More superstitions
Hels and Andrew both mentioned superstitions I have often pondered.
Hels spoke of the bad luck that will befall anyone who opens an umbrella indoors. She said, ’The only superstition that sounded even vaguely sensible to me was never to open an umbrella in the house. I suppose it MIGHT have poked a family member in the eye.’
That’s certainly
the understanding I had.
In "Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things" (Harper, 1989), the scientist and author Charles Panati wrote: "In eighteenth-century London, when metal-spoked waterproof umbrellas began to become a common rainy-day sight, their stiff, clumsy spring mechanism made them veritable hazards to open indoors. A rigidly spoked umbrella, opening suddenly in a small room, could seriously injure an adult or a child, or shatter a frangible object. Even a minor accident could provoke unpleasant words or a minor quarrel, themselves strokes of bad luck in a family or among friends. Thus, the superstition arose as a deterrent to opening an umbrella indoors."
Another suggestion for the origin of the superstition says that in Ancient Egypt, umbrellas were used as protection from the heat and were thought to ward off evil spirits. Opening an umbrella indoors, out of the sun, would be an insult to the sun god, Ra, and promote unfavourable consequences.
Andrew mentioned the myth that new shoes should not be put on the table. He said, ’My partner yells at me to remove them, so I don't do it.’
I’ve always thought this a really odd superstition. I could only think it might be because the shoes might scratch the table and that putting shoes on the table might become an unwelcome habit.
I looked it up and found that it is considered bad luck in many English-speaking countries. At a time when shoes were very expensive, before the advent of modern machinery in the 19th century they would be passed on from a dead donor and would therefore be ‘new’ to the recipient. Thus putting ‘new’ shoes on the table could signify the death of someone or simply bring bad luck for the rest of the day.
In the North of England, after a colliery accident, a dead miner’s shoes would be put on the table as a sign of respect, so to put ‘ordinary’ shoes there would be considered bad taste as well as tempting fate.
In 1814, the Duke of Wellington had noticed many officers carrying umbrellas to shelter from the rain. Wellington made it clear that he did not approve of their use in battle, saying, ‘in the field it is not only ridiculous but unmilitary.’ Standing orders for the Battle of Waterloo stated unequivocally, ‘Umbrellas will not be opened in the presence of the enemy.’