Superstitious, quirks, beliefs?

[ravfem]

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...

[Scorp]

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:

[always2late]

Originally Posted by Scorp

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:

OMG....I am Italian too...and holy cow your list brought back a TON of memories!! Let me add one...One must cut their hair on March 1st and 15th, as well as the hair of everyone in the house...otherwise bad luck will ensue (I'm talking about a snip of hair, not a full on haircut). AND....if you think someone is going to put the malocchio on you...you need to have a piece of something red on your person (my mother routinely pinned red ribbons to our undershirts as kids). Also...if you are pregnant and see something that frightens you...in the words of my mother..."Grab your ass, never grab your face in fright because then the baby will have a birthmark on its face, but who cares about a birthmark on the ass?" LOL...thanks for the thread Con!

[Scorp]

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:



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. 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.

Originally Posted by always2late

OMG....I am Italian too...and holy cow your list brought back a TON of memories!! Let me add one...One must cut their hair on March 1st and 15th, as well as the hair of everyone in the house...otherwise bad luck will ensue (I'm talking about a snip of hair, not a full on haircut). AND....if you think someone is going to put the malocchio on you...you need to have a piece of something red on your person (my mother routinely pinned red ribbons to our undershirts as kids). Also...if you are pregnant and see something that frightens you...in the words of my mother..."Grab your ass, never grab your face in fright because then the baby will have a birthmark on its face, but who cares about a birthmark on the ass?" LOL...thanks for the thread Con!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by The_Lady_Snow

Never set your purse on the floor

EVER

or one's mom will FREAK OUT

I've been told this and I make an effort now to keep it off the floor when I can since I was told it means that I won't be able to keep money if I continue to do so. Besides being a superstition, it's just good sense. There are sooo many ick factors involved (on the floor) and well, keeping money is always good.



I do the salt thing. It must go over the LEFT shoulder.

[miss entycing]

pretty quirky, but I gotta sit with my back to the wall...
freaks me a bit to have my back to the crowd.

my Syr puts me in big trouble if I set shoes or slippy's on the bed to run the carpet sweeper or something.

and I won't leave my pocketbook on the floor either-
which I don't get... cuz I still can't keep money in it- so go figure!!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by EntycingFemme

pretty quirky, but I gotta sit with my back to the wall...
freaks me a bit to have my back to the crowd.

my Syr puts me in big trouble if I set shoes or slippy's on the bed to run the carpet sweeper or something.

and I won't leave my pocketbook on the floor either-
which I don't get... cuz I still can't keep money in it- so go figure!!

Those that I know that are or have been in the military tend to sit with the wall to their back. I don't care unless my undies are showing.

[Outlaw]

Originally Posted by always2late

Also...if you are pregnant and see something that frightens you...in the words of my mother..."Grab your ass, never grab your face in fright because then the baby will have a birthmark on its face, but who cares about a birthmark on the ass?" LOL...thanks for the thread Con!

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.

[Diva]

When I was performing regularly, it was very normal for me to have the bid "D" several hours before I hit the stage. Nerves. Then, I knew the performance would be ok.

When I didn't have that 'experience', more often than not, something would go wrong with my part of the performance (missed an entrance, forgot or screwed up lyrics, etc.).

Go figure.

[Tcountry]

My family: the head of the household should always be the last to go to sleep and the first awake
If you sleep in past 9am you get guff from grandpa "people die in bed"

Me: I always wear a ring I bought in Mexico when I was 17...aztec symbol for wisdom (always joked that maybe it will sink in...now it is a part of me)

[MsDemeanor]

Geez, people, don't you know it's bad luck to talk about these things!!!

*shaking head*

[JustBeingMe]

My late grandmother god rest her soul, was superstitious in that she was indian, and told us to NEVER cut our hair, cause it was part of your soul she said.

My mother is superstitiuos in that she won't walk or drive across the path of a full black cat.

I have heard of the grab your ass one, that is funny.
Salt should be tossed over the LEFT shoulder if you spill it.

I'll have to think of more later. TIred now. goodnight all and thanks for starting this thread.

[StillettoDoll]

Scissors, like a knife should never be given as a gift. Doing that will cut the relationship between giver and recipient
.

[StillettoDoll]

Earrings: Some people wear earrings for reasons other than mere physical adornment. It is a widespread superstition that piercing the earlobes will improve eyesight, though there is no medical proof. And sailors maintain, for reasons lost in antiquity that wearing a gold earring will protect them from death by drowning.

[morningstar55]

when i was like 17 .. think it was........
a Native American guy ...... i dated a lil.... got a older kitten once.... and took some sissors and trimed the hair off the tip of its tail...
he said ..... if you do that they wont run away.....
Okk.... i know if you feed any cat they will never leave...... LOL