There are some traditions and superstitions that many here in the states encounter quite often, but if we are asked by others "why?" we don't really know how to answer them. Here are some explanations for the things that we do, see and hear quite often, but don't really know quite how they came about or how to explain them.
1. Saying "bless you" whenever someone sneezes
There are multiple theories but the two most common are:
A. it originated around the time of the bubonic plague any people thought that saying bless you after someone sneezed (which was a symptom of the disease) would ward off chances of death.
B. In ancient times people thought that sneezing might shoot your soul out of your body so they said bless you to make sure your blessed soul stays in your body.
2. Crossing fingers for good luck
Crossing fingers was actually a shorthand was of making the Christian cross. This was a symbol of unity and blessing and was also thought to anchor a wish until it came true which is why people cross fingers for good luck.
3. Knocking on wood to avoid a jinx
Most ancient cultures worshiped or associated trees with some sort of a special spiritual power, and others asked favor from God by resting their hands upon trees while prying. This is why people knock on wood to avoid a jinx, its like channeling good luck.
SEE ALSO: Poetry On Odyssey: The Beckoning Tree
4. Cutting a cake for a wedding
The tradition evolved from the ancient Roman tradition of breaking bread during a wedding, and then giving crumbs to others as a way of sharing their good prosperity. When a couple cuts a wedding cake together, it symbolizes that their first action as a couple is in unity.
5. Pinching people on St. Patrick's day
A. Wearing green is a symbol of respect towards Ireland. If you're not wearing green, you get pinched as a way to shame you.
B. If you are not wearing green, people pinch you to remind you that you may get pinched by a leprechaun because they can't be seen.
6. Giving people balloons on their birthday
Birthday balloons have a pretty dark origin. In ancient times, Aztecs blew air into the bodies of sacrificed animals and made them into shapes to entertain children. European jesters followed this tradition to entertain others.
7. The Tooth Fairy
The tradition of the tooth fairy comes from the evolving of ancient traditions to burn or burn a child's tooth after it falls out for good luck in the after life. In many cultures today, the tooth fairy is replaced with a mouse character. Mainly, this tooth receiver was formed as a way to comfort children after they lose a tooth.
8. The Easter Bunny
A common theory for why the symbol of Easter is a bunny/rabbit is that it came from the ancient goddess of Eostre whose symbol was a rabbit which represented fertility. It was also symbolic of the springtime during Easter.
SEE ALSO: Christmas Is A Totally Wild, Un-Christian, Pagan Holiday
9. Being told there's gold at the end of a rainbow
This belief stems from a myth that says that long ago, when Vikings pillaged and stole other peoples gold, leprechauns wanted to punish them so they hid some of the Viking's gold underground. Whenever a rainbow appears, it marks the spot where a leprechaun hid gold.
10. Driving on the right side of the road
Historically many civilizations preferred to drive (whether is be horses, wagons, etc.) because it was better for feudal societies to fight, and it was easier for people to use their dominant right hand, as countries began colonizing other countries and then eventually gained independence so those countries (including the U.S.) wanted to do the opposite to rid connections to colonization.
11. Halloween
Its origins come from ancient traditions in Europe, and also merge with Celtic traditions specifically the festival called Samhain in which people wore costumes and lit fires as a way to ward off ghosts and spirits, more commonly associated today with bed sheet ghost costumes and jack-o-lanterns.
SEE ALSO: The Truth About Halloween
12. Bride throws a bouquet of flowers at her wedding.
Anyone who has been to a modern american wedding is familiar with the tradition of single women lining up behind the bride to try to catch the bouquet of flowers she tosses. This traditions evolved from the custom hundreds of years ago for people to try to touch the bride for good luck. Since this old custom was very invasive and bothersome to the bride, a bouquet of flowers was thrown instead to distract people from the bride and be the new "good luck charm."
13. Breaking a mirror is bad luck.
The superstition goes that if you break a mirror you have seven years of bad luck. Most believe that this superstition evolved from the thought that a reflection of yourself in water is actually a reflection of your soul. The thought continued that any harm that comes to the reflection is also harmful to your actual self, hence why breaking a mirror equals bad luck.
14. Opening an umbrella indoors is bad luck.
The oldest origin of this superstition stems from an ancient Egyptian custom concerning royalty. Since umbrellas mimics the sky goddess, they were only allowed to shade royalty from the sun (which would not be indoors) and anyone else who was shaded would be brought bad luck.
15. Friday the 13th
There are many origins to why people associate the number 13 and the specific day of Friday the 13th with terror, fear and bad luck here are a couple:
1. A Norse myth tells of a party for 12 gods that left out a 13th god. When the 13th god Loki found out about not being invited he angrily killed the god of joy and happiness, hence why the day is associated with the absence of joy, terror.
2. The reason why the unlucky number "13" was paired with Friday comes from it being the claimed day when Jesus was crucified and that Adam and Eve plucked the apple from the tree of knowledge.
16. Garlic repels vampires.
The notion that these human blood-duckers could be identified by their refusal to consume garlic most liekly stemmed from ancient Egyptian customs. In ancient Egypt, Garlic was thought to have special medicinal properties and as it spread it was also thought to have protection from the plague and supernatural evils (such as vampires) as well.
SEE ALSO: 9 Chilling Songs To Listen To As You Traipse Through The Upside Down (Part 1)
17. Mermaids turn into sea foam when they die.
Just how did the thought that half fish half humans turn into the wispy foam on wave crests come about? This belief most likely came directly from the fairytale "The Little Mermaid," written by Hans Christian Anderson, in which he uses sea foam as the consequence if the mermaid is not able to capture the heart of a human.
Sea foam was specifically chosen because it was a symbol of the ocean that people were able to grasp easily and offered a quick death without the pains we associate with human ones.
18. It is impossible to sneeze with eyes open.
Most people believe that it is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open or worse, when someone does then their eyeballs will pop out. The explanation for why it is so hard to sneeze with your eyes open is because the human body responds with the need to sneeze with the reflex of closing the eyes. H
owever, as tested by the myth busters themselves, the pressure from a sneeze is not enough to pop out your eye balls even if your eyes are open.
19. The lucky penny
The belief of picking up a "lucky penny" from the ground stems from the very simple ancient belief that possessing metal in general is a sign of good luck. Some of the more ancient traditions included hanging horseshoes over one's front door and carrying around coins. Over time this belief evolved into a penny because it was a form of currency (in almost every culture, currency is shrouded in superstition) that was readily available, light and easy to carry.
20. Black cats are bad luck.
One of the most well-known superstitions if that if a black cat crosses your path, it is a sign of bad luck, but I wondered as a cat lover myself, why are these cuties considered unlucky? Originally in ancient times cats were considered royal and majestic, as most commonly associated with a god-like status in the ancient Egyptian culture. However, when the belief of "witches" started to spread around their common companions,black cats,also got the bad rep of evil associated with witches.
SEE ALSO: 12 Of The Meowst Invalid Excuses That All Cat Haters Have Used
