Superstition is a traditional
belief that a certain action or event can cause or foretell
an apparently unrelated event. For example, some superstitious
people believe that carrying a rabbit's foot will bring them
good luck. Others believe that if a black cat crosses their
path, they will have bad luck. To yet other superstitious people,
dropping a knife or fork on the floor means company is coming.
Such beliefs are superstitions because in each case the action
and the event it foretells are traditionally thought to be connected.
For instance, the rabbit's foot is associated with fertility.
Superstitions have existed
in every human society throughout history. Most people, including
highly educated individuals, act superstitiously from time to
time. Many persons may joke about avoiding bad luck by touching
wood or not walking under a ladder. But they have such beliefs
anyway. Scholars once believed that all superstitions dated
back to humanity's early history. But many superstitions have
appeared in relatively recent times.
Countless human activities
are involved in superstitions. They include eating, sleeping,
working, playing, getting married, having a baby, becoming ill,
and dying. Times of danger and uncertainty have brought many
superstitions. Superstitions concern animals, clothing, lakes,
mountains, names, numbers, the planets and stars, the weather,
and parts of the body.
Kinds of superstitions.
Many superstitions deal with important events in a person's
life, such as birth, entering adulthood, marriage, pregnancy,
and death. Such superstitions supposedly ensure that a person
will pass safely from one stage of life to the next. For example,
a person born on Sunday will always have good luck. A bride
and groom will have bad luck if they see each other on their
wedding day before the ceremony. A pregnant woman must eat the
right food, or she will give her child an unwanted birthmark.
After a person dies, the doors and windows of the room should
be opened so the spirit can leave.
Some superstitions involve
a type of magic. One form of such magic comes from the belief
that similar actions produce similar results. Many people believe
a newborn baby must be carried upstairs before being carried
downstairs. In this way, the child will be assured of rising
in the world and having success. The same principle appears
in the custom of putting money in a purse or wallet being given
as a gift. The giver wants to make sure the purse or wallet
will always contain money.
A number of superstitions
involve someone's taking a deliberate action to cause something
to happen or to prevent something from occurring. Most of these
causal superstitions involve ensuring good luck, avoiding bad
luck, or making something good happen. For example, some people
will not start a trip on a Friday, especially if it is the 13th
day of the month. Friday and the number 13 are both associated
with bad luck. Such superstitions vary from country to country.
According to a Japanese belief, the number 4 is unlucky. This
is because shi, the Japanese word for that number, sounds like
the Japanese word that means death. As a result, many buildings
in Japan have no fourth floor. According to another superstition,
wedding guests throw rice at the newlyweds to ensure that the
marriage will result in many children. Causal superstitions
may involve actions intended to give bad luck to someone. Witches
supposedly perform some of these actions
Other superstitions foretell
an event without any conscious action by the person involved.
Some of these sign superstitions foretell good or bad luck.
For example, finding a horseshoe or a four-leaf clover means
good luck. Breaking a mirror or spilling salt brings bad luck.
Other sign superstitions foretell a certain event or condition.
A ring around the moon means rain will soon fall. A howling
dog means death is near. A person with red hair has a quick
temper.
Some sign superstitions
may be changed into causal superstitions. If a person hangs
a horseshoe over a door, witches cannot enter. If a young woman
pins a four-leaf clover to her door, she will marry the first
bachelor who comes in the door. In some cases, a person may
avoid the bad luck involved in a sign superstition by taking
immediate action. For example, someone who has spilled salt
may cancel the bad luck by throwing a pinch of salt over the
left shoulder.
The role of superstitions.
Many people scoff at superstitions because they consider such
beliefs to be unscientific. However, many scholars believe that
some superstitions have a scientific basis. For example, people
in England once used tea made from foxglove plants to treat
some forms of heart disease. Today, doctors often prescribe
digitalis, a drug made from dried leaves of the purple foxglove,
for patients with weak hearts.
Some superstitions have
a practical origin. For example, many people believe that lighting
cigarettes for three individuals from one match will bring bad
luck. This superstition may have originated among soldiers during
World War I At night, a match that stayed alight long enough
to light three cigarettes provided a target for the enemy. Another
superstition involves hanging a bag of garlic around a child's
neck for protection from illness. The garlic-filled bag has
no supernatural power. But its smell keeps away other children--including
any who have a disease that the wearer of the bag might catch.
Most people have fears that
make them insecure. Superstitions help overcome such fears by
providing security. They reassure people that they will get
what they want and avoid trouble. For example, millions of people
believe in astrology and base important decisions on the position
of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. Superstitions will probably
have a part in life as long as people fear each other and have
uncertainties about the future.
