Did you have any family superstitions when you were young?

[tomwed]

I can only think of two. When we spilled salt we had to throw a little of it over our shoulder for good luck. And my mom would go crazy if anybody even thought about opening an umbrella in the house.
No wonder I turned out this way.

[marianne237]

My mother had this "thing" about giving a gift that had a sharp edge (ie: scissors, knife) without receiving a piece of silver (nickel, quarter) first from the recepient.

I remember reading somewhere that this goes way back in German myth, but don't remember the story. And to this day, I do the same.

Also, Mom and Grandma prayed extra prayers for lost souls on All Souls Day...and I do the same too. Guess these superstitions/whatevers do stick with us all our lives.

[tomwed]

I just thought of another one. Whenever I got a new car [even if it was used] my mom would throw a couple of coins on the carpet on the passenger's side. I don't know why.

[billethkid]

Never put a hat on the bed or it will Get one bad luck.
I still will not put a hat on a bed....any bed....any where!

[Pointer]

Well everyone knows about knocking wood, but if there is no wood around I knock on my head and find it works too.

For some reason putting a new pair of shoes on the table even though they were still in the box would cause my aunt to call down all the saints, "Jesus, Marry and Joseph being the most prominent and often used.

Still have a hard time stepping on a crack and always look to see if a penny was head up or tails.

Some made sense then others, like not walking under a ladder vs breaking a mirror giving 7 yrs bad luck. :22yikes:

[tomwed]

Well everyone knows about knocking wood, but if there is no wood around I knock on my head and find it works too.

For some reason putting a new pair of shoes on the table even though they were still in the box would cause my aunt to call down all the saints, "Jesus, Marry and Joseph being the most prominent and often used.

Still have a hard time stepping on a crack and always look to see if a penny was head up or tails.

Some made sense then others, like not walking under a ladder vs breaking a mirror giving 7 yrs bad luck. :22yikes:

I had all of those too. I'm beginning to think there was a lot of superstitions I lived with. I had a fever once that wouldn't break and my mom tied onions to the bottom of my feet. Oh brother, I'm sharing too much.

[SALYBOW]

We could never have thirteen people at the dinner table. If there was going to be, we invited an extra.

[Pointer]

I had all of those too. I'm beginning to think there was a lot of superstitions I lived with. I had a fever once that wouldn't break and my mom tied onions to the bottom of my feet. Oh brother, I'm sharing too much.

LOL too funny, i've heard of the Onions on the bottom of the feet, you were lucky I know some had to endure a cold bath or enema. I had the fortune of responding to ST Josephs aspirin.

There's usually something to the The old remedies. My great grandfather would plant potatoes at night in the light of a full moon. I remember having to wait an hour after eating before I could go swimming. My mother remembered having to wear wool tights until a certain date no matter what the temperature to avoid getting sick. :cold:

I hate the newer cyber superstition that if you don't forward something you will have bad luck, not get the money thats coming your way or miss out on some blessing. :Screen_of_Death:

[asianthree]

Put a penny in a new purse or wallet

[asianthree]

Leave a window open after your loved one passes so they can leave the home

[Gulfhills]

I remember when we just came to the USA (from Holland) a picture was hanging crooked. My mom straightened it out, and said oh someone in the family is going to die. Few days later we got a telegram that my grandmother passed away.

I don't believe it.....but...To this day, I always straighten a picture.

[Lauren Sweeny]

Do not know if the following are typical Hungarian superstitions or just within our family; if a bird flies into your house window someone will die soon, if you drop a
( spoon, fork ,knife ) each one means relative will be coming to visit. Never sew a button on what you are wearing , it messes up your brains. Pull a piece of string of your clothes you will be getting a letter .

[tomwed]

If I told my mom "my ears are ringing", mom would tell me that someone is talking about me.
I couldn't write the sentence this way.
If I told my mom "my ears are ringing", she would tell me that someone is talking about me. Because you can never call your mom she--if you did someone would say "She, who is she? The cat's called she". How funny is that?

And if you said "So". Someone would say "So, Sew buttons on ice cream" We must have sounded crazy. We must have been the nutty neighbors. No wonder my ears were ringing.

I forgot how many superstitions or rituals we had. I don't think I passed any of these to my kids. I'll have to ask them.

My parents were not strict at all. We were all very Catholic including 13 years of Catholic schooling. They were the grandchildren of immigrants from Italy, Ireland and Germany.

[jblum315]

If the palm of your hand itches it means you are going to get some money.If you are cross it means you got up on the wrong side of the bed. Many others I don't remember

[graciegirl]

Do not know if the following are typical Hungarian superstitions or just within our family; if a bird flies into your house window someone will die soon, if you drop a
( spoon, fork ,knife ) each one means relative will be coming to visit. Never sew a button on what you are wearing , it messes up your brains. Pull a piece of string of your clothes you will be getting a letter .


No Hungarian heritage, but the bird in the house signified a death soon according to my grandmother. An itchy palm says you will soon get unexpected money.

[Mr Jamie]

My mother had this "thing" about giving a gift that had a sharp edge (ie: scissors, knife) without receiving a piece of silver (nickel, quarter) first from the recepient.

I remember reading somewhere that this goes way back in German myth, but don't remember the story. And to this day, I do the same.

Also, Mom and Grandma prayed extra prayers for lost souls on All Souls Day...and I do the same too. Guess these superstitions/whatevers do stick with us all our lives.

My Grandparents also had the superstition about a "sharp" gift ... I believe the reason being "... you do not want to "cut" the friendship" ...so by paying a small token amount, it is not a gift, it is a transaction.

[redwitch]

Knowing my parents and their backgrounds, I'm sure they had a few but I'll be danged if I can remember any of them.

[LI SNOWBIRD]

I just thought of another one. Whenever I got a new car [even if it was used] my mom would throw a couple of coins on the carpet on the passenger's side. I don't know why.

I do the same as I learned it from my parents. Only I add my own saying, " May this car carry you safely to every destination and never see the inside of a repair station'

[pivo]

As a kid at easter, after having the basket blessed filled with all home made perogees, sausage, breads, etc, it would be put on the table lite two candles each end blow the candles out, open the windows, doors and wherever the smoke went out their were certain things we could,.'t eat from the basket.

[TheVillageChicken]

As a kid at easter, after having the basket blessed filled with all home made perogees, sausage, breads, etc, it would be put on the table lite two candles each end blow the candles out, open the windows, doors and wherever the smoke went out their were certain things we could,.'t eat from the basket.

No superstition about naming a kid, "Beer"?:smiley:


We will be celebrating Wigilia this year with pierogi and mushroom soup...no herring...the children and grands don't have a Polish palate that extends beyond pierogi and kielbasa.

[TheVillageChicken]

When passing the salt, we had to place it on the table...no hand-to-hand.

[pivo]

villagechicken you got that right that's part of my last name, the full name means beermaker

[bkcunningham1]

My mom grew up dirt poor. She was the daughter of a sharecropper in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As an adult looking back, I know she tried desperately to fit in and not be what she considered an embarrassment because of her impoverished upbringing and lack of education. I can remember one of my sisters talking about her new mother-in-law's superstitions. It fascinated me then and still does to this day. My mom poo-pooed the ideas and would not allow us to even entertain any of this "nonsense."

So learning and trying to understand superstitions is one of my guilty pleasures. My sister said her mother-in-law insisted that you exit through the same door in which you entered. Otherwise, it was bad luck. She would never allow you to rock an empty rocking chair because it was a sign of death. She wouldn't let you put a hat on a bed either. No opening umbrellas inside the house for fear of bad luck and no walking under ladders.

A cricket in the house brings good luck and you should never kill it nor make it leave the house. Death comes in threes. A cat can suck the breath from a newborn baby. Jars won't seal when you are canning if it is, ummm, excuse me here, your time of month.

My dad wrote the day's actual weather on a calendar everyday of his life. One year he counted the number of fogs we had in August to determine if it was true that the number of fogs would be the number of snows we had that winter. It worked. My mom would have nothing to do with his fog count.

I could go on and on with the beautiful superstitions handed down from generation to generation. It intrigues me. I've loved reading this thread. Thanks everyone.

[Villages PL]

I had an aunt who believed that if you talked at length about a dead relative it would make them restless. So you had to stop and say, "God rest his/her soul."

There was a talk show host who believed the same. After talking about his dead relative he would say, "God rest her soul."

See, you just have to know how to do it. First you agitate them and then you put them back at rest.

[jblum315]

I must have agitated dozens of dead relatives in my time, and never knew to put them to rest. Well, Ill do it now,
"God rest their souls, all of them"

[graciegirl]

I must have agitated dozens of dead relatives in my time, and never knew to put them to rest. Well, Ill do it now,
"God rest their souls, all of them"

When someone brings this up I always think of Fruma Sarah in Fiddler on the Roof. That was one agitated chick.

[tomwed]

My mom grew up dirt poor. She was the daughter of a sharecropper in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. As an adult looking back, I know she tried desperately to fit in and not be what she considered an embarrassment because of her impoverished upbringing and lack of education. I can remember one of my sisters talking about her new mother-in-law's superstitions. It fascinated me then and still does to this day. My mom poo-pooed the ideas and would not allow us to even entertain any of this "nonsense."

So learning and trying to understand superstitions is one of my guilty pleasures. My sister said her mother-in-law insisted that you exit through the same door in which you entered. Otherwise, it was bad luck. She would never allow you to rock an empty rocking chair because it was a sign of death. She wouldn't let you put a hat on a bed either. No opening umbrellas inside the house for fear of bad luck and no walking under ladders.

A cricket in the house brings good luck and you should never kill it nor make it leave the house. Death comes in threes. A cat can suck the breath from a newborn baby. Jars won't seal when you are canning if it is, ummm, excuse me here, your time of month.

My dad wrote the day's actual weather on a calendar everyday of his life. One year he counted the number of fogs we had in August to determine if it was true that the number of fogs would be the number of snows we had that winter. It worked. My mom would have nothing to do with his fog count.

I could go on and on with the beautiful superstitions handed down from generation to generation. It intrigues me. I've loved reading this thread. Thanks everyone.
Yes, death in threes came up at every funeral.
And no cats while we had babies in the house.
wow,,,i forgot those

[CFrance]

LOL too funny, i've heard of the Onions on the bottom of the feet, you were lucky I know some had to endure a cold bath or enema. I had the fortune of responding to ST Josephs aspirin.

There's usually something to the The old remedies. My great grandfather would plant potatoes at night in the light of a full moon. I remember having to wait an hour after eating before I could go swimming. My mother remembered having to wear wool tights until a certain date no matter what the temperature to avoid getting sick. :cold:

I hate the newer cyber superstition that if you don't forward something you will have bad luck, not get the money thats coming your way or miss out on some blessing. :Screen_of_Death:
That's not new; that's just the online version of a chain letter. Chain letters were more fun when they went through the mail.

My husband's grandmother pitched a fit when we set the time of our wedding at 11:00. You had to have the hands of the clock going toward 12, not down from, or it was bad luck for your marriage. Fortunately the pastor set the time, and 11 it was. 44 years ago, so I think we're doing okay.

[Halibut]

My grandmother was from Sicily and she truly, truly believed that a woman there had given her the evil eye and caused a miscarriage. She would never praise a child publicly because compliments draw the attention of the evil eye.

I have been known on occasion to make the sign against the evil eye behind someone's back. ;)

[graciegirl]

My grandmother was from Sicily and she truly, truly believed that a woman there had given her the evil eye and caused a miscarriage. She would never praise a child publicly because compliments draw the attention of the evil eye.

I have been known on occasion to make the sign against the evil eye behind someone's back. ;)


You could share it with us. You never know when you need these things. ;) I love The Villages. You learn all kinds of new stuff.

[Halibut]

Well, it's better than the finger, I guess.

Grandma would usually employ the devil horns, but sometimes the fig gesture was needed. She also had in her arsenal a double crucifix made with the middle and second fingers on both hands interlaced. The evil eye is powerful, y'all.

I've been reminded of her lately while watching Constantine.

[Villages PL]

When I was a kid my brother told me that breaking a mirror would bring 7 years bad luck.

[Loudoll]

My parents were in agreement with the Appalachian mom above. They never tolerated superstitions at all. We were forbidden to participate in chain letters. One thing, never put anything on top of a Bible the only thing allowed on top of the American flag was a Bible.

[TrudyM]

Hubby's relatives and friends in Hawaii had a ton I had never heard of.

Don't take pork over the Pali. --The Pali is the pass that goes over the mountain from one side of Ohau to the other. If you take pork over the goddess pele will make your car stall.

Only an open lei for pregnant women a closed lei will cause the cord to strangle the baby at birth.

Never put your feet on a pillow or you will have upside down thinking and confusion (dementia)
Never face the foot of your bed towards the door or evil spirts will drag you out the door. Also never set your desk so your back is to the door or they will attack you.

Never take a rock from a volcano -- Pele again- will bring you bad luck

Wearing shoes in someones house is cursing them with sickness or death.

Celebrating a childs birth before one year will bring it bad luck and sickness.

Never take bananas on a fishing boat- No fish and a stalled engine

Put a screen or a wall up so you can't see from the front door through to the back yard or the devil will travel through your house instead of going around.

If you take a picture with three people in it the person in the middle will die first.

I am sure there were a lot more but I don't remember them all.

The one that got me was giving a gift to near strangers for any reason at all. They spend a fortune giving junk gifts to each other.

[gap2415]

A bird flying in the house or trying to get in the window was a bad omen.