Superstition is what we call.....

Have you ever felt that your day is ruined because you have been crossed by a black cat or heard some dog howling outside your window and got alarmed if not then you are not a superstition. superstition in its own world encompasses certain believe with out a rational and logic. A superstition usually belongs to a certain culture, background or myths associated with series of events. So we can say that a superstitious person is one who is believed to follow the predefined norms of an existing society and is compelled to obey them with full enforcements and strong believe without verification. Being Superstitious is not the property of just any one sect, community or culture it is a wide spread phenomenon which varies from culture to culture.

We do hear in our day to day lives about the good and evil forces that surround us,from which we need to take precautions. These Precautions involve certain actions which lead towards the superstition act. Across the globe people take measures to protect themselves from deviating lucks such as  the Friday the 13^th, Four leave clovers, The black cat crossing, getting up on the wrong side of the bed, Black cloth , Lucky horse shoe, Breaking a mirror, Walking under a ladder and many more to add.

Some of the famous Superstations of the world are

Numbers

The Number 13 triskaidekaphobia  or  

“friggatriskaidekaphobia” confused? It’s a termed coined for people who have the fear for Friday the 13^th! Where frigga meaning "Friday" and triskaidekaphobia meaning Fear of the number thirteen. The number 13 has been famous through out the history.

The superstition revolves around the believe that it is an unlucky number and will bring bad luck. The Number 13 was later on associated with Friday and became Friday the 13^th. So every time the Friday falls on 13^th is the unluckiest day for its followers and people believing in this superstation take precautionary measures to ensure they are safe. Where as in some other cultures it is contrary the Number 13 has different associations such as Sikhs; for them the Number 13 “ Tera” in Punjabi means “Yours” as pronounced by their religious  leader  Guru Nanak and hence the day on every April 13 is celebrated as Vaisakhi. For Muslims the day Friday is a religious day with the major prayers observed called as “Jumma prayers”.

Number 4 and 8

In China, Japan and Taiwan people have a strong avoidance with the number 4 and is considered as highly unlucky; as the pronunciation of the letter four is associated with Death. Chinese people avoid using this number for their day to day dealings and the fear is such that there are places in china which don’t have a fourth floor, cars with  number 4 are not opted. where as the number 8 is the luckiest of all as the number 8 is associated with prosperity in the Chinese culture, Chinese people prefer using this number in their personal affairs.

New Year's Eve 

The stepping in to a New Year is treated differently in different cultures for Chinese the New Year is welcomed by opening the doors of the house, sweeping away all the cleaning items, avoiding unlucky words and bad moods, Crying, washing hair etc.

Where as Japanese organize New Year Prayers for welcoming the New Yeareve ."Rabbit, Rabbit” is the word repeated in the beginning of the new year or month in Britain to welcome luck.

In USA kissing at midnight to the dear ones ensure affection for the rest of the year, Stocking up of food, no laundry and other cleaning stuff, eating of black eyed peas brings in luck and financial stability. Making loud noises scare the evil spirits away.

In Indian culture Diwali being the beginning of a new year is treated as religious and celebrated with zeal.

Colors

Black

The color black has always been mysterious with its own impacts

The black cat  with its mysterious paws has always been a symbol of evil omen, possessing evil power and endorser of bad luck. It is supposed to have demonic qualities and the resident of evil. Crossing of black cat brings bad luck for the day or event for the people of USA and Europe. Indians and Chinese take black cat as indications of starvation and Poverty. Majorly the black cat is associated with the witches and magical misery and considered as an omen to witchcraft among all these cultures, however in Britain and Japan this creature is welcomed as a sign of prosperity and good luck.

Black dress signifies a bad fortune in the Chinese culture and is avoided on the main festivities and celebrations. Where as  in Pakistan among certain groups black color is associated with sad omens and is avoided on weddings especially for the bride. Among most of the cultures across the world black dress is worn on funerals and black color is associated with death. (Where as the corporate dress code in this era is usually black treated as formal)

Black against the evil in some cultures is treated with and impact of killing the Evil eye usually known as (nazar). Asian primarily falls in this category of using black bands, clothes pieces,  tikka(dot or spot), kajal (Eye pencil) and even black shoes to over come  the evil eye. This practice is carried out with people or belongings for which protection from the evil eye is acquired. In Pakistan automobiles have a special hanging either the black cloth or the black shoe from the protection of the evil eye.

Red:

Most of the Asia pacific countries treat red with respect and love as it denotes the symbol of love, happiness and prosperity. Red is preferred on all the happy occasions such as wedding and new year.

Red color is also associated with the world of gambling and it is followed highly. Chinese wear red color underwear’s when gambling or red color is kept close to bring in good luck.

Red color sky in the morning is believed to be a warning sign for most of the sailor across the world and a red color sky is considered as a delight and positive sign.

Blue:

The color blue in Greece and across the  Mediterranean is associated with the evil eye known as “Vaskania”. The concept of evil eye exists in almost all the cultures, In Greece it is believed that the evil can cause illness and chaos in one’s life .For protection against the evil eye people in Greece wear necklaces with blue eye painted on the charm or blue beads to ward off the harmful impacts of blue eye

Good Luck charms

Widely used charms include the

Crossed fingers  it is believed to bring good luck for the awaited news, courage or protection more common in Christian culture but now became a fashion symbol across the world.

Horseshoe is said to bring good luck when hung with the ends pointing upwards as it acts as a storage container of for  any good luck that happens to be floating by;  whereas while pointing downwards  the luck will spill out and will go away. Horseshoe is popular mostly among the west.

Four Clover leaf is considered lucky if someone finds it. It is special because of it rarity and special shape. The four clovers are meant to be hope, faith, love and luck

Finding a penny and picking it up will bring good luck for the day as believed mostly among the west.

 

Elephant Trunk pointing upwards will bring good luck where as trunk pointing downwards will bring bad luck.

 

 

Cricket is considered as a good luck charm especially in China and other Asiancountries. In Europe and America too Cricket is treated with respect and is considered the protector.