My name is Eirinn Norrie and I am a student at SUNY New Paltz in New York. I am enrolled in a course about objects, and this is a part of my final project. I've always been drawn to superstitions. Even if I don't believe in them myself, I find it fascinating to read about what other people believe.
I would like to gather superstitions from around the world because if superstitions are not passed on, they die out. We should try to record them because they reveal so much about a culture from a certain time period. My family is from Scotland, so I've been researching into old Scottish superstitions. I've learned so much about Scottish culture just through this research. For example, when somebody moves into a new house, it brings them good luck if you bring him/her teaspoons as a housewarming gift. This seems so random--- of all objects, why teaspoons? Some superstitions like this are even more interesting, because we most likely will never know what made them become superstitions.
I would love to hear your superstitions about objects. I have four tabs on the top of my page where I am organizing my superstitions based on location. I will be posting superstitions about objects from many different cultures. It would be awesome if you could help preserve superstitions about objects by commenting on my posts. Feel free to post about the superstitions I post, or to comment about any other superstition that you have heard or grew up with.
Thanks! -Eirinn
My family has southern roots and one my mamaw used to day was that if a black crow sat on your windowsill, someone close to you was going to die. Not exactly a cheery superstition. Good luck with your research. I hope you'll post them for us to see!
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting! I looked into this and on superstitionsonline.com, somebody from Massachusetts posted this: "Seeing a single crow is very unlucky. Two crows mean good luck! Three means health, Four means wealth, Five is sickness & Six mean death!"
DeleteIt did not say where this information came from, but it's still interesting that two is good luck!
Personally, I think crows are just creepy! I can see why so many superstitions developed about them!
My mamaw used to "say"....
ReplyDeletehi Eirinn - i told your mum one superstion on her blog if you want to check it out - in china it is believed you should not replace your wallet with a new one as you may become poor - the front entrance to your house should not be below road level as this will bring bad luck for anyone that lives there - a woman should not eat anything cold or wash her hair until a month after giving birth, nor should she do anything physically tiring as she risks poor health to her body - if a window of your house is facing a road with traffic coming towards it then you are inviting negative energy to your home - fake paper money is oftern left on areas of road that is known to have had car accidents causing death to try and please the gods from further hurting people - couldnt visit the dentist or get my hair dyed while i was pregnant as this causes deformalties in your unborn child! there are many many chinese superstitions too many to list here, they are passed down from generation to generation - all i can say is thank goodness im not chinese! :) good luck with your research.
ReplyDeleteHi, thank you for leaving so many great superstitions! These Chinese ones are certainly interesting. I've mostly been looking into European superstitions, but the ones from Asia that I've come across are fascinating.
DeleteI can't imagine not washing my hair for a month after giving birth! I feel like that's the first thing I'd want to do!!!
I really like the one about leaving money on the road. I like it because this shows that superstitions are definitely still being created in recent years. This one must have been created within the past two hundred years or so, because car crashes wouldn't have been prominent before that.
Thanks for commenting!
-Eirinn
Well, I'm aroused.
ReplyDeleteRyan
this is cool do you know any irish supersitions? im 100% irish but i dont know any
ReplyDeleteHere is an interesting one from irishcentral.com:
DeleteIf you find a horseshoe, you should nail it to your door to bring good luck. However, if somebody gifts you a horseshoe it is no longer lucky.
I thought this one was interesting because Ireland and Scotland are so close and I assumed they would share many superstitions. But in Scotland, it is VERY lucky to receive a horseshoe as a gift. Even today, brides still receive silver horseshoes on their wedding day for good luck.
I have just come from your Mum's blog :)
ReplyDeleteHere's one - I don't know the origin of it other than my ex-MIL is English. Whenever she dropped a knife on the floor she would stand on it. Apparently by doing she said that you would stop an argument from starting in the household.
Looking forward to seeing what else comes out the wood work for objects :)
Hi, thanks for leaving a superstition! It's funny how many superstitions from Britain I've found about sharp objects. All of the superstitions about knives and scissors seem to be about stopping an argument from happening or making sure a friendship isn't severed. In the book "The Encyclopedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences" by Cora Daniels, it says that if two knives are crossing each other it will bring misfortune. I thought this was interesting because when they're all in the cutlery drawer, I'm sure so many knives cross each other!!
DeleteHi there!! I'm Nia, from Portugal, I'm coming from Rhona's blog :)
ReplyDeleteThis sounds fun! It will be a pleasure to share some info with you, I'm not sure if the superstitions I know are only from Portugal but I'll share! On the way, I'll be learning with you and others too :D
Hugs&smiles from Portugal
Hi Nia, thanks for commenting! I can't wait to hear superstitions from Portugal. Online I read in the book "Portugal: A Book of Folk-ways" that superstitions in Portugal tend to be about averting diseases and disasters. I also read that witchcraft is has a strong presence in superstitions. Do you find this to be true? The book that I read this from is from 1936, so I was wondering if these superstitions are still around?
Delete-Eirinn
My Dad's British and we don't knock on wood, we touch it instead. Not sure why!
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for leaving a comment! That's really interesting. I googled "knock on wood" and it seems as though this is a very popular superstition today. There is even a book about superstition called "Knock on Wood". In the "Encyclopedia of Superstitions" from 1949, by Edwin Radford, it says that it is "touching wood" in Britain. It explains that its origin comes from protection. When a person needed protection, if they touched the door of a church they were "safe" under the Church and the cross. This may be where the superstition came from. Going back even further than this, trees used to represent certain deities in ancient cultures. Oak was connected with God in Europe, so the superstition could have grown out of this as well.
DeleteIn East Anglia we say Touch Wood too, often accompanied by a tap on the head to imply your head is made of wood!
ReplyDeleteIf we see a lone magpie we say "good morning Mr Magpie, how is Mrs Magpie doing with the chicks?" This is to ward off bad luck from the rhyme one for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy, five for silver, six for gold, seven for a secret never to be told.
In the 70s there was a children's TV programme called Magpie where children were awarded badges for writing in with stories for each of the numbers. So you got a one magpie badge for a tale of a broken leg for example. Not a superstition, just interesting!
On the first of every month the first thing you say when you wake up is "rabbits, rabbits, rabbits".
The first person you see must be greeted with "a pinch and a punch, first of the month" accompanied but the relevant actions.
The response is "a nip and a kick for being so quick" but I'm not sure if that's a real superstition or just a sibling retaliation!
Love this effort. So much to contribute. I've dropped some on the Asia page. I am a big fan of Russia, have so much to add, but here's weird one from Russia: losing a wedding ring is a good sign (of what, don't know! means good news is coming)
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