Thursday, January 2, 2014

Superstitions


According to the dictionary, superstition is an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear. There are superstitions for almost all aspects of our daily lives and most have unknown origins. Sometimes they are logical (for example, don’t walk under a ladder because maybe it can fall on you), but most of the time they are ridiculous. Some people can be controlled by their superstitions which is very unhealthy.

  • Here are some of the irrational beliefs.
  • Do not proceed, if a cat crosses your way, it brings bad omen. (Even cats have to continue their day to day work, leave them alone).
  • Never ask the question "where are you going?” while someone is leaving the house, its purpose will not be fulfilled.
  • Cawing of crow indicates arrival of guests.
  • Never wash the front courtyard immediately after someone leaves the house
  • If there is itching on the right palm (left for female) you can get some money or favours.
  • Unusual winking of eyes is a symptom of illness, luck or disease.
  • Cutting nails, hair-cutting, shaving or stitching cloth after sun set is a bad practice, (obviouslybecause of no electricity during old times, doing these in the dark could be dangerous, but it’s still believed to be a bad practice).
  • Taking a teaspoon of curd with little sugar before exam will bring good luck (though it can be a gesture of support from family).
  • If a dog starts wailing then something bad will happen.
  • Calling measles and chicken-pox by the name "Maata". It is very common among the people of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and Uttarakhand. The disease is attributed to a visiting 'goddess' or 'maata', hence the name.
  • Always donating a sum of Rs.101 instead of Rs.100 or Rs.51 instead of Rs.50. The extra rupee is supposed to bring good luck.
  • Burning dried red-chillies to ward off evil influences. (This creates an evil influence in turn-the irritating smoke that seems to choke the throat and burn the eyes!)
  • If a framed picture of someone falls off the nail on the wall and the glass breaks, the person in the photo will die or the person in that photo will suffer greatly.
  • Bury your milk teeth in the soil. (Don’t remember any reason behind it)
  • If a mirror falls out of a hand of a young unmarried girl, she will never get married.
  • Friday the 13th is inauspicious. If you're not scared of Friday the 13th, you should be scared of the word used to describe those who are: friggatriskaidekaphobics. (An alternative, though just as tongue-twisty, word for the fear is "paraskevidekatriaphobia.").

My question is why we don’t assume good things might happen if a particular event happens. Why
do we always think negative and spread negativity? Why don’t we have a positive attitude?
The list can go on and on. The superstitions keep varying too. Well I would say getting scared about day to day events would definitely not let you be a confident person.

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