Superstitions

And "turning your money over" on a full moon - this must not be through glass.

That used to always be done in care homes when a resident died.

pascal30
harrigran
“Not at all superstitious, load of rubbish.”
Quite.. but also quite amusing

Yes. And quite heartening that some old beliefs and traditions continue. One of our police family told me that when they’re sent to a death at home, they open a window to let the soul out. I find that very…human.

No NEW shoes on the table.

None, nonsense.

harrigran

Not at all superstitious, load of rubbish.

Quite.. but also quite amusing

I don't think it's just nurses, before I became one I remember the rule about nor mixing red and white flowers - for instance on garden borders.
I still get a shiver if I decide to put washing through on New Year's day "wash one (the New Year) in and you'll wash one out (someone will die)"

I’m not in the least superstitious and can happily break mirrors, walk under ladders and stroke any passing black cat.

My nan used to say never give an empty purse as a gift and she used to put a few pence in.

The flowers thing in hospitals is about blood and bandages so a nurse once told me, so never red and white flowers.Now of course they won’t allow any flowers at all😲

A friend who used to be a nurse said they were very superstitious about red and white flowers ( back in the day when you could take flowers in) and they would find a coloured flower to go in the patient’s bouquet if it was only red and white. Take note Liverpool and Arsenal fans!

From childhood, if you see an ambulance hold your collar until you see a four legged animal.

Never bring broom or lilac (flowers) into the house. I can’t do this as it is so ingrained.

If mum dropped a glove on the floor someone else had to pick it up. We used to laugh at this. Also she would never give a purse unless there was money in it. As for playing cards on a Sunday that was completely forbidden.

I do wonder exactly what the mechanism is for making these superstitious predictions of "bad luck" come true. People say "If you do X then Y will happen" but no-one explains what it is that causes X to influence Y.

They can explain logical things like not smoking because it coats the inside of your lungs with tar and does other bad things too, which make you far more likely to get lung cancer than a non-smoker (and most people know knew someone who proved this true) but the link between stepping on a crack and breaking your grandmother's back is pretty tenuous. So I don't believe it.

I quite like that some superstitions remain, and wonder where they started.

All the technology in the world, it seems, can't entirely wipe out man's rituals, beliefs, and "safeguards".

I don't really abide by any of the superstitions mentioned above.

However, I have inherited a beautiful opal ring which belonged to my mother. It was her birthstone. I never wear it as it is supposed to be unlucky - unless it is your birthstone.

According to my research (the internet) , this is the reason: Maybe I should start wearing it!

'Some maintain that diamond merchants of the mid 19th and early 20th centuries saw the amazing attributes of opal and realised it was going to be a serious threat to their livelihood. When high quality Australian opal appeared on the market in the 1890’s, it is understood that diamond cartels actively spread the false rumour that opal was unlucky and seriously damaged the reputation of opals.

'Opal, with its stunning play of colour, was increasing in popularity and could represent a threat to the lucrative diamond trade now that it was being mined commercially. The story goes that jealous diamond traders spread the belief that opals are bad luck to protect themselves and give opals a bad reputation. Some of the rumours stuck and became the ‘old wives’ tales which are still repeated today'

The bananasone is a joke surely!

Yes biglouis imagine living with someone who observed these rituals, it’d drive me up the wall across the ceiling and down the other side🤯

I always say hello to magpies, crows etc., not because of superstition, just politeness!

About the only one I won't do is crossed knives or scissors.

My Mum was superstitious and thought the colour green was unlucky. I never wore green clothes as a child. But when I left school I bought myself a lovely bottle green winter coat of the kind that were worn back then. However, while walking along Torquay seafront one day a huge wave came over the sea wall and drenched me and the coat. It was never wearable again in spite of all our cleaning efforts. Mum never let me forget it.

Im not superstitious and all this nonsense about black cats, shoes on the table or umbrellas indoors is like a form of OCD.

Yes, I'm superstitious.

I cross my fingers
Salute the magpie, but only before 12pm and hope I see another one.
Throw salt over my left shoulder if I spill it
I don't walk under ladders
New shoes on the table is a no no
I don't open umbrellas indoors
Try to remember White Rabbits on 1st of month but rarely do.
Feel uneasy about a black cat crossing my path.
Always uncross crossed knives by removing the lowest first.

My mum would never have cut lilac in the house and was terribly distressed if a bird flew in, as this was a portent of very bad luck. She always stopped me from whistling too as apparently that's bad luck as well. She also said that pearls were for tears and opals were unlucky, so she never wore either.

Not at all superstitious, load of rubbish.

I’m getting better as I get older, but my mother was very superstitious and some things stick.

The stranger the better? Well, I could never throw eggshells in the compost bin without crushing them first. And that, of course, is because if I didn’t witches could sail out to sea in them to sink ships.

My mum painted the living room green after my dad died, saying she couldn't have any more bad luck.
She would never have had it before.

New shoes on the table used to make her really cross, too.