Superstitions around the World

Have you ever walked around a ladder that was blocking your path， or turned down a side street to avoid walking where a black car just crossed？ Have you ever worried about something bad happening if you cracked a mirror or spilled some salt？ We are all aware of superstitions， and have heard stories about how to avoid bad luck or gain good luck that actually seem silly to us. But it is amazing to learn that many superstitions exist across different cultures， telling us that there is more to these ancient beliefs than just silly sayings.

A lot of superstitions are related to the naming of children. Based on the sheer amount of “dos and donts” regarding this topic. It is clear that the naming of children is an important undertaking in any culture and， it could be said， an indication of just how much we value our children. In the Dominican Republic， children are given nicknames， which are commonly used instead of given names. A given name is regarded as an important part of a person and must be kept secret to prevent the name from being used in a spell or a curse from a witch. Among Ashkenazi Jews， it is considered bad luck to name a child after a living relative. It is believed that this superstition originated from a common belief in the Middle Ages： that the Angel of Death could mistakenly take the infant instead of the aged relative it was named after. In the Jewish faith， it is a popular practice to name a child after a deceased relative because doing so creates a deep bond between the soul of the child on earth and the soul of the person already in heaven， which would benefit the child.

In many places， such as India and Sri Lanka， parents are very concerned about their children being gazed upon by the “Evil Eye”（a malign spirit similar to witch）. To prevent this， parents used to give their children insulting names in the belief that it would save the childs life ?after all， what spirit would want to take a child with the name of “Cowdung”， “Rag”， “Rubbish”？ Assigning infant children such strange names was also practised in countries such as China and Korea for the same reason.

But perhaps we can think of superstitions ?at least some of them ?as common sense. For example， placing a hand over your mouth when sneezing may not have anything to do with preventing your soul from escaping ?but it will cut down on the spread of germs！ And why not make a wish next time you see a falling star or find a fourleaf clover？ It is fun to be a hopeful and optimistic person. It certainly is bad luck to open an umbrella in the house ?because in doing do you may easily knock something over or break it. And， as for bad luck happening when you walk under a ladder ?face it， walking under a ladder is a tight fit for most of us， running the risk of knocking over the ladder and causing injury to ourselves， if not others.

Perhaps there is more wisdom in those silly ， old superstitions than we thought. Even so， it is undoubtedly a good thing that superstitions are no longer adhered to by so many people. After all， would you like to be given the nickname “Old Shoe”？