The article

A closer look at superstitions

Pre-learning.

Match the word/phrase on the left with the correct meaning on the right. The words are highlighted in the article below in red and underlined.

to ward off to make new again

painstakingly praying loudly and repeating the same words

sixpence a bone in a chicken shaped liked a ‘V’

to conjure the excessive act of making oneself beautiful

renewed remaining

gazing to create from magic

preening to look seriously at something/someone

erase to frighten something into going away

bubonic plague to miss out, to not include something

chanting very accurately

lingering to remove

forage a terrible disease in Roman times

skip to hunt for vegetables, roots, fruit (but not meat/animals)

wishbone an old British coin

The article

Have you ever spilled your salt and rushed to throw it over your shoulder because - gulp - you needed to ward off evil spirits? Do you get nervous if someone doesn't say bless you when you sneeze? Do you painstakingly avoid stepping on cracks? If Lucky Charms are more than just a cereal to you, odds are, you're a bit superstitious. We all grow up with crazy superstitions, but sometimes the origins are even crazier than the superstitions themselves!

Blue who?
"Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue!" Most people who have ever been married, or considered a wedding, are more than likely to have come across this traditional superstition, which dates back to the Victorian era. The full saying is, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a sixpence in her shoe."

The beliefs behind this little rhyme have specific purpose, as all these things are meant to be taken forward into a new life. The "old" item is traditionally something passed down to the bride from a member of her family, so that she will have continuity in her life. Just because she is off to have a husband and family of her own, this "old" item is to remind her from where she came, and should she need to, return.

The "new" item is symbolic of her looking toward the future. The "borrowed" item should be from a married friend or relative, in hopes that she will experience at least the same level of happiness and joy in her married life that the lender has experienced. The "blue" item is representative of the Virgin Mary, and is worn to symbolize the purity of the union (and the bride).

Here's where it gets interesting. While we could not track down when or why the change occurred, we did discover that originally, the groom traditionally had a piece of silver in his shoe at the time of the marriage ceremony. This was a Scottish tradition that was meant to represent and insure financial security for the groom and his new bride, and their family.

Knock on wood!
Whether trying to conjure some good luck, or keep the blessings you already have, many of us have rapped our knuckles on whatever wood was handy. This tradition-turned-superstition predates Christianity, and is still practised today. It was believed (and for many, still is) that good spirits often make their homes in living trees, and that their soul lives on in products that are made from wood. The simple act of knocking on wood calls forth these positive energies to protect the caller from misfortune. Just ask Cameron Diaz, she's a regular knocker!

7 Years of bad luck
I often sit back and think, "Yep. That explains it!" I broke a mirror and seven years of bad luck followed. Long ago in ancient Rome, it was believed that life was renewed once every seven years. Many Romans had gazing pools in their gardens, which they used as mirrors for preening. They believed that staring into one's reflection in the still waters reflected not only the physical being, but also offered a glimpse of their very soul. Any disruption of the water, of course, would alter the reflection. This was believed as a foretelling of misfortune, and possibly even death. Technology brought forth the silver-backed glass mirrors we now use today, but the advancement doesn't always erase belief. Hence, the belief that if you break a mirror, seven years of bad luck will follow.

"God bless you!"
Ever wonder why we say, "Bless you" when someone sneezes? Many say that this came to be because sneezing brings you closer to death, because the heart skips a beat. It is during that moment that the Devil or Evil Spirit of your choice can enter the body - yet the saying of those three words can protect you and keep you safe. Other people have heard that the soul can escape the body during a sneeze, and this was a blessing offered to help encourage one's soul to remain confined or returned.

While the blessing of the sneeze seems as old as the sneeze itself, the following explanation is commonly accepted: Pope Gregory I the Great (590 A.D.) was in power during the time the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In his efforts to stay the disease through prayer, parades of chanting people filled the streets. Sneezing was commonly thought to be one of the first signs of affliction, so the phrase, "Bless you!" became common practice in hopes of avoiding the disease.

Do we actually believe this stuff?
In regard to all superstitions,somewhere, someone came up with an idea or theory, and it remained popular. While the reasons for their birth may have been sound at the time, there are many superstitions today that would take a very creative imagination to try and figure out just how they managed to survive.

You don't even necessarily need a time honoured tradition to start your own superstition - Michael Jordan wore the same pair of college gym shorts under his Bulls uniform when he led his team to six championships, Tiger Woods believes the colour red is lucky, Star Jones won't put her purse on the floor and Robin Williams carries an ivory carving his father gave him.

A black cat who crosses my path needs to be wearing a collar, or it is likely to become a pet. I'll try not to walk under a ladder, but I have done it before and survived. I can't wait for the next 160 years to pass, so that I can finally be free of the lingering effects due to the many mirrors I've broken

For every hope or fear, chances are good you can find a superstition to support it, or negate it. Whether tradition, or superstition, they all have one critical point of power: Belief. Luck is just luck, and what you believe - you are likely to create.

Other superstitions:

A single magpie is considered a sign of bad luck. A Guide to the Scientific Knowledge of Things Familiar recites an old proverb concerning the incidence of bad weather when magpies forage alone and a possible scientific explanation for this.

Many believe that if all of the candles on a birthday cake are blown out with one breath, while making a silent wish, the wish will come true.

Spilling salt is said to cause a fight or argument during the day. There are several options to "undo" this which seem to relate to various ways of acknowledging the fact that salt was spilled with others present at the scene. One way to revert this is tossing some salt over one's left shoulder with ones right hand.

At times, a horse-shoe may be found above doorways. When positioned like a regular 'U' it supposedly collects luck. However, when it is positioned like an upside-down 'U' the luck supposedly drains.

The superstitious symbolism of a black cat crossing one's path is dependent upon culture: some cultures consider this a sign of impending bad luck, while some cultures consider this a sign of impending good luck.

Breaking a mirror is said to bring bad luck for 7 years. To "undo" this, take the pieces of glass and bury them underneath the moonlight. In ancient times, the mirror was said to be a window to the viewer's soul. If that mirror were to break, it would take time (or 7 years) for that 'cracked' soul to heal as 'time heals all wounds'.

If one walks underneath an open ladder it is said to bring bad luck. Sometimes it is said that this can be undone by immediately walking backwards back underneath the ladder.

Opening an umbrella indoors is said to result in 21 days of bad luck. Some traditions hold that it is only bad luck if the umbrella is placed over the head of someone while indoors.

Placing a hat on the bed is bad luck. (South Carolina)

Placing keys on a table is considered unlucky. (Sweden)

It is bad luck to put new shoes on a bed (or a table) (comes from the tradition of dressing a corpse in new clothes and shoes and laying them out so everyone can give their respects) - (UK)

Collect seven or nine different flowers on midsummer eve and place them under your pillow and it is said that you will dream of your future spouse. (Sweden)

The phrase "See a pin and pick it up then all day you'll have good luck" is a superstition created from the first line of a poem in the book "The Real Mother Goose". Modern variants sometimes substitute the word "penny" for pin.^[12]

When you speak of bad luck, it is said that one should always knock on wood. Also knocking when speaking of good luck apparently helps with having good luck. This is an old Celtic tradition related to belief of wood spirits.

Before traveling a person should sit on their luggage. (Russia)

Two people breaking a wishbone is said to lead to good luck for the person with the larger piece if they then make a wish.

Once a wedding ring has been placed on the finger, it is considered bad luck to remove it.

There are numerous sailors' superstitions, such as: it is considered bad luck for a ship to set sail on a Friday, to bring anything blue aboard, to stick a knife into the deck, to leave a hatch cover upside-down, to say "pig", or to eat walnuts aboard. Some beliefs state that it is bad luck to have a woman aboard ship, while others say that a storm will give way to calm if a woman bares her body to it. (Which may explain why female figureheads are often bare-breasted.)

Some motorcycle enthusiasts hang a biker's bell from a portion of their bike to protect themselves from evil road spirits.

2. Please consider these questions:

What’s the purpose of superstitions?

How do superstitions develop?

Is there a difference between superstition and religion?

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29