Superstitions

We are a superstitious lot. Spill salt and you’ll have to toss some over your shoulder to avoid bad luck. And, for heaven’s sake, don’t break a mirror or open an umbrella indoors. Some of our superstitious are about making wishes come true. You know the one that says, “It’s 11:11, make a wish!” My friend Tina seems to hit the 11:11 wish-making pool a lot if her FB page is anything to go by. But do you know where the superstition comes from? Is it based on anything or just a nod to the symmetry of the numbers? And does sit even matter? Would you pass up an opportunity to make a wish?

We certainly wouldn’t on our birthdays. We cover our cakes with candles, light ‘em up and blow ‘em out. That wishing tradition goes back to the ancient Greeks who put candles on the baked goods they took as offerings to the temple of Artemis, goddess of hunt and the moon. They believed the smoke would carry their prayers to the gods.

Then there’s the wishbone. This used to be a thing when my family had a roast chicken on Sunday. My dad would hold one side and I the other and we’d snap the wishbone. The person with the longer end would get their wish. This dates back to the Etruscans who believed that chickens held prophetic powers and used the bits of bone like an ancient Ouija board.

Back in the 1800 girls began blowing on dandelions to see if true loves would return our feelings. The Greco-Egyptian writer and astronomer Ptolemy believed that shooting stars were a sign that the gods were listening to wishes. And most of us know the rhyme: Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight” which dates back to the late 19th century and was turned into a song when Disney made the movie Pinocchio in 1940: When you wish upon a star.

But why the dickens do we wish on eyelashes? When I was growing up, if you found an eyelash you’d put it on the back of your hand and blow it away as you made a wish. If it went, you’d get your wish. If not…. LOSER!

Are ladybugs really lucky? According to farmers, if one lands on you make and wish and it’ll come true. These little red gems have long been a symbol of a good harvest. And I’ve been told that they also represent the Virgin Mary.

The one “make a wish” I won’t participate in is throwing money into a well – or today’s idea of a well, the MALL FOUNTAIN. Nope, I just can’t do it. And now with the demise of the penny, those wishes have escalated in price to a nickel so there’s even less chance of me changing my mind.

Do you have things in your culture that you consider to be particularly lucky? Do you think of yourself as superstitious?

I’ve always considered myself a lucky girl. And whenever I get a chance to make a wish I take it, as long as it doesn’t cost me money. I don’t count on those wishes to make me happy though. To be happy I know I have to work hard and be determined to make my own good luck.