Can we talk?

Superstitions

         No doubt we all have heard a number of superstitions in our lives, most of them just foolishness. We know they are foolishness, but do we heed them anyway? I have known grown men to turn around if a black cat crossed their path. I've told myself that black cats are God's creatures and they aren't intended to be omens of anything evil.

         Some superstitions have some basis, like knocking on wood. The Druids believed that gods lived in the trees. So if they wanted to summon the spirit of a god to bless them or keep them safe, they knocked on wood to arouse a god. We know this is a false belief, but we understand how the superstition arose. How it continues in modern society is another puzzle.

         On the other hand, there are superstitions that seem to have no sense. Seamstresses used to say, "Never cut out a pattern on a Friday or you will never finish it." Maybe they didn't work weekends, but I never would start a sewing project or cut any material on a Friday just to be on the safe side. That's back when I still sewed.

         Another one was "Sing before breakfast, and you'll cry before night." Now where did that come from? Was it just some grumpy morning person who wanted to remind the happy riser that life has a way of evening things out? In high school, my choir sang at an Easter sunrise service on the mountain top, so we had to do it early, before the sun hit. Sure enough, I did cry before night, but, hey, I was a teenager. I might have cried anyway. Yet, still today, if I find myself in the morning about to hum or sing a few words, I stop. I force myself to wait until I get my granola bar and coffee at work. I know it's stupid, but I can't break the habit.

         Then there's the one about a bird flying into the window. It really means your windows are very clean (invisible) or reflected the outside. But the old saying is that someone inside will die. That's never happened, so I can't stand up for that one. And what if it flies into a car window? Does the rule still apply? Or only residences? I've had a bird fly into the car windshield, but no one inside died within a few years. How would a bird get a message about someone about to die?

         And we all know about the itchy hand or foot. One hand means you're going to shake hands with a stranger, the other means you're coming into some money. If one foot itches, you'll get new shoes; it the other itches, you're going to travel. Chances are you know whether you plan to travel or buy new shoes. I think the money part is wishful thinking. What fate would be controlling these itches? Where did that common superstition come from?

         Let's not forget picking up a penny. Why pass up a little penny? They add up. Maybe it started as a way to get children to treasure all the money they could find. Then there's the bad luck part, it it's tails up. Would you waste it and let it lie there? Not if it's on the counter or someone put it in your hand tails up. I've also heard that if you find a penny, you have to give it away to get good luck. Is that some kind of karma?

There are others, things that just don't go away, and we feel obligated to teach them to our children and grandchildren. These superstitions that have no basis in reality, yet they survive from generation to generation, and maybe get amplified. We just have to remember to teach common sense, that these are just legends, not truths.