Superstitions are what people base their beliefs on when the spark of practicality distinguishes. It is a false conception (actually based on a logical and, sometimes, a scientific reason). It results in an irrational abject attitude of mind towards the existence of the supernatural, God etc. I do not reject belief, rather I respect it. But the use of a belief to an extent where it can be harmful and against the rationality we ought to follow, is not acceptable.
We have a lot of superstitions followed all around the world. On the occasion of Friday the 13th, the faculty of Northeastern University’s World Languages Centres and Department of Cultures, Societies, and Global Studies, shared some superstitions familiar to them. Stacey Katz Bourns mentioned about a superstition followed in France, where it is considered a good luck if you step on a dog’s excrement with your left foot. It is a bad luck if you step on it with your right foot. According to another faculty member, in China, people traditionally avoided sending clocks to elders because another word sounding similar to the word ‘clock’ means ‘end of life’.
Boris Yelin, a visiting lecturer of Spanish shares a Russian superstition where it is considered an omen if you hand over a knife to someone. Rather, you have to lay it down for the person to pick it up. The belief is that, handing over a knife to someone may make conflicts happen between them. Also unmarried couples should not sit at the corner of the table because it reduces the chances of them getting married. Russians and also Indians believe that you shouldn’t step over a person sitting or sleeping on the floor, as it may stop the person from growing.
Despite the weirdness and scorn attributed to these superstitions, people continue to follow them. Defending the rational thought, we see beliefs applied in order to assert control on the uncontrollable events or the events simply observed (without any scientific conclusions deduced). And these beliefs suggest how superstitions originated and are deep-rooted in the human society.
Akshara Palshetkar
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