on beds. Dont stick your fingers in sockets (wait, thats not a superstition).

 

[Fletch]

I think it was Duke Ellington who said never to make a gift of shoes - the recipient will walk out of your life.

 

[LizzieMaine]

"If you and your best friend
Both start to weep,
Buy a team of draft horses
At a price that is cheap."

"If you and your father
Both talk at once,
You are a horse thief,
Your father's a dunce."

 

[Charlie74]

Fortunately there is a way to break the bad luck from the broken mirror. One is to bury the pieces on a moonless night and the other is to throw the pieces into a swift flowing stream

 

[W-D Forties]

I used to work with a lovely Sikh lady who was perhaps the most superstitious person I have ever met (having never met any of Shangas family that is). Every thing that happened to her or jer family that was not entirely fortuitous was to do with 'bad spitits'.
In the time that she worked for me she had to leave early 'to go and drop pins in the river' (someone had left pins in her house therefore bringing bad luck), have the day off 'because the exorcist is coming' (or words to that effect), go to the off-licence to buy whisky 'to sprinkle over the tree in the garden' (I'll be honest, I can't remember what that was for), and numerous other things.

 

[Adcurium]

Here are two that are either Italian or Russian superstitions (I don't know what side of the family they came from), and both are about New Year's Day. The first is you MUST eat pork on Jan 1. And if you can't eat pork, YOU MUST NOT EAT CHICKEN! A pig puts his nose down and roots forward for his food. A Chicken scratches the ground and pecks for his food, and nearly moves backward. So, eat pork to ensure a prosperous year where you'll move forward, have a better year than last and never have to scratch. Eat chicken, and you'll have to scratch and claw for every penny just to feed yourself, and you'll go backwards and have a worse year than the previous year.

Also, the first person through your door on New Year's day must be a male with dark hair. I don't know why, but I'm not about to find out. There were plenty of New Year's days when I had to stop what I was doing and run to my sister's house bc she was expecting fair-haired female company.

 

[Shangas]

I used to work with a lovely Sikh lady who was perhaps the most superstitious person I have ever met (having never met any of Shangas family that is). Every thing that happened to her or jer family that was not entirely fortuitous was to do with 'bad spitits'.
In the time that she worked for me she had to leave early 'to go and drop pins in the river' (someone had left pins in her house therefore bringing bad luck), have the day off 'because the exorcist is coming' (or words to that effect), go to the off-licence to buy whisky 'to sprinkle over the tree in the garden' (I'll be honest, I can't remember what that was for), and numerous other things.

Awww, thanks WD.

My family is chock-full of old superstitions, mostly upheld by my mother or my grandmother (or various other relations). The one that my grandmother was ADAMENT on was to NEVER hand something to someone over your shoulder without first turning around to look at them, first. Ooooh boy. The ONE time I did that (I must've been about 10), she went BERSERK! And it's very hard to imagine my grandmother going berserk, because she's the sweetest thing north of ninety at the moment.

Here's another superstition that my mother upholds, and, being Chinese...yes...it is another one related to FOOD! (there are LOTS of food-related Chinese superstitions, I could literally fill a book with them). This particular one relates to birthdays.

In Chinese culture, it's traditional, on a person's birthday, to eat noodles. The noodles are those long, thin, yellow egg-noodles (which taste amazing!). They're traditionally eaten on special occasions such as weddings, birthdays and New Year's celebrations. On either occasion, when eating noodles, one must NEVER bite down on the noodles that one is eating, no matter how long they are, and one must ALWAYS slurp the entire length of their noodles into their mouths COMPLETELY, before chewing.

Biting down on the noodles before they're completely in your mouth symbolises longevity of life and good luck. Biting down on the noodles beforehand would break the noodles in half, thereby shortening life and reducing instances of good luck in the person's new year (birthday) the new year in general (Chinese New Year) or in a couple's married life (wedding).

Another superstition, related to New Year's celebrations is the wearing of red.

When attending a Chinese New Year's celebration, it is traditional for everyone to wear at least ONE item of red clothing (it's for this reason that my brother owns a blood-red necktie). In ancient Chinese legend, a lonely village was terrified by a monster every year on New Year's Eve. Anyone caught out of doors would be eaten by the monster. The villagers discovered that the monster was terrified of loud noises and the colour red, so they wore red clothing and lit firecrackers outside their doors on New Year's Eve to scare the monster away and bring good luck for the coming year. Today, people wear red on Chinese New Year to scare away bad spirits and bring good luck for the coming year.

 

[Puzzicato]

Here are two that are either Italian or Russian superstitions (I don't know what side of the family they came from), and both are about New Year's Day. The first is you MUST eat pork on Jan 1. And if you can't eat pork, YOU MUST NOT EAT CHICKEN! A pig puts his nose down and roots forward for his food. A Chicken scratches the ground and pecks for his food, and nearly moves backward. So, eat pork to ensure a prosperous year where you'll move forward, have a better year than last and never have to scratch. Eat chicken, and you'll have to scratch and claw for every penny just to feed yourself, and you'll go backwards and have a worse year than the previous year.

Also, the first person through your door on New Year's day must be a male with dark hair. I don't know why, but I'm not about to find out. There were plenty of New Year's days when I had to stop what I was doing and run to my sister's house bc she was expecting fair-haired female company.

They are excellent. I will certainly aim to eat pork (and noodles, and possibly lentils) for New Year to maximise my chances of prosperity. I can't be bothered with most superstititions, but if it means I get to eat nice food I can totally get behind it.

The dark-haired-man thing is a Scottish Hogmanay superstition.

 

[AdrianLvsRocky]

My Nan was the most superstitious person I've ever known. She had some real crackers!

One of the best I can remember was, in a thunder storm, she'd open the front and back doors of the house so that if a "thunder ball" (yeah, I know) came into the house, it'd roll right through. Classic.

 

[p71towny]

I too eat pork on New Years day. I refuse to eat the kraut tho.

 

[Foofoogal]

My mother was French so not sure how many were from her background but I do know many superstitions believe it or not came from the Bible.

My Father planted peach trees and would never eat the first fruits or first years peaches.
Whistling girl was also from the Bible.
God Bless You. During the sixth century, it was customary to congratulate people who sneezed because they were expelling evil from their bodies. Later, when a great plague took hold of Europe, and people began sneezing violently, the Pope passed a law. Since sneezing meant that the person was going to die of plague, people were required to bless the sneezer.
My favorite one is to not say thank you if someone gives you a plant like a cutting out of their garden. Said to not grow if you do.
Who knows, it may once again just be a Texas thing.

Fear and superstitions are silly IMHO. I do the blackeyes, pork , cornbread and cabbage thing on Jan.1st. More tradition than superstition to me though. and it is very good.

 

[Miss Sis]

My Nana was quite superstitious, but apparently her Mother was worse! She died long before I was born, so I couldn't say, but here's a few of my Nana's favs that I remember. No doubt my Mother could tell me more.

No Peacock feathers in the house - they are the evil eye and will bring bad luck
Never wear green to a wedding - a bad omen for the couple marrying
No shoes on a table
Split salt to be thrown over the Left shoulder into the eye of the Devil

My boyfriend told me the one about not giving a purse without money in it, which I hadn't heard before. Funnily enough, I ignored my Nana's advice and wore green to a very good friend's wedding a few years ago AND we gave them knives as a gift. I'd say we're even better friends now though!

 

[Cricket]

My grandmother had this thing that if the dish rag hit the floor, that meant company was coming over. I remember being a child and watching a rag hit the floor, which would follow with a "Shoot, now I gotta clean up. Company's coming."

Of course, there was always the never open an umbrella in the house.
Mark three crosses across your windshield if a black cat runs in front of your car.
Knock on wood.
Never, never walk under a ladder.

 

[Yeps]

Has anyone mentioned the Scottish Play? That is a big one.

 

[scotrace]

has anyone mentioned the scottish play? That is a big one.

DO NOT SPEAK THE NAME OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY.

Actually this only applies inside a theatre, which has a huge number of superstitions, most of which grew out of safety or performance concerns. To touch the curtain ropes during the show is bad luck unless you are in charge of them. Obviously, going about yanking on the curtains during a show can also screw up said show. Or you might release a counterweight or backdrop on someone's head.

Mom said if a bird flew into the windshield of the car or window of the house, it meant a death in the family was coming.

 

[Lady Day]

MACBETH!!!

So what's gonna happen to me?
Is it like saying Bloody Mary?


LD

 

[scotrace]

MACBETH!!!

So what's gonna happen to me?
Is it like saying Bloody Mary?


LD

You're GROUNDED.

This thread is now much bigger, thanks to some merging...

 

[Atticus Finch]

I spent last New Years with Jackie's family in Milwaukee. On new year's Day, I prepared the traditional Southern "good-luck-in-the-new-year" meal....hog jowls, black-eyed peas, corn bread and collards. Now if you think it was easy, just try to find collards in Milwaukee in January...and then try to get three teenage, city girls to eat hog jowls once they know what a hog jowl is. Anyhow, last night I was informed that the verdict is in...family agrees that 2010 has been the luckiest year they can remember.

AF