Open Thread Update: Very Superstitious
Stirring anything with a knife brings bad luck… If you put a piece of clothing on backwards (or inside out) – leave it that way – do not change it. And of course no spilt salt and no open umbrellas inside.
-Windy
..Throw trimmings of your hair outside, birds will get it, and you will suffer headaches….superstitions, old wives tales, and the dead trying to speak to you thru dreams of clouds, and coming out of closets, to the foot of your bed…My mom and grandmom often scared me, just overhearing their conversations; both believed they were gifted.
-Catherine
There are tons more in the comments, including a bunch I’ve never heard of. – so check them all out, and if any of yours are missing…add them! If you are late to this post, the original column is below – read and contribute!
Original Column: Very Superstitious!
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When I have a nightmare, I’ll keep it to myself because if I tell anyone, it will come true….doubly so if I dream about teeth, because my mom told me that means someone is going to die.
Naturally, because of my Sicilian heritage, many superstitions involve food. Spilling olive oil was bad luck. Even numbers are unlucky (that’s why the anisette always had three coffee beans floating on top). And of course, we hung a horseshoe or ram’s horns over the door to repel the malocchio, the evil eye.
YOUR TURN
But that’s me. Are you superstitious? What superstitions did you grow up with…and maybe still believe? Let us know in the comments!!
Virge Randall is Senior Planet’s Managing Editor. She is also a freelance culture reporter who seeks out hidden gems and unsung (or undersung) treasures for Straus Newspapers; her blog “Don’t Get Me Started” puts a quirky new spin on Old School New York City. Send Open Thread suggestions to editor@seniorplanet.org.
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Comments
I’m not superstitious. There are many I’ve heard of but just don’t follow. My Dad’s mother was “from the old country” as was said and had all kinds of superstitions about farming and gardening and women. I once told a classmate in grade school about a bird in our house and she gasped and told me it meant one of my family was going to die. Since we had many birds that fell down our chimney and ended up in the house I just laughed an said if that were true I would have no family left.
My superstition is not old family lore but based on a tragic loss. I never wear red. I was wearing a red t-shirt when I lost my soulmate in a car accident we were in together. He was ejected from the car after it left the road and flipped 3 times. When I got out of the car and ran to him down the road, he lay in a pool of (very red) blood. Since that time I can’t bring myself to wear red.
I grew up as the youngest of 5 girls. All the food was set in front of my father. He dished up the plates in order of importance. Mom first, then 1st girl, 2nd, etc. My dad served himself last. The superstition we were told was that whoever took the last bit of food would be an old maid. You can imagine how that affected 5 “young ladies”!
Looking back on my childhood, I wonder if my dad made this one up to get more food. : (
thank you for sharing a very warm and sweet family memory.
Dear Ms. Cooper,
I am wondering why you chose to capitalize OLD in your question?? This woman looks spry enough wearing athletics shoes, walking with both arms relaxed. It’s impossible to tell her age. You are the one condemning this woman to “Old Age”, You are the one guilty of the “ageism” and I must ask “WHY”?
Stirring anything with a knife brings bad luck. Putting shoes on the table (even if they are new and still in the box brings bad luck. Death comes in three’s (when you hear of one death, two more will quickly follow). If you put a piece of clothing on backwards (or inside out) – leave it that way – do not change it. And of course no spilt salt and no open umbrellas inside.