The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Are You Superstitious?
A superstition (soo-per-stish-un) is an age-old belief that something good or bad might happen if we say or do a certain thing.
Have you ever heard kids say, “Step on a crack, break your mother’s back”? This is an example of a superstition.
Superstitions go back to the time when people couldn’t explain some of the things around them. Today, most of us don’t take superstitions seriously, but it’s fun to find out how some of them started — especially since Halloween is a very superstitious time of year.
Unlucky 13
Some people think 13 is an unlucky number. In fact, many large buildings skip naming the 13th floor; the numbers in the elevator go from 12 to 14.
This belief might have started with the Last Supper in the Bible, where there were 13 people at the table.
Knock on wood
Some people will knock on wood for good luck. Why?
Ancient people couldn’t understand why some trees stayed green all year and others lost their leaves. They thought some trees must have supernatural powers. For that reason, they would knock on trees to get their attention.
Cross your fingers
Do you ever cross your fingers for good luck? Do you think it works?
This custom began as a sort of shortcut for people making the sign of the Christian cross. People believed the cross protected them from evil or bad luck.
Cross your heart
Crossing your heart shows that you really mean something. Ancient people believed that the heart was the center of all knowledge.
Don’t spill salt
At one time, salt was very valuable. People used it for trading, just like money. To spill any was believed to bring bad luck.
People also thought that evil spirits lived in the left side of the body. If a person spilled salt, he or she would try to please the evil spirits by throwing salt in their direction. You may still see people today throw a pinch of salt over their left shoulder after a spill.
A broken mirror
In ancient times, people believed that their reflection in the water or in glass was really their “other self.” They thought that if you disturbed this image, you would bring bad luck.
Ancient Romans believed that life is renewed every seven years. This is where we got the idea of seven years of bad luck if we break a mirror, disturbing our reflection.
How about Halloween?
The Halloween custom goes back 2,000 years. It is probably based on a ceremony that was held around the first of November. The ceremony was led by druids, who were Celtic priests in Great Britain, Ireland and parts of France.
During the event, they honored the souls of the dead who returned to Earth that night. As a part of the celebration, people burned bonfires and wore costumes.
Witches
It used to be thought that witches were people who worked magic and cast spells on others. They were disliked because they were thought to be friendly with the devil. Halloween began as a holiday for the people Christians called “witches.”
Bats
Hundreds of years ago, people linked bats with witches because they both came out at night and disappeared during the day. People were also puzzled by the fact that bats could fly at night and not bump into things.
We also think of bats when we think about vampires. “Dracula,” which was written in 1897, features a vampire who can turn into a bat.