Are you Superstitious?

Most people say they are not superstitious, but are they telling the truth?

Most superstitions are just that - superstitions. But, is there a superstition that deep down inside you believe, but don't tell anyone about it?

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of superstition is:  a belief or practice resulting from ignorance,  fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation or a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.

I think I might say it is when you believe in something you do not understand.

I think many early Appalachian people were superstitious. My grandmother was very superstitious.There were many things they did not understand, so they believed in the superstitions. Some of them were passed down to other generations and they stuck with us. We may know in our minds they are illogical, but we believe in them anyway.

How about things coming in threes. This is one I admit I believe in. I have seen it happen too many times. Usually deaths in the family occur in threes. Accidents, such as airplane crashes, occur in threes. 

My parents would not give you a knife. They would ask for a penny in return.

Whoever opens up a pocketknife must also close it. My husband goes by this, if he hands me one already opened, he makes sure I do not close it before I give it back to him.

How about opening an umbrella up inside the house. I know this could not possibly cause bad luck, but you will never catch me doing this. I about had a tizzy fit one time when one of my kids started to open up one inside the house.

How about stopping a rocking chair from rocking if no one is in it. This is another superstition that is from the old days. They say evil spirits will come in and sit if one is left rocking. Now I know this is not true, call me crazy, but I will stop the rocking of empty chairs. I guess this is just a habit now, not a superstition to me.

I never watch someone leave until they are out of sight. I will turn my head just before they disappear. My mom started me doing this when I was just a teenager.

I know you are aware of many superstitions, I could make a very long list and did so a few years ago on my blog. You can go here and read the post.

But, are there some you believe in and still practice?


Are there any you admit to believing in?


Posted by Janet Smart on Writing in the Blackberry Patch
©Janet F. Smart

SUPERSTITIONS AND OLD SAYINGS

My foot’s itching. That means I’m going to walk on strange ground. I wonder where my husband is taking me today. We were thinking about going to Parkersburg, but we’ve been there a lot, and I wouldn’t really consider that strange ground.

My husband is always getting on to me for being superstitious. I’m not really, there’s just a few I remember from when I was a child that still hang around in my mind.

For example…..

*I’ll catch myself stopping an empty rocking chair from rocking when someone gets up from it.

*When my husband or one of my boys leave for work, I’ll watch when they leave, but turn my head away at the last minute, so I don’t see them when they pass out of sight. (My mother told me this one)

*When I have a dream, I won’t tell it before breakfast, or it will come true. (Of course, if it is a good dream and you want it to come true, you tell it before eating)

*I don’t put up an umbrella inside the house, it is bad luck.

*Don’t give a knife to someone, or it will cut your friendship. (I remember when Mom gave us a good paring knife for the kitchen and she made me give her a penny for it.)

*Do not thank a person for flowers and plants they give you or they wont grow. (A lot of people around here know of that one)

Unless absolutely necessary I don’t walk under a ladder!

We’ve all made a wish on the wishbone of a chicken. The person who gets the long end, gets his wish.

If I see a little inch worm crawling on me, it means I’m getting a new article of clothing and its measuring me for it. (I can hear you laughing at this one)

Of course, we have all heard “don’t step on a crack; it will break your mother’s back."

When we saw smoke rising in the morning in a little section of the surrounding hills, they always said it was the groundhog making his coffee. (I always thought that was kind of cute. When I was a kid I'd have this picture in my mind of a groundhog around a campfire with a coffeepot over it)

And as a child, we’ve all pulled the petals off of a daisy, to see if our boyfriend loved us or not.

If you go to bed laughing, you will wake up crying.

Clean out all the bowls at dinner and it will be a fair day tomorrow. (That’s another Mom always told me - I just think she didn't want to put leftovers in the fridge)

When I was a child to get rid of warts we would rub a green bean leaf on it and put it under a rock. When the leaf rotted, the wart would be gone.

If your nose itches, it means someone is coming to visit.

If a bird flies into your house, it means there will be a death in the family.

Dropping a comb is bad luck.

Of course all of us as children wished upon a shooting star or the first star at night.

I laughed at my husband yesterday. We were out under the pear tree with the long pole pruner cutting off some of the high limbs that had broken from the weight. The ground was full of pears, mostly small ones. I told him they still tasted good, so he picked up one and got out his folding pocket knife and started slicing it to eat. He handed it to me and left to get something.

He called back, “Don’t shut the knife, its bad luck.” I looked at him and grinned, “You’re always getting on to me for being superstitious,” I said.

“Well, this one I do believe in. It is bad luck for someone else to close the knife.”

It seems we all have these little superstitions. From what I’ve heard about her, I think my grandma was one of the worst for believing in them.

She believed in ones like….

The first person to walk in your door on New Years Eve had to be a male.

You couldn’t hang up clothes outside on Old Christmas (Jan 6^th).

And I’m sure my mom must have got this one from her. When I was pregnant, Mom got a string and tied my wedding ring onto it. She hung it over my stomach, if it went around in a big circle, you were having a girl, if it went from side to side you were having a boy.

I tell these superstitions and old sayings to my kids. They give me a strange look sometimes, but that's OK. You might say it’s part of my family’s legacy that I’m handing down to them. We may live modern now, but I don’t want them to forget the old ways of their ancestors.

I’m sure I’ve left out many. Different parts of the country probably have different superstitions and sayings.

How about leaving a comment and tell me some I’ve missed or just commenting on mine.