西方常見十大迷信

Editor’s note： You are mistaken if you think that Westerners do not believe in superstitions. The superstitions might be different， but pretty much every country around the world has them. Here’s a list of some of the common superstitions followed in the West to help you get a better insight into their cultures and customs.

編者注：要是你認為西方人不迷信，那你就大錯特錯了。不同國家迷信內容或許不同，但幾乎所有國家都存在迷信。下面是一份西方共有迷信的清單，以方便大家深入了解西方文化與風俗。

1. Friday the 13th is a bad day. 13號星期五不吉利（黑色星期五）

The reason that Friday 13th in particular is unlucky is due to the massacre of the Knights Templar by Phillip IV of France on Friday the 13th.

這一天之所以被視為不祥之日是因為1307年10月13日（星期五）上午法國國王腓力四世下令逮捕并屠殺境內所有的圣殿騎士團成員。

2. Bird pooing on you is good luck. 鳥糞掉身上是走運的象征

One theory of this is the sort of karma logic that assumes， if something bad happens to you， then something good must happen to balance out the karma.

這個理論是源于對因果報應的假設，如果你碰到一件糟心事，那么之后必要有好運來抵掉這件壞事以形成因果報應。

3. A black cat crossing your path is considered bad luck. 路遇黑貓意味不祥

In the old， superstitious days， witches could transform themselves into black cats. If one crossed your path， it meant a witch was watching you.

古時候人們迷信女巫們會化身為黑貓。所以如果你在路上碰見了黑貓，這意味著有女巫盯上你了。

4. Atchoo （bless you） 有人打噴嚏（要對他說上帝保佑你）

This comes from a plague that was spreading in 590 A.D. Italy where most people who sneezed would die. The pope urged others to bless such people and pray for them that they might become better.

這源于公元590年意大利的一場瘟疫。當時，很多打噴嚏的人都會死亡。教皇就提議大家為那些打噴嚏的人祈禱祝福希望他們可以恢復健康。

5. Crossing your fingers to wish for good luck 交叉手指期盼好運

One theory of this is that during the Hundred Years War between France and England， archers would cross their fingers before pulling the bow string in order to grant them good luck. Before that， it was also a secret sign between members of Christianity （when it was illegal）.

一種說法是：在法英百年戰(zhàn)爭時，弓箭手在拉弓前會交叉手指以示好運。在此之前，這也是基督教徒之間的暗號（當時這樣做是違法的）。

6. Never take the third light from a match， it’s bad luck. 不能用同一根火柴點3次火

In World War I， snipers sometimes operated at night. Their technique involved waiting for someone to strike a match to light a cigarette; on spotting the light they’d train a scope on them. On the second light， the sniper would focus his shot， zooming in ready for the kill， on the third light， he would fire， killing the person who lit the match.

在一戰(zhàn)期間，狙擊手通常在夜晚作案。他們的作案技巧就是等有人點煙。第一次點煙時狙擊手可以確定方位;點第二根時狙擊手瞄準準備射殺;點第三根煙時，他就開火將點火之人打死。

7. "Walking underneath a ladder is widely held to be bad luck. 從梯子下走不吉利

‘Walking under a ladder’ came about in England a few centuries ago when people drank more ale at lunch than ate food. Drunken sign painters were likely to dump a bucket of paint if you walked by or under their ladder and handymen would drop tools.

“從梯子下走不吉利”來源于英國幾個世紀前發(fā)生的事。在晚餐喝了過多的麥芽酒而沒吃多少食物之后，當有人路過梯子或是從梯子下走，喝醉了的畫家們可能會將他們的油漆桶倒下去，雜務工要是喝醉了可能會將自己的工具丟下去。

8. Broken mirror will result in seven years bad luck. 破碎的鏡子意味著之后7年的厄運

Breaking a mirror is bad luck because at one time mirrors were very expensive. If a palace maid broke a mirror she was sentenced to 7 years in prison.

打破鏡子被人為十分不吉利，因為鏡子曾經是很昂貴的。如果皇宮里的一名女傭打破了鏡子，她將被判處7年牢獄。

9. Carrots help you see in the dark. 胡蘿卜有助于提高夜視能力

This was part of World War II propaganda. The British had invented radar and we began bombing the Germans at night. The Germans， confused as to how we bombed them at night， started researching how we were doing it. The British government began to spread the rumor that it was the carrots in our ration packs that helped us see in the dark （Note： \"in order\" is rarely needed） to put the Germans off our trail. They figured it out eventually， but by that time， the rumor had already stuck.

這是二戰(zhàn)期間的一個宣傳。英國人發(fā)明了雷達并開始在夜晚轟炸德國。德國人就對英國人是如何在夜晚進行轟炸作業(yè)感到很好奇，并開始研究英國人是如何做到夜間瞄準的。英國政府就散布謠言說他們食用一定數(shù)量的胡蘿卜來提高夜視能力來迷惑德國人。德國人最后發(fā)現(xiàn)了這只是個謠言，但到那時是這一說法已經被廣泛接受了。

10. Spilling salt is a bad omen. 鹽灑出來是不吉利的

Spilling salt is bad luck because in Roman times， salt was so valuable that soldiers were paid in salt rather than money. Spilling it was equal to burning money. I’m not sure where throwing a pinch of salt over your left shoulder negates the action of spilling， but I can tell you that it is where the word ’salary’ came from.

鹽灑出來是不吉利的象征。因為在古羅馬時代鹽是很珍貴的，士兵們的薪酬領的是鹽而不是錢。灑出鹽意味著燒錢。我不確定是否可以通過在左肩上撒點鹽來消除背運或鹽灑出的影響，但是我可以告訴你“薪水”（salary）一詞來源于鹽（salt）。