Finding a four-leaf clover will grant a person good luck, breaking a mirror gives you bad luck, and jinxing something are all common examples of superstitions. Personally I do not believe in them because I think they lack logic and reasoning, but I know a few people who trust superstitions and I never understood why. I did some research and learned that superstitions can come from false interpretations of natural events or are made to entertain people. Some people believe in these myths because it may provide them with comfort. For example, my friend Maher (I'm sure you know him, he's a cool guy) keeps a date seed in his wallet because it gives him "good luck". I do not believe in superstitions and I do not think that good or bad luck exists, but I do think that it is interesting that people do. Do you believe in superstitions? Why or why not? Do they provide you with comfort or are they solely for entertainment purposes?
-Lucas Syyap
I believe that these superstitions do provide comfort and put the holder's mind at ease or at least make them hopeful. As for the superstition of stepping on a crack and breaking your mom's back, I believe that this came from a children's game where you have to avoid cracks and/or lines or else your mother's or father's backs or spines would be broken. But other superstitions like the ones that bring out good luck are simply to make the holder hopeful that their current circumstances will improve because of this. Humans always strive to get what is better for them, so if there was a simple way of increasing those chances, such as holding a rabbit's foot or carrying a date seed in your wallet (I lost mine by the way), of course everyone would be trying it to get a higher chance of improving their conditions.
ReplyDeleteI can get you a new date seed, if you'd like.
DeletePeople might want to believe that something will benefit them in an odd way. Finding a penny is considered lucky but in reality, you just got free money even if it IS just one cent.
DeleteI used to be close to someone that would have the weirdest superstitions. This person would randomly knock on wood for 'good luck'. He would believe that if two people that are walking together become separated by a pole/tree/anything thing in the middle, then those two people will end in bad terms. At first, I thought it was absurd but I went along with his superstition whenever we would walk together. He made sure we were always on the same side and never separated by anything. Funny thing is, only once we were separated by a pole while walking and a few weeks later, we ended off in bad terms with each other. Coincidental? Is the superstition really true or am I just trying to put the blame somewhere else instead of facing the reality that there was failure at the end of the relationship? ( I don't want actual answers to that)
A superstition can just be a way for people to believe that they will have luck and try to avoid anything they believe to be negative or evil. Avoid walking under a ladder can just be to ensure the safety of a person. I think children made up the rhyme of stepping on a crack to amuse themselves just like how children (including myself) used to pretend the floor was lava and only certain places were safe. Its more of a game than a superstition.