Graveyards

Halloween is soon approaching and for all you superstitious people, Halloween is full of evil spirits. Through previous blogs that I have written we learn how most of these superstitions are in fear of evil spirits (otherwise known as the devil) or regaining good luck from the good spirits. But for this blog I will be discussing a topic of bad luck, or so we thought. I watch many scary movies, and in those scary movies I see a lot of scenes where people are running through graveyards. Of course right, they are going to make it seem like graveyards are haunted and full of the ghost and zombies. Although we should all know that that is not true.

            A graveyard is suppose to be a peaceful place, a place where people can go and visit their loved ones who have passed away, a place of love, not a place of terror. So why does everyone get the impression that they are scary and bad luck?

            It is believed to be bad luck to wreck or construct any territory of a grace yard or somewhere that had previously been a graveyard. This is probably because nobody wants the graves of others being wrecked.  Richard Webster wrote in the Encyclopaedia of Superstitions: "Everything inside a graveyard is sacred, and it is bad luck to interfere or meddle with anything found there. ... It is unlucky to pick any flowers growing on a grave. ... It is particularly bad luck to use pieces of broken tombstones for paths or roads. Frequent accidents will occur as a result."

            Because of this, people started to assume that being at a cemetery was bad luck and full of evil spirits. It was only because people were not supposed to go in cemeteries during the night because they could wreck something. (http://www.today.com/id/39675343/#.Um69pVJza00)

            When you were younger did any of you hold your breath when passing a graveyard? I remember doing that. I was told that if you didn’t hold your breath the spirits would enter your body. Although, the real reason is because it is said that to breath in front of those you cannot is disrespectful. (http://wiki.answers.com). It is weird all the rumours about graveyards. Now I am not saying none of it is true, I am a firm believer in ghost and spirits, I mean who knows you can go to the cemetery maybe see something you thought was a ghost. It all comes down to what you believe. So, what do you believe?

At 3 minutes and 30 secondes of this video the girls go to the grave. this clip shows all that we know about graveyards as a superstition.

Knock on wood

Do you ever find yourself knocking on wood not to jinx anything you said? I find myself doing it all the time! I will be working and I will say: “I hope it does not get busy! Oh man now because I said that it is going to get busy”. Then I start running around the store looking for wood. Am I the only one who is that obsessed with knocking on wood? The funny thing is I don’t even know why I do it.  I doubt knocking on wood is going to predict my future or my fate. I thought about this and decided I should research this.

            On the website, mentalfloss.com they say: “ Before Christianity and Islam came around to spoil the party with their rules about idolatry, many pagan groups and other cultures—from Ireland to India to elsewhere in the world—worshipped or mythologized trees. Some peoples used trees as oracles, some incorporated them into worship rituals and some, like the ancient Celts, regarded them as the homes of certain spirits and gods.”

From what I understand, many religions believed that some trees were oracles and spirits or gods lived in the trees. Knowing this people knock on the tree to receive good luck from the magical tree. Another origin much like the first says, tree worshippers would put their hands on a tree and ask a favor from the spirits and gods in the trees. Therefore after many of years it morphed into knocking to keep good luck (mentalfloss).

            Knocking on wood is also to ward off any evil or any bad luck. The knock on wood is then to give good fortune. There is also the saying “ touch wood” which is essentially the same as knock on wood although touch on wood is the older version and has evolved into knocking.

            Maybe after reading this you will see yourself knocking on wood more often. I was surprised with this supersitition with the lack of history. Basically they say it evolved after the so believed, magic tree. Although maybe some believe there really is no history. So my question as alsways is, what do you believe?

 

 
I found this video that i really loved. It explains the history of many superstitions including knowcking on wood!

Sites

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-tou1.htm

http://mentalfloss.com/article/50079/why-do-we-knock-wood#ixzz2iaveW2Yx
http://mentalfloss.com/article/50079/why-do-we-knock-wood#ixzz2iauSre4D

Throwing salt over the shoulder

It was that kind of weekend, the weekend where all the family comes down to visit and everyone sits down to have a great home cooked meal( Unless that is just my want to be Italian family). So as the salt and pepper shakers come out for the food and as you to salt the vegetables you miss the bowl. So what do you do? Do you throw it in the ground, clean it off or like me, throw the salt over your shoulder. I always put the salt in my hands and throw it over my left shoulder to keep the bad luck away. Everyone must be wondering by now, why do we do it? I never knew why I watched my grandma do it since I was young and continued to do so.

            There is a rumour that the salt in related to the last supper. In the painting by Leonardo da Vinvi Judas knocked over the salt with his elbow. They say because of Judas Iscariot spilt the salt it is associated with treachery and lies. You throw the salt over your shoulder to blind the devil who is already waiting behind you ( dailymail).

            Another reason which might be a little bit more realistic

is still the same idea. Legends believe the devil is always standing behind you, throwing salt in his eyes would distract him from any harm or trouble. People do this after spilling salt because salt was an expensive thing to have and it was unlucky to spill, which meant it would be wasteful(glo.msn.com).

            The problem is we will never know the true meaning because we cannot go back in the past and figure it out. We are left behind with few traces of evidence and story telling to create habits such as throwing the salt over the shoulder. What I have gained to learn is that the devil is always over my shoulder. Although I believe God will always be more powerful. I leave the same question to you guys again, what do you believe? Will you start tossing the salt to save yourself from the devil?

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1385380/Why-throw-salt-shoulder-superstitions-answered.html#ixzz2hkfbIHBg

 

http://glo.msn.com/living/the-meaning-behind-common-superstitions-7020.gallery?photoId=42447 

Black cats

I find it a coincidence that I am doing superstitions for this blog, because something really weird happen a few days ago! I was in the kitchen with my mom when I saw a random black cat rip through the screen door and started running all around my house. It was actually pretty funny; the cat was so cute, loved my dog and was a lot nicer then ,y own cat. I realized though it probably was not a good idea to have another person’s cat in my house. I know there is some kind of tale about black cats, but I hope there is nothing about black cats running into your house like the tale about the black crows. I looked it up and they say if a cat crosses your path it is considered bad luck. I can’t imagine the luck it gives you if it enters in your home. On the site “todayifoundout.com” I learnt why black cats are considered bad luck. It dates back to the Egyptian times when cats were considered the animal of the world; they were the rulers of the Egyptians. From then on, black cats were associated with witches. Witches were a huge controversy in the Puritan time and many people were blamed of being a witch. The black cats were frightening then because it was said, the witches transformed themselves into cats. A father and son in the fifteen hundreds were walking during the night when they saw a black cat crossing their path. They threw rocks at it to injure the creature but the cat ran off into a woman’s house who was suspected of being a witch. The next day the woman was limping and was all bruised. They believed it was more then a coincidence and that she was the cat (todayifoundout).

 

            Although on the same site they say, to some cultures black cats are good luck. For example, “the Scottish believe that a strange black cat’s arrival to the home signifies prosperity”(ijustfoundout). How weird is that, that just happen to me! I think I am going to side with the Scottish, considering I would rather have prosperity either then bad luck. Now what do you guys think? Are they good luck or bad luck?

           

           

 

 Sites

 

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/why-black-cats-are-considered-bad-luck/#HXxwWjUomwO4QHZh.99

 

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/why-black-cats-are-considered-bad-luck/#HXxwWjUomwO4QHZh.99

 

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/09/why-black-cats-are-considered-bad-luck/superstition on black cats