Below article is so great that I can’t resist to post on my blog here.

Superstition is a traditional belief that a certain action or event can cause or foretell an apparently unrelated event. For example, some superstitious people believe that carrying a rabbit's foot will bring them good luck. Others believe that if a black cat crosses their path, they will have bad luck. To yet other superstitious people, dropping a knife or fork on the floor means company is coming. Such beliefs are superstitions because in each case the action and the event it foretells are traditionally thought to be connected. For instance, the rabbit's foot is associated with fertility.

Superstitions have existed in every human society throughout history. Most people, including highly educated individuals, act superstitiously from time to time. Many people may joke about avoiding bad luck by knocking on wood or not walking under a ladder. But they have such beliefs anyway. Scholars once believed that all superstitions dated back to humanity's early history. But many superstitions have appeared in relatively recent times. According to a superstition in baseball, for example, a pitcher will give up a hit if anyone mentions that a no-hit game is being pitched.

Countless human activities are involved in superstitions. They include eating, sleeping, working, playing, getting married, having a baby, becoming ill, and dying. Times of danger and uncertainty have brought many superstitions. Superstitions concern animals, clothing, lakes, mountains, names, numbers, the planets and stars, the weather, and parts of the body.

Kinds of superstitions. Many superstitions deal with important events in a person's life, such as birth, entering adulthood, marriage, pregnancy, and death. Such superstitions supposedly ensure that a person will pass safely from one stage of life to the next. For example, a person born on Sunday will always have good luck. A bride and groom will have bad luck if they see each other on their wedding day before the ceremony. A pregnant woman must eat the right food, or she will give her child an unwanted birthmark. After a person dies, the doors and windows of the room should be opened so the spirit can leave.

Some superstitions involve a type of magic. One form of such magic comes from the belief that similar actions produce similar results. Many people believe a newborn baby must be carried upstairs before being carried downstairs. In this way, the child will be assured of rising in the world and having success. The same principle appears in the custom of putting money in a purse or wallet being given as a gift. The giver wants to make sure the purse or wallet will always contain money.

A number of superstitions involve someone's taking a deliberate action to cause something to happen or to prevent something from occurring. Most of these causal superstitions involve ensuring good luck, avoiding bad luck, or making something good happen. For example, carrying a silver dollar supposedly brings good luck. Some people will not start a trip on a Friday, especially if it is the 13th day of the month. Friday and the number 13 are both associated with bad luck. According to a Japanese belief, the number 4 is unlucky. This is because shi, the Japanese word for 4, sounds like the Japanese word for death. Thus, many buildings in Japan have no fourth floor. According to another superstition, wedding guests throw rice at the newlyweds to ensure that the marriage will result in many children. In some cases, causal superstitions involve actions intended to give bad luck to someone. Witches supposedly perform some of these actions (see WITCHCRAFT).

Other superstitions foretell an event without any conscious action by the person involved. Some of these sign superstitions foretell good or bad luck. For example, finding a horseshoe or a four-leaf clover means good luck. Breaking a mirror or spilling salt brings bad luck. Other sign superstitions foretell a certain event or condition. A ring around the moon means rain will soon fall. A howling dog means death is near. A person with red hair has a quick temper.

Some sign superstitions may be changed into causal superstitions. If a person hangs a horseshoe over a door, witches cannot enter. If a young woman pins a four-leaf clover to her door, she will marry the first bachelor who comes in the door. In some cases, a person may avoid the bad luck involved in a sign superstition by taking immediate action. For example, someone who has spilled salt may cancel the bad luck by throwing a pinch of salt over the left shoulder.

The role of superstitions. Many people scoff at superstitions because they consider such beliefs to be unscientific. However, many scholars believe that some superstitions have a scientific basis. For example, people in England once used tea made from foxglove plants to treat some forms of heart disease. Today, physicians often prescribe digitalis, a drug made from dried leaves of the purple foxglove, for patients with weak hearts.

Some superstitions have a practical origin. For example, many people believe that lighting cigarettes for three individuals from one match will bring bad luck. This superstition may have originated among soldiers during World War I (1914-1918). At night, a match that stayed lit long enough to light three cigarettes provided a target for the enemy. Another superstition involves hanging a bag of garlic around a child's neck for protection from illness. The garlic-filled bag has no supernatural power. But its smell keeps away other children-including any who have a disease that the wearer of the bag might catch.

Most people have fears that make them insecure. Superstitions help overcome such fears by providing security. They reassure people that they will get what they want and avoid trouble. For example, millions of people believe in astrology and base important decisions on the position of the sun, moon, planets, and stars (see ASTROLOGY). Superstitions will probably have a part in life as long as people fear each other and have uncertainties about the future.

Contributor: Alan Dundes, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology and Folklore, University of California, Berkeley.

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