Somehow the belief has spread worldwide that to be superstitious is not “Cool”, that advanced thinking, and technology, have seen off the superstitions of our ancestors, and that modern woman will no longer be inhibited by the foolish customs of the past. Superstition, we say, belongs in that past, and if you want to be modern, and “with it” (whatever “it” might be) then thumbs down to anything old fashioned.
So superstitions are dead? Don’t you believe it! Many old ones are alive and kicking, and if some fall by the wayside, why there are new ones springing up to take their places all the time. There used to be one that made it mandatory for a bride to see a chimneysweep at her wedding, so one was often specially invited; unfortunately there aren’t many sweeps around nowadays, so the poor girl has to do with not seeing her bridegroom on the wedding day until they meet at the church or the registry office.
The point really is that while noisily denying any aspiration of being superstitious oneself many people will submit to the discipline and restrictive practices of the old beliefs. This is based on the quintessence of self-deception and well, you never know, better to be safe than sorry; there may be something in it; no smoke without fire, etc. and similar sophistries.
Examples? Well there are those who perceive lucky or unlucky days in their calendar; they will not take on anything important on a Friday, especially when it’s the thirteenth day of the month. Many, I might almost say most, rural households in Britain, especially Scotland, have a horse-shoe nailed up on a wall somewhere, “for luck”, and heaven help the poor fool who fixes it upside down, for then all the luck will drain out.
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