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Superstitions
Sep. 7th, 2005 12:59 pmThink you're not superstitious? When's the last time someone sneezed and you said nothing?
My mother-in-law can tell you who will be visiting from what silverware you drop in her kitchen. Knives are for men, forks and spoons are for women. The direction they are pointing is the direction they are traveling, too.
Don't put a hat on the bed in my mom's house, nor should you leave by a different door than you enter, or put shoes on the table. It gets pretty complicated. She says she learned all this from the Gypsies, but won't specify where she met the Gypsies.
I haven't figured out yet whether spilling NaCl in the chemistry lab qualifies for the throwing over the left shoulder rule or not, or whether it also applies to other salts like potassium. Just to be on the safe side, I tend to do it, though.
Getting back to sneezing, though, saying, "bless you" is a European custom dating back to when people thought that when you sneezed, your soul temporarily left your body. Blessing you made it so the devil couldn't get in. The Germans apply a very functional Gesundheit, "Good health!" instead.
I sneezed the yesterday in front of an asian. She said, "You miss someone."
Wow. I guess I do.
My mother-in-law can tell you who will be visiting from what silverware you drop in her kitchen. Knives are for men, forks and spoons are for women. The direction they are pointing is the direction they are traveling, too.
Don't put a hat on the bed in my mom's house, nor should you leave by a different door than you enter, or put shoes on the table. It gets pretty complicated. She says she learned all this from the Gypsies, but won't specify where she met the Gypsies.
I haven't figured out yet whether spilling NaCl in the chemistry lab qualifies for the throwing over the left shoulder rule or not, or whether it also applies to other salts like potassium. Just to be on the safe side, I tend to do it, though.
Getting back to sneezing, though, saying, "bless you" is a European custom dating back to when people thought that when you sneezed, your soul temporarily left your body. Blessing you made it so the devil couldn't get in. The Germans apply a very functional Gesundheit, "Good health!" instead.
I sneezed the yesterday in front of an asian. She said, "You miss someone."
Wow. I guess I do.
