·Black CatIt is probably because of its slyness and shrewdness, the cat is often supposed to be connected with witch,witches and the devil.This fear may stem from the Middle Ages. In Europe,the time between the Middle Ages and the 18th century is known as the witch-hunting era. In most of the cases, the witches were typically older women whose crimes were eccentricity,solitude and,especially,the inability to withstand the ordeals.Frequently,the evidence the witch-hunters gave was that the old w……
·Friday the 13th The standard nineteenth-century explanation for the supposed unluckiness of the number 13 was that there were thirteen at Jesuss Last Supper --Judas was generally thought of as the thirteenth. This widely repeated interpretation led to the fear of the number 13 in general, and people would avoid having 13 at table or in a party. The supposed misfortune of Friday also originated from Christian beliefs, for the Crucifixion took place on that day. But both fears have their ea……
·Opening an Umbrella IndoorsThere is no doubt that the umberella is employed both as a shield against bad weateher and as a shade against the sun. Therefore,it is understandable that opening an umbrella indoors would be considered unnecessary or foolish. But why would this action be seen as dangerous? Some people believe that an umbrella unnecessarily openned during fine weather may bring down the rain. A more subtle rationale suggests that indoor umbrella usage violates the right order of thi……
·Walking under a Ladder Avoiding ladders used to be linked to the story of the Crucifixion: one kept away from the instrument that had taken Jesus down from the cross,or else one would suffer bad luck. This is highly suspect reasoning,since no ladder is mentioned in the Bible. The superstition has also been linked to the fear of entering the Holy Trinitys emblematic triangle,formed by ladder,wall and ground. Maybe the simplest reasoning for not walking under a ladder is that in going around it yo……
·Broken Mirrors Mirrors have been used in divination, or fortune-telling since ancient times. Because of their presumed value in seeing the future, superstition grants them magical and potentially dangerous significance. On the simplest level, breaking a mirror is the destruction of a means of knowing the will of the gods, or a signal from the gods that they didnt want you to poke into their affairs. Either way, the indication of unseeable hazards was obvious. The Romans believed that the mirror……
·Spilling Salt We do not know when man first began to use salt, but we do know that it has been used in many different ways throughout history. Historical evidence shows,for example, that people who lived over 3,000 years ago ate salted fish. Thousands of years ago in Egypt, salt was used to preserve the dead. Because of its value as a preservative, and flavoring, salt was considered, Romans and Hebrews it was a common sacrificial offering. Throughout the Middle East, moreover, it was a token o……
·Saying God Bless You to a Sneezer When you sneeze, Americans would sayGod Bless You to you. In many European cultures, sneezing traditionally is associated with death and Americans believe that you are very close to death when you sneeze, because sneezing can expel the soul, and thus life will escape from the body. So they say God Bless You to a sneezer as a charm against the danger of the moment. Neglecting this magical words could mean that the sneezer would end up in the next world.However, m……
·HorseshoesSince at least the days of the Romans, horseshoes have been considered lucky, both for their healing powers (it is said that they can cure hiccups), and for their protective influence (specifically, against witches). Nowadays, the horseshoe is usually placed above doorways for good luck. There may be a lot of reasons for its popularity, but among them at least two are worth considering.The more convincing explanation is that the horseshoe is in a horn shape and resembles the new moon. ……
·Knocking on Wood The English touch wood for luck; Americans prefer the more sounding knock. These actions reflect the early Christian worship for the cross. Making contact with wood is a way of connecting symbolically with this holy article of Christianity. Others see the custom as a survivor of the medieval tradition of sanctuary. In the days when any fugitive could find protection behind the doors of a church, touching the wood of these doors would be a signal that he was safe.These Christian ……
·Burning Ears When someone is speaking ill of another out of that persons hearing, it is said that the persons ears are burning or tingling; then superstition supposes that when a person s ears burn, it is a sign of some distant malevolence. This belief can be explained by the assumption that there exists a kind of universal fluid that could carry the curse and touch ears at a distance, even though it was out of range of hearing. The more common-sense explanation seems a better one. When someone……
·Break a Leg （祝你摔断腿） This is an odd but traditional good luck wish to an actor about to go on. Among highly superstitious theater people, it is thought that if people wish for good luck, something will inevitably go wrong. So they wish for bad luck instead, and hope that the efficacy will just be the reverse.There are some other superstitious beliefs among actors. It is good luck, for example, to have their shoes squeak during an entrance, and it is good luck to have a theater cat. But bad luck c……
·Farewells The story of English farewells is the process of becoming less religious. In the Middle Ages, people parted by saying God be with you, a characteristically religious comment. At Shakespeares time came you God bye, a form which lost its blatant godliness. And Good-bye,which is commonly used today, is a distortion of that in the early nineteenth century. That century also gave us the alternative So long, which suggests it is so long until we see each place in California, where late-1960s……
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