Subscribe to LivePeppy immediately, else the Gods will punish you with bad luck! You know that it’s untrue but what you should also know is that a black cat crossing your path is equally untrue. Yet, some of us live by this and similar superstitions very seriously.
So “cross your fingers” for you are about to be enlightened by some of the weirdest superstitions from around the world and what they could possibly mean.
-
PLAYING WITH SCISSORS
A very common superstition amongst Indian households, playing with scissors causes family conflicts.
Possible Logic: What we as children never thought was that our mom simply didn’t want us to cut ourselves and fooled us with this superstition.
2. LEAVING SLIPPERS UPSIDE DOWN
Another superstition about family conflicts is leaving your slippers or any footwear upside down.
Possible Logic: Your parents probably just wanted you to be an organized kid and hence instilled this in your minds.
3. ITCHING OF HANDS
It’s widely believed in Turkish culture that itching of hands is associated with either incoming money or losing money.
Possible Logic: None, this is just plain stupid!
4. SAYING “BLESS YOU” AFTER SOMEONE SNEEZES
According to the Greeks when someone sneezes their soul leaves their body and thus it’s a nice gesture to bless them on having it back inside.
Possible Logic: Surprisingly, many scientific studies have proven that during a sneeze the person’s heart stops for a millisecond. Seems our Greek friends weren’t completely wrong after all.
5. CUTTING NAILS AT NIGHT
Again another Indian superstition about cutting nails at night bringing bad luck.
Possible Logic: The historical background of this superstition suggests that people avoided using harmful or sharp objects at night to prevent hurting themselves in low light.
6. DECREASE IN HEIGHT
Another absurd belief popular in India is that your height will decrease if you’re lying down and someone walks over you to get to the other side.
Possible Logic: Not found.
7. SHAKING OF LEGS
In South Korea, it is said that shaking your leg can lead to bad luck and loss of wealth.
Possible Logic: Apart from being a sign of lack of concentration, shaking of legs is also somewhat of a bad manner especially in public places. So parents may use this to prevent both of the above-mentioned facts.
8. AVOIDING GOAT MEAT
In Rwanda, women not only refrain but are actually not permitted to eat goat meat by their family members. It is believed that eating it can cause women to grow beards.
Possible Logic: The only possible logic, in this case, is that people must be having dysfunctional brain cells to come up with stuff like this.
9. DON’T OPEN UMBRELLAS INDOORS
According to Egyptian legends, opening umbrellas indoors could invite evil. It was/is believed that the shadow of the umbrella is sacred and thus using it outside protects you from bad omens but the facts are reversed when you do that indoors.
Possible Logic: Egyptians usually stated things that in some uncanny way turned out to be true in later periods with heavy research. But as of now, we do not have a plausible historical explanation for this superstition. Give it two decades, maybe something would come up, but till then keep opening umbrellas inside your homes.
10. DON’T STICK YOUR CHOPSTICK UPRIGHT IN YOUR BOWL
In Japan, sticking your chopsticks upright is believed to bring early death and bad luck. And not just that upright or crossed chopsticks are perceived as bad manners.
Possible Logic: For early death and bad luck, there isn’t any possible logic but saying that it’s bad manners should be a reason enough for you to not mess your chopsticks up!
11. WOMEN NOT GOING IN TEMPLES DURING PERIODS
Another Indian superstition which can only be labeled as misogynistic is, women not being allowed to enter temples during their menstrual cycle because it “pollutes” the environment of the temple.
Possible Logic: The only logic, in this case, is people had/have a patriarchal mindset. And this superstition is quite ironic because, in many north-east and South Indian temples, menstruating girls are actually worshipped!
12. LEMON AND CHILLIES
In India, many people put lemon and chili outside their houses because the belief is that lemon and chili protects a house and people living within from the evil eye.
Possible Logic: Believe it or not, but scientifically lemon and chili rich in vitamin C and thus having them in your environment is beneficial for your lungs.
13. BATHING AFTER FUNERALS
It is believed that bathing after coming from a funeral is important to cleanse and protect yourself from possible bad luck and be pious again.
Possible Logic: If not to make you pious again, it could be believed that bathing after coming from a funeral does give you a sense of cleanliness and mental satisfaction.
Apart from the above-mentioned superstitions, there are many more beliefs people blindly believe in just because they were asked to do by their previous generations. Surprisingly, they often go numb to questions about the scientific fact behind the same.
Below are some more weird superstitions:
- Washing/Cutting hair on Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday will cause loss of wealth
- Widows are considered to be unlucky
- Hiccups and sneezing at an inappropriate time may bring bad luck
- Give away the belongings of a dead person, else the soul will not rest in peace
- Storing a cracker mirror/glass will bring bad luck
- Do not clean your home after sunset, as this may cause loss of wealth.
- Having Curd and Sugar before stepping out will bring good luck
- Do not eat food during Eclipse
- Placing Spiritual statues in Car, Books, Offices etc. will bring good luck
- Not having Onion/Garlic at any religious occasion
- A wedding having low horoscope match won’t last long
Even after all the possible logical explanations, all these still remain superstitions so don’t think twice before having that butter chicken on Tuesday.
And now that you love this article so much, show it to your friends and family but don’t call them from the back or… 🙂
Don’t just blindly follow what is being said rather try to find some genuine facts behind every superstition.
Article Credits: Sugandha Singh | New Delhi | India
Editor: LivePeppy
Click Here to Follow the Writer on Facebook
Click Here to Follow the Writer on LinkedIn
Simply a smiling visitor here to share the love (:, btw outstanding layout.
You made some good points there. I looked on the internet for the topic and found most individuals will consent with your blog.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Really thank you! Awesome.
I feel that is among the so much significant information for me. And i’m satisfied reading your article. However want to observation on few common issues, The website style is great, the articles is truly excellent : D. Excellent activity, cheers