Superstitions – All in Good Fun, Believe Them or Not

Superstitions are cultural, with their significance often lost to history. So, they seem silly outside their cultures of origin and even within. They appear to be only nonsense. However, they’ve been passed down from generation to generation, and either we believe because that’s our nature, or we just politely smile at those who do believe.

What Are Superstitions

Merriam-Webster defines superstition as “a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.”

So, let’s break down this definition. The word “ignorance”, as used here, means uninformed or unaware. Most superstitions began when the world was much smaller, and people in general weren’t as well-educated as they are now. It’s only natural to fear what you don’t know or don’t understand. So, people credited magic or luck for situations and results because they didn’t understand the real reason or cause.

But why are superstitions still popular and believed by many people today? Well, we were exposed to them by our grandparents, and they by their grandparents and so on, and everyone knows that grandparents don’t lie. But more importantly, some people are unwilling or unable to take responsibility for their own actions or the grief they may cause others. Sometimes, it’s easier to have some outside force to blame.

Number Related Superstitions

There are many superstitions relating to numbers.

13

Thirteen is the first number superstition that immediately comes to mind for me. Friday the 13th happens an average of 1.72 times per year. (Apparently, someone with too much time on their hands did the calculation.) The media always reminds us to be prepared because Friday the 13th is a well-known, unlucky day. They even made a series of movies about it. But be prepared for what, you may ask? No one knows. Just be prepared!

Now, it’s interesting that people in Spanish-speaking countries think Tuesday the 13th is a day to take extra precautions. I don’t understand why it’s Tuesday any more than I know why it’s Friday. It just is!

Also, have you noticed that most highrises or office towers don’t have a 13th floor? It’s true because 13 is an unlucky number! Check out the elevator. Where is the 13th floor? Well, they just renumbered it to the 14th. However, you do realize that if you count from the bottom, it’s still the 13th floor. The renumbering is just a gimmick.

My only memory of the number 13 growing up is when my mother sent me to the Dominion Store bakery. She asked me to get a dozen cinnamon knots or orange twists, and I always returned with a baker’s dozen.

4 & 8

Chinese people, especially the older generation, consider the number 4 unlucky. They will go out of their way to get a house address, a house phone or cell phone number, or a licence plate for their car without any number 4s. If that’s not possible, then as few fours as they can. Now, that’s superstitious.

This superstition or even fear of the number 4 extends to their gambling habits. In the casino where I worked, most customers/gamblers were elderly Chinese men. The Blackjack tables had seven betting spots, and the sit-down Mini-Bacarrat tables had nine betting spots. So, because this unlucky-number-4 superstition is well-known, the management decided to avoid having a number 4 spot on any of the gambling tables when the casino first opened.

When they had the felts printed for the tabletops, there were no number 4 betting spots on any of the tables. They had the spots numbered 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, etc. It was the first casino in the lower mainland to do so. “So what?” you may ask. Well, the Chinese gamblers seemed to have that same attitude. Even though they had the number 4 spot printed as number 5, it was still the number 4 spot, and many elderly gamblers just avoided it.

Now, why was 8 included in the subtitle above? Everything I have said about the number 4 is exactly the opposite for the number 8. Chinese consider the number 8 to be very lucky.

Disclaimer: In English, numbers less than 10 are generally written with words. In fact, Grammarly suggests that numbers less than 100 should be written with words. I chose to ignore the grammatical rule for 4 and 8 in this writing to emphasize those numbers.

Animal Related Superstitions

There are also many animal superstitions, and you may find some of these interesting.

Cats, But Only if They’re Black

Apparently, it’s unlucky if a black cat walks in front of you or across your path. I’ve never heard the reason why. It just is. Is it possible that the reason is that any self-respecting witch who owns a cat has a black cat?

Now, without any attempt at a smooth segue, I want to say that my youngest daughter recently acquired a cat. And guess what? He’s black. So far, he doesn’t appear to be particularly unlucky. However, I am a little concerned about choking to death in my sleep on cat hair because he sleeps on my bed all day. Yeah, I guess that would be unlucky.

Groundhogs and the Coming of Spring

Some might consider this one more of a tourism initiative, but I think it also qualifies as a superstition. You probably didn’t know this, but groundhogs in North America have this incredible talent of being able to predict if spring has arrived or winter will continue for another six weeks. But this talent exists mainly on the East Coast of North America. This major event happens every year on February 2nd.

There are several of these fellas both in Canada and the United States. When they come out in the morning on February 2nd, there will be another six weeks of winter if they see their shadow. If not, spring has arrived. Unfortunately, it’s rarely a unanimous decision. I don’t know which one of them advises Mother Nature in this regard.

Famous Groundhogs of North America

Name	Location	Citizenship
Balzac Billy	Balzac, AB	Canadian
Chuckles the Groundhog	Manchester, CT	American
Dunkirk Dave	Dunkirk, NY	American
Fred La Marmotte	Val d’Espoir, QC	Canadian
Grover the Groundhog	Pine Grove, PA	American
Manitoba Merv	Stonewall, MN	Canadian
Octorara Orphie	Lancaster, PA	American
Pierre C. Shadeaux	New Iberia, LA	American
Punxsutawney Phil	Punxsutawney, PA	American
Shubenacadie Sam	Halifax, NS	Canadian
Sir Walter Wally	Raleigh, NC	American
Staten Island Chuck	Staten Island, NY	American
Unadilla Bill	Unadilla, NE	American
Van Isle Violet	Vancouver Island, BC	Canadian
Wiarton Willie	Wiarton, ON	Canadian

Although not all-inclusive, the chart above contains famous groundhogs of Canada and the United States. It would seem that professional groundhogging is a male-dominated business. Everyone on the list is male except for Van Isle Violet, and I’m not sure of Octorara Orphie’s gender. Also, I have it from reliable sources that a previous Chuckles the Groundhog was female.

I have a few comments about individuals. Wiarton Willie is albino, quite rare for groundhogs, and is the most famous Canadian on the list. Punxsutawney Phil is the most famous American. They must have the best agents. And I’m sad to report that Fred La Marmotte died just hours before he was to appear on February 2nd of this year. The pressure of the job was too much for him.

Unusual Superstitions From Other Countries

Egypt: It’s bad luck to play with scissors. (also dangerous.)

France: Stepping in dog poop brings good luck, but only with your left foot. (No comment!)

Germany: Never propose a toast or give cheers with water as it wishes death to the one you are toasting. (Simple, yet effective.)

India: It’s bad luck to get a haircut on Tuesday. (Closed for the day.)

Japan: Do not stick your chopsticks standing up in a bowl of rice, as it symbolizes death. (I learned that pretty quickly when I moved to Japan.)

Mexico: Mirrors facing each other open a doorway for the devil. (Nice decorating effect, though.)

Spain: Always enter or leave a room with your left foot first to avoid bad luck. (That’s how I do it.)

Philippines: To rid your house of bedbugs, put them in an envelope and leave it at someone else’s house. Now, they belong to them. (Mean but practical.)

Turkey: Never jump over a child, as it will cause that child to be short forever. (Sounds like a sport.)

So, it’s clear that different countries have different ideas about what’s lucky or unlucky. My favourite superstition above is obviously from the Philippines, although France is a close second. I have not confirmed these superstitions with anyone from the respective countries. I hope I’m not giving out false information or beliefs.

And Now For Your Listening Enjoyment

Here is Stevie Wonder singing his 1972 hit Superstition.

The above essay is for entertainment and English language study only. For suggestions on how to use this post to improve your English reading and listening comprehension, click here.

Vocabulary

• significance – noun; consequence, importance; importance
• superstition – noun; irrational belief, esp. as based on fear of or reverence for the supernatural; unreasonable beliefs
• conception – noun; an understanding; an understanding of a situation
• causation – noun; the act of causing or producing an effect; the cause or reason for something
• credited – transitive verb; to give credit to; who or what is responsible
• exposed to – transitive verb; subject, introduce, or lay open to (an influence etc.); learned from
• gimmick – noun informal; a trick or device, often underhanded, esp. for attracting attention, publicity, or trade; a trick to make one think differently
• dozen – noun; twelve, regarded collectively; twelve of the same thing
• baker’s dozen – noun; thirteen; [so called from bakers’ former custom of adding an extra loaf to a dozen sold]; thirteen of the same thing
• segue – noun; a smooth move from one thing or topic to another; a smooth change to another unrelated topic
• acquired – transitive verb; obtain; come to process; bought; received (in this context)
• initiative – noun; a fresh approach to something; a way to improve or increase something (to increase tourism in this case)
• unanimous – adjective; all in agreement; everyone agrees
• Mother Nature – the idea of all natural things in the world as controlled by a woman
• all-inclusive – adjective; including all or everything; including all (preceded by not in this case)
• albino – noun; a person or animal having a congenital absence of pigment in the skin and hair and the eyes; a person or animal with white hair, light-coloured skin and pink eyes
• confirmed – transitive verb; provide support for the truth or correctness of; be certain through investigation
• respective – adjective; concerning or appropriate to each of several individually; for each one separately

Resources

• Time – Unhappy with Punxsutawney Phil?
• Good Housekeeping – 55 of the Strangest Superstitions From Around the World