Beech Tree News Network

My oldest daughter gave me a journal entitled Mom, Share Your Life with Me… It has a page for each day of the year and at the top of the page is a question – usually related to my childhood – to which I respond. One question recently said, “Did you have any superstitions?”
Bing Dictionary defines superstition as the “irrational belief: an irrational, but usually deep-seated belief in the magical effects of a specific action or ritual, especially in the likelihood that good or bad luck will result from performing it.” In my childhood home, we were taught not to believe superstitions; but, when we heard of one, my mom would try to explain it. Some of them, like ‘its bad luck to walk under a ladder,’ are somewhat logical. After all, walking under a ladder could be dangerous for the person on it and for the one walking under it. Other superstitions are not so logical, like ‘knock on wood’ to prevent something bad from happening.
Even though most of us believe superstitions are irrational, I asked friends and family: “What is one superstition you might – sometimes unconsciously – practice?” Their responses are below:
•    Being apprehensive on Friday the 13th and being nervous after seeing a black cat.
•    I always cross out black cats that cross the road in front of me.
•    Every year, my husband has to be the first male to enter our home through the front door on January 1st. He says to be prosperous during the coming year, you have to have a productive male walk through first. It seems to be working for our home!
•    If I spill salt, I throw it over my right shoulder. It’s mostly a joke because it was in a movie where a guy said to throw it over the right shoulder and threw it over the left. But, it’s still something I do every time.
•    Knocking on wood.
•    Not walking over a grave in the cemetery.
•    Some people believe it’s dangerous to drink milk with fish.
•    A friend won’t stop at 13 gallons of gas even if he runs it over.
•    I know someone who has to go out the same door he came in.
•    My husband won’t close a knife that someone else has opened.
•    Every time I see a falling star, I say a prayer, and since it’s a falling star, I usually make it a little selfish (Yes, I modified that superstition a bit; I figure prayer is more effective than wishing.). Also, I don’t walk under ladders. But, that’s mostly just because it’s stupid and not very convenient.
•    In the wee hours of the morning, some ER’s occasionally get down to only one patient. If that patient gets discharged, nurses have been known to leave the name on the tracker. It seems to keep new patients from coming in, allowing staff to have a break for a few minutes.
•    I go out the same door I came in.
•    For weddings: something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue!
•    Crossing fingers for good luck.
•    Bad things happen in threes.
•    I believe that good acts equal good and bad acts equal bad. So, when I’m evil, I am ready to duck.
•    My mom always used to tell me that if you find a penny heads up, keep it for yourself for good luck, but if tails up, give it to a friend for good luck. I still do it with every penny I find.
At the end of the day, superstitions are illogical, and I think the Bible teaches us to disregard them. But, as I explained in the journal response for my daughter, sometimes we do irrational things.