Throwing coins in a fountain

            Does anyone remember the fountain that used to be located at the Windsor outlets? I remember every time my mom took me shopping I had to throw a coin in the fountain for good luck. I was young so it wasn’t just good luck but for fun as well. Since those days it was always my dream to throw a coin in the fountain which Lizzie McGuire threw her coin in at Rome. As lucky as I am I had the opportunity the throw coins into the Trevi fountain granting me the wish of a lifetime. So I am curious, as you all may be too, to know how this action came to be.

 

            If you have read any of my blogs already, you would have seen a pattern. Most superstitions come from religion or spirits. So which one does this enter into? Spirits. Back in the time when people thought spirits created their destinies they believed the immortals lived at the bottom of wells or fountains. It was said to me bad luck if you past the spirits without honouring them. The coin originated when it was said that paying the spirits was paying for your protection ( encyclopaedia of superstitions).

 

            If you have not heard of the Trevi fountain, it is the most famous fountain in Rome. Tourists go there to throw pennies to ensure they come back to Rome. Nathaniel Hawthorne (author of Scarlet letter) published The Marble Faun in 1860 where a large part of it was set in Rome. One of the stories in the book was of a woman drinking the water from the Trevi fountain to ensure the return to Rome ( wanderingeducators).

 

 “I shall sip as much of this water as the hollow of my hand will hold,” said Miriam. “I am leaving Rome in a few days; and the tradition goes, that a parting draught at the Fountain of Trevi ensures the traveller’s return, whatever obstacles and improbabilities may seem to beset him.”

 

By the end of the eighteen hundreds the tradition had turned into throwing a coin over the left shoulder. They say it is a mystery but if my knowledge on superstitions I bet it had something to do with the devil. We have seen so my stories like this, such as throwing of the salt, the devil always being over the shoulder. It wouldn’t surprise me if that was the superstiton.  I am glad to say now though, after being to the Trevi fountain I know the history behing the superstition. Next time I am at a well or fountain I will make sure to ask the spirits for protection, hopefully the penny doesn’t hit their heads on the way down. Do you believe in this superstition?

 

 

 Sources:

http://www.wanderingeducators.com/best/traveling/rome-s-trevi-fountain-understanding-rituals.html

 

 

            http://books.google.ca/books?id=m1-xCL47_7QC&pg=PA64&lpg=PA64&dq=superstition+on+throwing+a+coins+in+a+fountain&source=bl&ots=MdWZalC1pX&sig=BSa4dqKMAMcW7gbAhdLD7SldO_M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=htiLUqK3BKfY2gWGpYCYAQ&ved=0CDkQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=superstition%20on%20throwing%20a%20coins%20in%20a%20fountain&f=false

This video is great! it explains a bit about the wells and foutains but there is a recap of other superstitions I have already covered as well. There are examples such as, the black cat, walking under a ladder, throwing salt and more!

 

 

Walking under a ladder

 

 

On my way home from work, I saw several houses that already had their Christmas lights and decorations up. Insane right? So it got me thinking about superstitions and I immediately thought of ladders, which are used to put up the lights. I’m pretty sure we have all heard about the superstition of walking under a ladder being bad luck. I always wondered first of all why it is bad luck but also how this myth came to be. One of the most explored the theory of the ladder comes from the Christian religion. Christianity believed that walking under a ladder was considered a blaspheming. We all know they believe in the Holy Father, the Holy Son and the Holy Spirit. Therefore the number three for this religion was very important to them and the triangle, which was underneath the ladder, was somewhat sacred. The triangle was associated to the triangle because it had three sides. A ladder leaning on a building made a form of a triangle and walking through a such form was seen as breaking the trinity. The bible always talks about the worst sin being going against the Holy Spirit, which meant; anyone who broke the trinity with the Holy Spirit would be seen working with the Devil. Being labelled as a Devil in the old days meant a witch trial (timelessmyths). Another superstition a little less complicated and religious was similarities between a ladder leaning against a wall and a gallows. Anything with similarities to a gallows was considered bad luck, therefore walking under a gallows or a ladder that looked like one was meant bad luck. They say if you just walked underneath a ladder, a way to get rid of bad luck, you have to spit. Either you must spit three times through the rungs of the ladder or you must pit on your shoe. Although, you can’t look at your shoe until the spit has dried on the shoe. If it was up to me I would spit three times. ( timelessmyths)

God bless you!

 

This is one of the most popular superstitions that we have. The reason why it is so popular is being most people do it, even without realizing it is a superstition. When someone sneezes another person is suppose to say “ God bless you!”. I never knew all the posibilities of what this superstition could be.

            Although many believe saying bless you is a polite gesture, it is a very common saying and is practiced all around the world. It is dated back to Febuary 16 590 AD. Pope Gregory the Great explained there needed to be prayers for those obtained of the deadly plague in Italy. It seemed to be fatal for those who sneezed, which meant the sneeze represented certain illness. Saying God bless you would be a protection from the disease. Also, in Europe in the year 1665 the black plague was talking over the population. The last sympton before death was sneezing. Once they realized sneezing was the end sympton before death the pope made it a law that anyone who sneezed had to be blessed.(psychiclibary)

            Others believed that the soul was located inside the head, which meant when someone sneezed it was a sign that the soul was giving them an omen. People interpreted this as a lucky omen. The Greeks, Romans and Egyptian believed that a sneeze was a kind of “ internal oracle” which warned them of times of danger and foretold future of good or evil. They also believed sneezing to the right was considered lucky, to the left was unlucky. If I can remember I have always sneezed to the left, maybe if I started to force myself to sneeze to the right things around me would be different. I mean who knows, I sneeze to the right and I have prince charming there waiting for me.(unexplainedstuff.com)

 

            Another old Flemish belief is pretty interesting. If someone sneezed during a conversation porved the truth of a remark. In England during the seventeeth century, when people sneezed it was manditory for people to remove their hats, bow and shout, “ God bless you!” . Then is the nineteenth-century someone originated a rhyme:

Sneeze on Monday, sneeze for danger. Sneeze on Tuesday, kiss a stranger. Sneeze on Wednesday, sneeze for a letter. Sneeze on Thursday, something better. Sneeze on Friday, sneeze for woe. Sneeze on Saturday, a journey to go. Sneeze on Sunday, your safety seek—for Satan will have you for the rest of the week!

http://psychiclibrary.com/beyondBooks/superstition-room

http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Superstitions-Strange-Customs-Taboos-and-Urban-Legends/Superstitions-Sneezing.html