are you feeling lucky_91_lectura
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8/12/2019 Are You Feeling Lucky_91_lectura
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Do you think walking
under a ladder or
opening an umbrella
indoors gives you bad luck?
Does nding a penny or having a
horseshoe bring you good luck?
I don’t really believe in
superstitions and yet I will go
out of my way to avoid walkingunder a ladder. Why?
Superstitions are beliefs or
practices for which there is
no rational or reasonable
explanation. Most people agree
that these events are not really
valid and that the “bad things”
associated with the event are just
coincidences. But they followthe beliefs – just in case.
Superstitions are associated with
both good and bad luck. Finding
a four-leaf clover is believed to
be good luck. Wishbones -- the
v-shaped bones found in the
breast of chicken (and other
birds) – are good luck too. Each
person makes a wish and pullsone side of it, and the one who
ends up with the larger half will
have his wish come true.
Some cultures have attached
special meaning to numbers.
· 13: The fear of the number 13,
called triskaidekaphobia, is a
common superstition in North
America. Fear of the number
13 can be traced back to ancient
times in many cultures. Next
time you are in a high-rise ofce
building, look for the 13th oor.
The numbers in the elevator may
go 11, 12, 14, 15, etc. Have you
ever sat in row 13 on an airplane?
Some communities that number
their streets or avenues jump
from 12th to 14th. How do you
feel about Friday the 13th?
· 4: In China, the pronunciation
of the word for the number 4 is
similar to that of the Chinese
word for death. Many buildings
in China skip a fourth oor, just
as U.S. builders sometimes omit
oor 13.
·9: Just as the number four has abad-luck sound-alike in Chinese,
9 is feared in Japan because it
sounds similar to the Japanese
word for torture or suffering.
·17: Some Italians are superstitious
about Friday the 17th because
rearranging the Roman numeral
XVII can create the word
“VIXI”—translated from Latinto mean “my life is over.”
· 666:
Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia
means fear of the number 666.
In the Bible’s apocalyptic Book
of Revelation, John the Apostle
refers to 666 as “the number
of the beast.” This “beast” is
often interpreted as being the
Antichrist—and thus the number
is a sign of the devil.
Superstitions are based on beliefs, not facts, but we pay attention to them
– just in case. Writer Bruce Kahn lays out the common and obscure beliefs
from around the world.
Are you feeling lucky?
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Here are some other popular
superstitions.
· Having a horseshoe brings
good luck and keeps nightmares
away, if you hang a horseshoe in
the bedroom or on a doorknobwith its ends pointing upwards.
This belief stems from the fact
that a horseshoe has seven holes,
which is considered to be a lucky
number, and is made of iron, so
it can supposedly ward off evil
spirits that may haunt you in your
dreams.
· Bird poop brings good luck!There is a belief that if a bird
poops on you, your car or your
property, you may receive good
luck and riches. The more birds
involved, the richer you’ll be! So
next time a bird poops on you,
remember that it’s a good thing.
· Something old, something new,
something borrowed, somethingblue. This popular wedding
tradition is said to have originated
during the Victorian era and
involves giving the bride various
gifts. One is something old and
represents continuity; another is
new and represents hope and the
future; the third is borrowed and
symbolizes borrowed happiness
while the last is blue and is
supposed to bring purity, love,
and delity.
· Fingers crossed. Crossing
one’s ngers is commonly
used for good luck. It was used
when ancient Christians were
persecuted, and believers used
it to identify other believers as
a sign of peace. Today however,
this has evolved to excuse thetelling of white lies, which may
have its roots in the belief that the
power of the Christian cross may
save a person from being sent to
hell for telling a lie.
· Wishing upon a star. The
superstition involving wishingon the rst star you see in the
evening is somewhat uncertain,
however Europeans believed that
the gods would occasionally peer
down, and when they moved the
sky, a star would escape and fall
down. The Greeks also believed
that the stars were falling human
souls, making a wish on them
brought luck.
· Opening an umbrella indoors.
According to superstition, if you
open an umbrella indoors, you
are literally asking for bad luck
to “rain on you”. One explanation
comes from the days when
umbrellas were used as protection
from the sun; opening one inside
was an insult to the sun god, whowould then curse you with bad
luck. Another theory states that
an umbrella protects you against
the storms of life, so opening
one inside your house insults the
guardian spirits of your home
(who also protect you from the
storms of life), causing them to
leave you unprotected.
· Itchy palms. There seems to
be a lot of variations on this
superstition, but the idea of having
an itchy palm generally refers to
someone who is greedy or has an
insatiable desire for money. Some
people believe that if the right
palm itches, you will lose money,
while an itchy left palm means
that money is coming your way.