Superstitions

Hey, there. I’m Tommy. And today we’re going to talk about superstitions.

The word “superstition” means the absurd belief or fear that something we do or say will affect our future.

There are two types of superstition:

Good fortune or good luck and bad fortune or bad luck.

Look at this room. What examples of good or bad luck can you find in it?

Match the words/word combinations to the pictures.

A black cat, an umbrella, a lucky saying, a four-leaf clover, a ladybird, a ladder, a broken mirror, a raven, spilled salt.

Put the words into two groups: good luck charms and bad omens.

Good luck charms are a lucky saying, a four-leaf clover and a ladybird.

Bad omens are a black cat, an umbrella, a ladder, a broken mirror, a raven and spilled salt.

A person who believes in superstitions can be described as superstitious.

Are you superstitious?

Despite the negative attitude to the superstition there are still many people who strongly believe in it.

In today’s video we’ll talk about the most popular examples of superstitions in the UK and around the world.

Good superstitions.

1. A black cat is believed to be a symbol of bad luck. Unlike America in the UK the black cats are considered to be lucky.

2. When you find an eyelash you should blow it away and make a wish.

3. Some people believe in order to catch good luck and keep nightmares away, you must hang a horseshoe in the bedroom or on a door like a cup.

4. Some people believe that a four leaf clover can bring you lots of good luck. If you see one of these in the field, keep it safe.

5. Some people are sure of getting a big sum of money if the left palm itches, while an itchy right palm is a sign of losing money. If both palms itch…you should go to a doctor for that.

6. My lucky charms. Everyone has a charm that brings them good luck, like a rabbit’s foot or a coin.

7. If a ladybird lands on you, be careful not to brush it off. Stay very still and count the spots. The number of spots will reveal the number of months you will enjoy good luck.

The stronger the color red is on the ladybird, the better your luck will be.

Others believe you get to make a wish if a ladybug lands on your hand and say: «Ladybird, fly to the sky, give me happy time».

8. Some people believe in lucky power of sayings. For example, you must say: ‘Rabbit! Rabbit! White rabbit!” and make a wish just before going to sleep on the last night of the month. If you say it again in the morning, before you’ve said another word, your wish comes true.

Bad superstitions

1. Walking under the ladder.

First, something can fall on you.

Secondly, the open ladder forms a triangle, and it used to symbolize life and trinity in Christianity. It’s a bad luck to break it by walking through.

If you walked under a ladder, maybe by mistake - cross your fingers and wait … until you see the dog.

There is another way to avoid bad luck.

You must lick your finger and draw a cross on a toe of your shoe. Remember! You mustn’t look at that cross again until it has dried.

2. To spill salt is bad luck.

If you occasionally spill salt you’d better throw a pinch of it over your left shoulder. They say the devil sits behind you, on the left, so the salt would go into his face.

3. Many people say you must never open an umbrella inside the house, because you ask bad luck to rain down on you. Why? Umbrellas were once used to protect against the sun. So opening it indoors you make the sun gods angry.

4. Breaking a mirror results in seven years of bad luck. The mirrors were said to be the tools of the Gods. So if you break a mirror, you break something that belong to the God.

5. Some people avoid putting new shoes on the table as it brings bad luck.

6. A numbers game.

Different countries fear of different numbers. For example, 666 is the Devil’s number, Bad luck comes in threes, Friday 13^th is unlucky.

The fear of the number 13 is so real to many people, that many architects skip 13th floor on the elevators. But why? The idea is very unclear.

In the 19^th century the US captain William Fowler founded the Thirteen Club. A group of 13 men in New York tried to prove the superstition’s false. They met for the 1^st time on Friday the 13^th, 1881. Their club activities included things like walking under the ladders and breaking mirrors. A year later the club secretary reported that NOT A SINGLE MEMBER IS DEAD, or even has a serious illness.

Donald Doosey, a folklore historian, suggested that Fridays the 13th have roots in ancient history.

In numerology, the study of the symbolism of numbers, 12 means “completeness” and 13 is simply an uncomfortable number.

Scholars consider the number 13 to become unpopular when humans began to count. They used 10 fingers and 2 feet as units of measurements, that’s why people could count only till 12 and number 13 scared them.

Devil’s dozen is equal to 13.

There were 13 people at the Last Supper of Jesus Christ. Judas Iscariot, the apostle who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th person sitting at the table.

Many Christians believe that Jesus Christ was crucified on Friday the 13th.

But all these ideas have no basis in any documented history. So to believe or not to believe, - that’s the question you have to answer yourselves.

What do you usually do to avoid bad luck?

You should touch something made of wood for luck.

Harry: “We are going to London for a weekend. We start tomorrow morning. It should be nice weather.”

Allan: “Touch wood!”

Harry: Allan, I’m not superstitious. See the weather forecast.

Allan: (…in the morning. It’s raining.): I asked you to touch the wood!!

Allan: OK, Harry! Sit on your luggage!

Harry: What for?!!

Allan: They say in Russia you should sit on your luggage before travelling … for good luck.

Harry: Oh, Come on, Allan! Do you really believe it?

Do you know any other superstitions about travelling?

Answer the questions and check your knowledge.

1. Which of the following airlines don’t have row 13?

a.                 AirFrance

b.                 Aeroflot

c.                 Continental

d.                 Lufthansa

e.                 All airlines have row 13

Correct answers are a, c, d.

2. In Turkey why might someone throw a cup of water outside their house in the direction of the traveler?

a.                 For good luck

b.                 To make their travels smooth and easy, like the flow of water

c.                 So they will never fill thirsty on their travels

d.                 a and b

e.                 None

Correct answer is b.

3. In Russia, what should you do if you leave your house for travel and suddenly you remember that you have forgotten something?

a.                 Turn back to get what you have forgotten.

b.                 Do not turn back after you have left. This is bad luck.

c.                 You can turn back but only if you look in the mirror and frown.

d.                 a and b

e.                 b and c

Correct answer is c.

4. In many countries number 13 is unlucky. In Asia, the hotel room you reserved might not be on which floor?

a.                 7

b.                 8

c.                 4

d.                 2

Correct answer is c. The number 4 is considered an unlucky number in Chinese because it is nearly homophonous to the word "death"

5. Why do some Latin Americans run around town with a packed suitcase at exactly 12 AM on December 31st?

a. This will ensure they have plenty of money that year.

b. They are taking the suitcases to poor families. They hope this will bring them good luck.

c. This will bring lots of travel throughout the year.

d. They are throwing away their old clothes, as this brings bad luck.

Correct answer is c.

Do you know any more ways to avoid bad luck?

Think positive and good luck will come your way.

See you next lesson through the mystical power of videouroki.net.