Superstitious, quirks, beliefs?
 

Do you have any superstitions? Do you know why you have them? Curious minds...

Oh I was raised with several and even though I know it's nuts - I do or don't do the following...

-Never walk under a ladder
-Never open an umbrella in the house
-always am careful with mirrors (7 years bad luck if it breaks)
-don't put hats on the bed
-don't hand someone sicssors by the blade
-if I (or anyone) spills salt, I have to throw it over my shoulder
-Never laugh when I see a funeral procession, hearse or funeral happening
"Never laugh as a hearse goes by or you will be the next to die"
-if your palms itch you will come into money soon
-never kill ladybugs - it's bad luck
-never kill daddy long legs either - and if they crawl on you it means you are getting a sweater.....


LOL My grandmother raised me on all this and she takes it SO seriously. I don't take it as seriously, but am to scared to NOT take action. ha ha ha. So the spilled salt always goes over the shoulder - just in case there is truth to it. There are a couple I never agreed with her on though.
One is that she believed that cat's killed babies by sucking the breath out of them. So a newborn couldn't be left anywhere there were cats.
And the other is that if you don't keep a babies face covered all the time they will "catch the colic." lmao. My oldest daughter was born in AUGUST. omg and my grandmother was constantly putting a blanket over her face, freaking out that the wind was going to go into her mouth and give her "the colic."

Was your Gramma Scottish????
 

We must be related. . I had that same Gramma.

I still can't throw my cap on the bed***

Don't look into a mirror with anyone else. It will bring bad luck.

Wild bird in the house means a death.( Hmmm , now I wonder if she meant the bird?)

Dropping silverware meant different things too..

Knife , a man is coming to visit, Fork, a woman, Spoon a child

Itchy palm means money. Can't recall which one, because noone ever greased my palm..OH YEa

Put salt on your parakeets tail and it won't fly away. I lost my parakeet cuz I didn't do it when I was a wee one and she flew away. Maybe there was a truth in that one? :moonstars:

itchy palms
 

L Left palm Lose money

R Right paln Receive money

Never set your purse on the floor

EVER

or one's mom will FREAK OUT:eatinghersheybar:

my house mate is a firm believer in the no hats on the bed thing, which i had never heard before her. So of course i'll put one of her baseball caps in the center of her bed and watch her dive for it....it's funny to watch.

When i was pregnant with my son, his paternal aunt absolutely hated that i had a kitten. She was convinced Tony was gonna look like the kitten because i held it too much.

When she saw the pictures taken during & right after the C-Section, she was convinced Tony was covered in "corn starch" because i didn't get enough during my pregnancy :|

Pixie, i am also a firm believer in the must be invited before entering a house, taking a seat etc... :)

Definitley Superstitious...
 

Never put shoes on the table.

Never put money on the table when food is present and placed.

In my Italian upbringing (In my case anyway) we never believed in having a baby shower before the baby is born.

I don't believe in having any "bird" memorabilia in the house, as birds are bad luck.

I ask St. Anthony (The Patron of Lost Items) to help me find something I misplaced.

Then there's the Italian Malocchio which means (The Evil Eye). The definition is: Superstition holding that a glance can cause injury or death to those on whom it falls. The belief was found in ancient Greece and Rome as well as in folk cultures around the world, and it has persisted into modern times. Children and animals are believed to be particularly vulnerable. The evil eye is often thought to stem from envy and malice toward prosperity and beauty, and thus in many cultures unguarded praise of one's possessions or children is thought to invite misfortune. Safeguards include amulets, charms, and sacred texts.

The charms that we would wear are:

http://www.jewelryboom.com/uploads1/...1189185343.jpg

http://images.bizrate.com/resize?sq=282&uid=959523894

I forgot about the "red ribbon"! My mom would tell me to pin a red piece of ribbon to my bra...LOL... Instead I have a piece of red ribbon in my glove compartment.

I never heard of the haircut superstition or grabbing your ass...

I also have one of those big ole red ginzo horns...This one to be exact:

http://www.luckymojo.com/cornocrown.gif

I keep this in the glove compartment too. I "joked" with my honey and told her I was going to hang it from my rear view mirror. :jester: LMFAO. There goes Guido going down the street! She forbid me. Heha..

Another superstitious I forgot to mention earlier is when I travel and fly I carry 2 medals with me. St. Christopher (Patron of Safe Travel) and a Praying Hands medal. I hate to fly, so I keep these in my pocket with me.

ah yes superstitions
 

Growing up I heard lots of tall tales like that! Your story really made me smile!

I also remember hearing that if a pregnant woman has a craving she was supposed to indulge in it right away and until she could, she should be careful not to touch her face, but to grab her ass instead..... because if not, the baby would be born with the shape and color of the food she craved ie: raspberries! These stories were always fruit centric...

I can be pretty superstitious, especially about bread...

We were cautioned against storing a loaf of bread upside down or seeing a loaf of bread that is upside down and not turning it right side up immediately...Bread always had to be right side up or it was a foreboding/ominous sign.

also...

Don't touch my feet with a sweeping broom

No hats or shoes on tables, beds or chairs.

It is OK however to leave your shoes on the floor at the end of your bed on the eve of la befana, because then a witch who had an opportunity to meet the baby jesus but declined the offer and instead told the three kings she had to clean her house, she then had a change of heart, got a late start after the kings but never did catch up...she now spends eternity searching for the baby jesus and leaving candy and gifts in the shoes of children as they sleep!

Nothing at all should ever stored on the stove

Don't speak certain things out loud because the maloch loves a boaster as much as one greedy or jealous!

If you think you're headache is the result of someone putting the maloch on you, put three drops of olive oil in a shallow dish of water, put it on your nightstand and go to bed immediately.

If you can't be sure that someone isn't going to put the maloch on you, stranger or not, you should never let them touch your hair and should especially never let them touch your pregnant belly.

Drafts are dangerous, (the consequences, many and most unmentional but especially to infants, as may take the child's breath away permanently, or the draft may "get trapped in their head" causing everything from low intelligence to migraines to infertility or hearing loss.

Cats are also dangerous to infants, they might drink the milk out of the mouth of a baby, slowly starving the child.

If you happen to complain about, speak unkindly of OR compliment a child, you should follow it with a "god bless him or her."

and for you're peace of mind...

Don't tell me about your dreams, I'll be forced to interpret them.