Ad
This past week, I moved some furniture and other things, trying to reorganize my new spot. My son, now eight, thought it was fun to throw a whole container of salt on the floor one morning. I absentmindedly tossed some over my left shoulder before returning with the vacuum. It got me thinking about how many of these little quirks I have followed for some time, almost my whole life. Some were brought from other generations, while some are my own versions.
While the penny tradition will probably be going away at some point, since they are being phased out, it is commonplace to see a penny on the ground, on your floorboard, while raking your yard. Heads up, I pick it up and keep it for good luck; heads down, I flip it around for the next person. You might have a similar superstition; some people walk right on by without touching the bad luck-oriented coin.
I try to never “split the pole” when walking as a group. If you do, you are supposed to walk around it again in a circle. I did some research on this, and “splitting the pole” is said to break up your friendship or relationship. It is funny how many of these things just become normal and may be passed down from generation to generation without even knowing why.
Your superstitions can be picked up by friends, family, neighbors, your clergy, or just someone you met one time who told you it was good luck. My family is Catholic, but I am non-practicing; it doesn’t stop me from crossing myself every time I pass or walk through a graveyard.
I still always say bless you after a sneeze. This blessing began during the bubonic plague, when Pope Gregory I suggested that the short prayer following this sign of illness could help prevent the spread of disease.
Hats are never to be laid on beds; this is an old cowboy legend: you never “lay your hat where you lay your women,” as it can spell impending doom.
There are also some I never played into, like a black cat crossing your path. I owned black cats a good chunk of my life and would’ve stored up enough bad luck for several centuries. I also always believed that having cats in your home was good because they kept away evil spirits. This belief dates back to the Pharaohs. The last cat I owned, a black one, attacked me once when we were in the middle of moving, and now I will probably be turned off by cats for several years. I will keep the evil spirits away with white candles, bells and salt until I find room in my heart (and home) for another one.
Growing up in New Mexico, I never had a reason to own an umbrella, so there was no good reason to worry about opening one inside.
Thirteen is also my favorite number and has been since childhood. I was never upset by Friday the thirteenth. When I got married, I not only got married on the thirteenth but on a Saturday, which is also said to be bad luck. With my impending divorce, I wonder if that is one I should have listened to, though I did make sure I had my something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.
We all have our own superstitions and ways we feel we are keeping ourselves safe from the unknown, but life in general is so random, and perhaps these little rituals just serve to keep us grounded and give us a sense of familiarity, no matter what season of our life we are in.
