Don’t wear clothing inside-out. I don’t know why, my mother told me.
(I should add that my kids wear their bed clothing inside out during the winter, because it’s supposed to be good luck for snow.)
22KE
Whistling on board a ship will cause bad weather.
So will hanging out my washing before I head off to work.
Also, when you give someone a wallet, piggy bank, or anything else that functions as a container for money, you must put something in it. It can be just a single penny, but it must never be given to someone empty, or it will bring them bad luck financially.
I give my baby niecephews silver piggy banks as christening gifts and everyone thinks Tante Flodnak’s little American superstition on the matter is very amusing.
22 Kilometers East- I was told putting clothing on inside out or back to front accidentally was good luck.
My grandmother threw out a lot of peacock feathers we kids had collected from the zoo, because of the bad luck.
Another one of hers is to say “white rabbit” or “a pinch and a punch” (with appropriate actions) on the first of the month for good luck.
My dad believes in unlucky numbers of magpies, you know based on the “one for sorrow, two for joy” rhyme.
If he sees a single magpie, he salutes it, says “hello Mr Magpie, how’s your wife?” or repeats the whole rhyme from 1-7 three times to make the bad luck go away. Saluting is the least conspicious in company, because you can make it look like you’re brushing your hair out of your eyes or scratching your forehead.
Unfortuntely, I’ve inherited that superstition from him, so if I’m fixing my hair it’s probably because I’ve seen a single magpie.
Once while visiting a girl in Preston, I looked out of her window to see a carpark absolutely swarming with magpies - far too many to have enough verses to explain.
Shortly after this, she decided I was using her, and sent me back to Yorkshire. So it did seem a bit of an omen.
[QUOTE=KneadToKnow]
On the off chance that there are people who haven’t heard these, which I grew up with and so always assume everyone knows: It’s bad luck to …[ul][li]open an umbrella indoors[]walk under a ladder[]have a black cat cross your pathbreak a mirror (seven years, to be specific)[/ul][/li][/QUOTE]
I grew up with those as well, and another important one: it’s bad luck to take the salt shaker directly from someone’s hand. It must be placed on the table first.
Sorry if this has been said: But it’s bad luck to change a boat’s name. However, if you paint a penny on the keel for Posiedon you can go right ahead and change the name! Got to pay homage to the Gods!
It’s bad luck to:
- get run over by thirteen steam rollers
- walk under a dachshund
Why the problem with white lilacs? (asked by one who’s been filling vases with white lilacs every year for the last 32 years).
About mending clothes while wearing them: my grandmother used to say that you’d be poor all your life as a result. I still think of that every time I sew on a button without taking the garment off.
Open umbrellas in house, black cats, breaking mirrors, direction of bed, spilling salt, 3 on a match, walking on sidewalk cracks, birds entering the house, theatre superstitions, these are all familiar to me, thanks to my mom.
I am not superstitious.
To be honest, except for the ones I’ve explained, I didn’t pay too much attention except to note it was considered general bad luck to do these things.
Not necessarily so. I don’t believe in ghosts but don’t not believe in them either. If my mother’s ghost appeared to me, I certainly wouldn’t feel my luck was shot nor would I feel threatened. I couldn’t help but think she’d be looking over or out for me in some way.
But I don’t believe in ghosts but . . . .
Wear green to a wedding.
Has anyone else ever heard that one?
I always keep a spare steamroller handy just in case I need to run myself over a fourteenth time.