Thinking that a situation can cause good or bad luck is a simple belief that many people in the world have, some by folk traditions that are passed down from generation to generation, others just because people need to add some magic to their destination. Below there are some curious superstitions in the world.
At the University of Cologne, Germany, an investigation was conducted, and its main author, Lyssan Damish, a social psychologist, expressed interest when he observed that many athletes showed superstitious attitudes at sporting events in which they participated and also carried amulets with them for good luck.
The results of the studies were published in the journal of Psychological Science, finding that “positive superstitions affect future performance in a beneficial way, and superstition works even when it is suggested by others”. The study also provides an explanation of the operation of superstitions. In each case, they worked giving participants greater confidence in their own abilities, which in turn improved their performance, their courage and persistence to achieve the desired success.”
Some superstitions have transcended throughout the world, such as the belief that breaking a mirror brings seven years of bad luck, or if a black cat crosses our path, we will have bad luck, but there are other more curious superstitions that are only known in the country where it originated. In Turkey, they have the belief that if you chew gum at night, it is like eating the flesh of the dead; in Lithuania, it is prohibited to whistle indoors, because if you do it, you will be invoking demons that will terrorize the place all night.
In Greece, every house should have cactus at the entrance, because it is considered to protect the house from evil; in France, you cannot put a loaf of bread upside down because they say that the person will attract bad luck; in Russia, if bird droppings fall on you, it is considered a sign of good omen and financial prosperity; in China, they are afraid of No. 4, so in the elevators of many buildings and hotels you will not see the 4th, 14th, 24th floor, the pronunciation of this number in Mandarin is very similar to the word ‘death’.
In Argentina, saying the name of former President Carlos Menem is considered unlucky, so if there are women in the group, they will immediately touch their left breast and in the case of men, they will touch their left testicle. In Japan, if someone is walking through a cemetery he/she should put his/her thumbs in his/her pants in order to protect their parents; in Spain and other countries, on New Year’s Eve, people eat 12 grapes at midnight to get lucky during the twelve months of the year.
My mother puts a lot of mirrors at the entrance of our home because she says negativity will be reflected… interesting…