yurayurateikokuさんの おぼえた日記 - 2023年10月17日(火)

Believe It or Not (4)

These superstitions may sound a bit strange, but some of them are based on simple common sense. Opening an umbrella indoors could knock things over or hurt someone.
The origins of many superstitions are mysterious. For example, some people say that if your right palm is itchy, it means you’ll meet someone new, and an itchy right palm means money coming in, and a left-handed itch foretells money going out.
One custom that’s based on superstition is blessing someone after they sneeze. In medieval Europe, people congratulated anyone who sneezed, because they believed the person was expelling evil spirits. But later, the superstition shifted. People said “Bless you” or “God bless you” when someone sneezed to stop their soul from escaping and to protect them from the plague.
We cover our mouths when we yawn, right? That supposedly prevents evil spirits from entering our body through our mouth. It’s also good manners, of course.
Here in America, we say someone is talking about you if your ears are burning.
Americans knock on wood almost reflexively when they talk optimistically about something or hope for good luck in the future. When there’s no wood, they knock on imaginary wood. That’s kind of weird.