Superstitions/Customs

[Pacion]

Not sure about the origins of this one, but another "custom" I was brought up with was - if you were sitting/lying/sprawling on the floor, someone walking past should not walk over your legs, if they could not walk around you. From recollection, it is alright if they stepped over your upper body?

Even today, some 21 years later :wink: I find that I get very "exciteable" if someone walks over my legs. I try to be quicker though and pull my legs in first. :oops:



Sabor, if you say anything mean, I am going to sprinkle freshly ground black pepper in all your socks :twisted: :lol: *

*I read that if you want to keep a cat off a particular patch of your garden, you should sprinkle black pepper. This only works for as long as there is no rain or the pepper remains "fresh" :lol:

[squirrel]

there are many weird habits that linger from childhood...

for instance, even though I try not to care, I don't feel very confortable when:
1. I have to get back home immediately after having left, 'cause I forgot something
2. I accidentaly put any piece of my clothing inside out - if possible, I try not to change it :)
3. I notice that a cat (especially black) crosses my way... = I have to underline I love cats though, and I am the proud owner of 2 :)

Weird, no?

[Bob]

One game a teammate carried my leg pads to the hockey rink, and I had my butt handed to me in spades (NOTHING hit me that game). From that point on, nobody (NO-BODY) has been allowed to touch any piece of goalie gear that I own!

[cocodrilo]

In Japan, people have their cars blessed by a priest in order to prevent them from having accidents. Since the automobiles are usually not at fault here, they should bless the red-light running idiots that drive them! :lol:

[Genesius Redux]

Not sure about the origins of this one, but another "custom" I was brought up with was - if you were sitting/lying/sprawling on the floor, someone walking past should not walk over your legs, if they could not walk around you. From recollection, it is alright if they stepped over your upper body?

I much prefer it when I'm lying (face up) on the ground for someone to step over my upper body than over my legs. But that may be more of an aesthetic consideration....

I hope this doesn't qualify me for freshly ground black pepper in my socks, Pacion--what is that supposed to do, anyway? :lol:

[cocodrilo]

Genesius-
I heard that cayenne pepper, the hot, red kind, is supposed to increase blood circulation if put into one's socks, thus preventing wearer form getting cold feet. Have never tried it as I have the opposite problem!(Maybe I need ice in the socks?) :shock:

[Sabor]

:lol: .. ok Pacion.. all that says to me is that if i should ever see u coming i will throw / sprawl myself in your path .. on my back.. look up .. smile :mrgreen: .. and wait :shock: ... :lol:

[Spitfire]

I was once told by a relative that if you watch the sun just as it sets on an ocean horizon there will appear a green flash; well, in the two times that I have observed an ocean sunset I have not seen any green flash. :?

[cocodrilo]

In Asia, there is the custom of giving cash as a present, on many an occasion. In Japan, for example- When students enter college, on new year's day(to kids under 20), at funerals, to the bereaved family(usually $50 or so) and at weddings. The amount given at weddings is a real shocker- like $300 per person attending the reception! If you're a close family member, say, brother or sisiter, it is not uncommon to fork out close to $1000! :shock: The average wedding, by the way, costs 3 million yen, or, at today's exchange rate, a hefty $26,300! :shock:

[MacMoto]

I was once told by a relative that if you watch the sun just as it sets on an ocean horizon there will appear a green flash; well, in the two times that I have observed an ocean sunset I have not seen any green flash. :?

I remember this from an 80's French film I saw, Le Rayon Vert (US title: Summer). Apparently your relative is right, but it's not easy to see the flash because it's very quick.
See http://mintaka.sdsu.edu/GF/

[pygmalion]

My great grandmother used to burn hair -- you know, like the hair that you find in your hairbrush or comb? She genuinely believed that, if a bird got your hair, it would drive you insane. Hence here insistence on destroying it rather than putting it out in the trash.

I was raised in a totally superstition-free house. So when my great-grandmom came to visit once, when I was around seven, I sagely informed her that the hair thing was,"just a superstition." :shock: My Mom was horrified. She hadn't yet taught me that people of my great-grandmom's generation expected children to be seen and never, ever heard. LOL. Boy, I miss that old lady. I never really got to know her the way I would have liked. She died when I was in my early twenties, immortal stage, before I realized how precious she was. *shrug* You live and you learn.

[SDsalsaguy]

You live and you learn.
Unfortunately the learning part seems optional for many... :?

[pygmalion]

In Asia, there is the custom of giving cash as a present, on many an occasion. In Japan, for example- When students enter college, on new year's day(to kids under 20), at funerals, to the bereaved family(usually $50 or so) and at weddings. The amount given at weddings is a real shocker- like $300 per person attending the reception! If you're a close family member, say, brother or sisiter, it is not uncommon to fork out close to $1000! :shock: The average wedding, by the way, costs 3 million yen, or, at today's exchange rate, a hefty $26,300! :shock:

Hmm. How did I miss this one? In West Africa, money and liquor exchange hands at virtually every life rite of passage. It's customary to give gifts of cash and gin or schnapps at births, deaths, engagements (MUCH bigger than weddings there), and other ceremonies.

Also, I have several friends from various countries (I'm just realizing that they're all Muslim. I wonder if that matters?) who refuse to give a baby shower gift before the child is born. It's considered bad luck. They give money before the birth, but other gifts have to wait until after the child is born. Seems awfully inconvenient for the new mom, but hey. Tradition is tradition. 8)

[pygmalion]

Have you ever heard this one? "Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to some bad end." Another great-grandmom gem. She was completely against my whistling, so of course, as the family iconoclast, I had to whistle. A lot. In her presence. I must have been really annoying! :oops: :lol:

[cocodrilo]

Have you ever heard this one? "Whistling girls and crowing hens always come to some bad end." Another great-grandmom gem. She was completely against my whistling, so of course, as the family iconoclast, I had to whistle. A lot. In her presence. I must have been really annoying! :oops: :lol:

That's funny, Pygmalion! I think every child has a bit of the rebel in him/her! :lol:

In Japan, baby showers do not exist. In fact, the name of the baby is sometimes not decided until weeks after the child is BORN! (They just refer to it as "The Baby".) This is due to the very superstitious way people choose names for their children. Most consult a priest to choose an auspicious character(Chinese characters are most often used in names in Japan, as opposed to its own syllabary), taking into consideration the meaning of the character itself and the number of strokes and the stroke order. (4 is not auspicious as it has the same sound as "death". You will never find things in sets of four in Jpan, from dishes to a plate of meatballs!) Nobody has a middle name, either...

[Danish Guy]

Also, I have several friends from various countries (I'm just realizing that they're all Muslim. I wonder if that matters?) who refuse to give a baby shower gift before the child is born. It's considered bad luck. They give money before the birth, but other gifts have to wait until after the child is born. Seems awfully inconvenient for the new mom, but hey. Tradition is tradition. 8)

It's also a tradition here. I don't think this is about religion.
If the couple looses the child before birth, we won't add to the pain by a lot of baby stuff gifts at the house. :cry: :cry:

[ShyDancer]

In Japan, baby showers do not exist. In fact, the name of the baby is sometimes not decided until weeks after the child is BORN! (They just refer to it as "The Baby".) This is due to the very superstitious way people choose names for their children. Most consult a priest to choose an auspicious character(Chinese characters are most often used in names in Japan, as opposed to its own syllabary), taking into consideration the meaning of the character itself and the number of strokes and the stroke order. (4 is not auspicious as it has the same sound as "death". You will never find things in sets of four in Jpan, from dishes to a plate of meatballs!) Nobody has a middle name, either...

I think that is kinda cool...
A little OT here.......
When I was pregnant with my son he had a rare cystic mass on his lung , no one knew wether he would survive, and we chose his firstnname which means God will Remember, and his middle name means God will increase.
Both names turned out to be spot on, he was born relatively healthy, and is now in A1 condition :wink:


Back on topic, My grandmother burns underwear, she is convinced that if you are having a bad run of luck that someone has put a curse upon you, so she takes the last pair of underwear you wore, without washing them and burns them at night.
She has been doing it as long as I can remember.

[cocodrilo]

In Japan, baby showers do not exist. In fact, the name of the baby is sometimes not decided until weeks after the child is BORN! (They just refer to it as "The Baby".) This is due to the very superstitious way people choose names for their children. Most consult a priest to choose an auspicious character(Chinese characters are most often used in names in Japan, as opposed to its own syllabary), taking into consideration the meaning of the character itself and the number of strokes and the stroke order. (4 is not auspicious as it has the same sound as "death". You will never find things in sets of four in Jpan, from dishes to a plate of meatballs!) Nobody has a middle name, either...

I think that is kinda cool...
A little OT here.......
When I was pregnant with my son he had a rare cystic mass on his lung , no one knew wether he would survive, and we chose his firstnname which means God will Remember, and his middle name means God will increase.
Both names turned out to be spot on, he was born relatively healthy, and is now in A1 condition :wink:


Back on topic, My grandmother burns underwear, she is convinced that if you are having a bad run of luck that someone has put a curse upon you, so she takes the last pair of underwear you wore, without washing them and burns them at night.
She has been doing it as long as I can remember.

That's great news, that your son survived & is now in good health! From what language did you choose the names?

BURN underwear? What?! Actaully, I've got a couple pair, elastic worn out, that are ready for the incinerator!!!

Wanna hear some WEIRD customs? In Japan, the ladies are really "shy" when they use the restroom, so when they begin to "tinkle", they flush the toilet. (Remember these are squat toilets, and the handle's right in front of you) One "wee" could involve as many as 5 flushes! About 10 years ago, large office building owners, noticing that their water bill was ridiculously high, had a brainstorm. They installed little "noise-busters" in the stalls of the ladies' rooms! You press it and, rather loudly, it makes the sound of a toilet flushing!!! Seems to have saved the companies major bucks. A strange custom indeed in a country where it is not uncommon for menfolk to pee at the side of the road! :shock:

[ShyDancer]

Thanks crocodilo :) Both names English.

I have heard the flushing of the loo thing too... I used to wrok with a Russian lady and she told me it was customary there too.
I do like the idea of those little noise devices though!

[pygmalion]

I've often wondered why bathroom stalls in the US are so wide open -- since I went to Europe and discovered what a privacy stall really looks like. What a hoot! The first time I was in Schipol Airport (I think). I found the bathroom with no problem (toiletten was easy to ead, even if not in English) but I had to wait until someone came out to figure out that those small, completely enclosed closets housed the actual commodes. I'd never seen anything like it. They make American bathrooms look positively exposed!

[cocodrilo]

I like the loos with ample space. I think women need the space to swish around in. I've been in some toilets so dinky you have to practically stand on the toilet to get out of the way to open the door!

[SDsalsaguy]

I've been in some toilets so dinky you have to practically stand on the toilet to get out of the way to open the door!
The worst is when they are like this in an airport and you have your luggage with you... :shock: :x

[cocodrilo]

I've been in some toilets so dinky you have to practically stand on the toilet to get out of the way to open the door!
The worst is when they are like this in an airport and you have your luggage with you... :shock: :x
Exactly!!! :?

[Pacion]

:lol: If I could design my ideal 'public' toilet, there would be so much room around you, when you stuck your hands out in front/to the side of you, the walls would still be beyond your fingers tips.

I would also have shelves and unremovable hooks so that you/I (!) can hang my coat up/place my bags so that they would not have to go anywhere near the floor 8)

[cocodrilo]

:lol: If I could design my ideal 'public' toilet, there would be so much room around you, when you stuck your hands out in front/to the side of you, the walls would still be beyond your fingers tips.

I would also have shelves and unremovable hooks so that you/I (!) can hang my coat up/place my bags so that they would not have to go anywhere near the floor 8)

I would want a toilet big enough to do shines in! :D