Spotlight 9. Superstitions. Предрассудки и убеждения.

Contents:
1. The meaning of the word Superstition
2. The most popular and interesting beliefs
3. Superstitions in different countries
4. The origins of common superstitions
5. Conclusion

To medieval scholars the word was applied to and beliefs outside of or in opposition to Christianity;
today it is applied to conceptions without foundation in, or in contravention of, scientific and logical knowledge.

Superstition, as of today´s understanding, is thought to derive from the both meanings of Latin “superstes” composed on
super (over, beyond) and
sto (to stand):
·





… belief that stands outside the bounds of clerical religion

Many superstitions can be prompted

by misunderstanding of causality or statistics.
“folk beliefs”.
a result of misinterpreting correlations as causes
- urban legends.

Many extant superstitions are said to have originated during the plagues that swept through Europe.

The Roman Catholic Church considers superstition to be sinful in the sense that it denotes a lack of trust in the divine providence of God…

Yes, we are what we think…our world and the people around us behave the way we expect them to… While as a species, some beliefs are common to us all – many core beliefs and attitudes, like our superstitions, tend to be culturally-based. In fact our superstitions tend to define growth and evolution within our cultural frameworks.

…Our superstitions say a lot about who we are, how we feel and how we think about our world. Those who choose to believe, find their world delivering what they expect…and those who don´t, are not affected.

When you mention how good things are, or how successfully things have been, knock with your hand on wood.

…..means bad luck, having a quarrel

When someone leaves the house, for travel, for instance, the one that is left behind throws some water, outside the house in the direction of the person.

Seeing a black cat in the
street, means bad luck….
In England a black cat
crossing your path is lucky.






When you sit at the corner of the table you will never marry.

One should never hand over a wedding ring directly to some else. At first one should put the ring at the table so the other person can pick it up. Similar to this, before the wedding no one should try the ring neither bride nor someone else.

If you travel you should not turn half way; even when you forget something.

Never open an umbrella in the house.

Before leaving, beginning a travel, the person has to sit down.

It is not good to give a present that contains something sharp, like a fork or a knife.

Friday the 13th superstitions are among the most pervasive of all bad-luck beliefs. On this day, many people believe bad things are bound to happen, and any luck is bad luck.

…Learning about the history and evolution of Friday the 13th may relive people and allow them to face their phobia (known scientifically as paraskevidekatriaphobia).

Numerology has strong pagan and Christian traditions as well. In early pagan rituals, 13 was a powerful feminine number, linked to the lunar calendar. Pagans traditionally honoured the 13 lunar cycles each years.

It has been suggested that 13 is an “unlucky” number because Christianity has sought to distance itself from pagan traditions and ostracize the followers thereof….

In France, Italy, Spain, probably Portugal too 13 is actually a lucky number. Interesting that in Italian culture, the number 17 is their 13. It comes from the Roman numeral XVII, which anagrammed becomes VIXI, Latin for “I lived”, the implied meaning being “my life is now over”.

Throughout history,
humans have divided time
into segments to be tracked
and noted. The Western
calendar in its modern form
has its origins in ancient
lunar calendars, with
approximately 30 days.
These days were divided
into 7-day blocks with
named days.

Noah´s flood started on a Friday, and Christ was crucified on a Good Friday. Christians also noted that twelve witches plus one devil are present at Satanic ceremonies so Friday and 13 make a deadly combination. Friday was traditionally feared as a day of doom.

As the unlucky association with Friday continued, many people refused to do certain tasks on this day. European ships avoided launching on Fridays, and public hangings in Great Britain were held on Fridays. Today, many people in the Western world still hesitate to invite bad luck on Friday the 13th by avoiding driving, eating our or hosting a party.

….Too often we are superstitious and interpret signs in negative of hostile ways. Because we don´t believe in ourselves, we tend to think that fate is against us.

But life isn´t for us or against us. If we are attentive, we will see many signs of promise during each day. Signs of promise, signs of goodness, signs of beauty. And if we trust ourselves and our Higher Power, we will know how to interpret the world and use it to do good.

One thing we are leaning to be sure of – in this world of signs, we are not alone.
I don´t want to believe in a hostile fate. The world is good and I am finding my way in it by being patient and learning to read the signs.

.dpwilson@uarl.edu
.http://www.life123.com/holidays/halloween/superstitions/chinese-.superstitions.shtmlhttp://www.pitt.edu/~dash/superstition.html
.http://www.falkor.org/relax/superstitions.htm
.http://www.life123.com/holidays/halloween/superstitions/friday-the-13th-superstition.shtml
.http://wiki.ask.com/Japanese_superstition