Japanese Department
Justin, Ken, Chris

Closer look at superstitions

     Have you ever been scolded by your parents while trying to open an umbrella indoors? Or have you ever seen your grandma wearing a jade which she thought could keep her safe? When older, have you ever been scolded for whistling at night? These are just a few examples of Chinese superstition.

     What exactly is a superstition? Generally speaking, a superstition is the belief that certain events and activities are connected to a person’s luck or future. It is ignorant,    even a little silly belief in relations between certain actions. Every culture, from highly developed countries such as the U.S. or Japan to primitive tribes in Africa, has its own superstition. People of different cultures mostly would follow their own superstitions because these concepts of superstitions and taboos are taught by their parents in their childhood. However, most people don’t know when or how these superstitions they believe in are originated. For example, if a foreigner asks a Chinese why it is bad luck to open an umbrella indoors or to whistle during the night, most Chinese themselves probably won’t know the answer for sure.

     The origins of superstitions are regarded as the thought that ancient people have and the way ancient people used to avoid danger and bring god luck. It could be traced back to hundreds, even thousands of years ago. Due to ignorance and fear of the nature, people hoped these certain actions or activities could bring solace to the fear-stricken primitive mind. They gradually began to believe, however, in an erroneous way, that the future could be caused or influenced by certain behaviors. Those concepts and practice then formed, and they are passed till today from generation to generation.

     Most superstitions have two different parts. One is about good luck; another is about bad luck. For good luck, take American superstitions as example, the rabbits foot remains one of the most common good-luck charm. Though the exact reason is not clear, many believe that it is because of the great productivity of rabbits which they think could bring them wealth or good luck. For bad luck, take Chinese superstitions as example. It’s thought impolite and forbidden to use your finger pointing right at the moon. It is said if you do so, you will get a small cut on the back of the ear as a punishment for being rude to the moon. These are just two common examples of superstitions in American and Chinese culture. They, more or less, have some effects on our life.

     The effect superstitions have on people differs from person to person according to their own attitude toward superstition. Some people just don’t believe it because they think it has no rational justification. Some people follow it simply just for fun, not really believe in it. Others who deeply believe it or take it too seriously, at last, become almost totally dominated by traditional superstitions in daily affair of life. Being too superstitious could lead to problems such as unfounded fear of things, excessive unnecessary caution and scrupulosity in outward observance. This can make people oversensitive to some unimportant trivia and worry about anything while those people seeing some things like a black cat crossing one’s path which they think a implication of bad luck. Therefore, life will be a lot more stressful for those who people with these concepts of superstitions deeply-rooted in mind, because they get anxious about anything that has something to do with the superstition. In spite of the fact that superstition is a somewhat out-of-date idea, many people still just skeptically follow it. Probably because they think they could control their fate by using some simple activities or behaviors as superstitions suggest.

     Whether you believe in superstition or not, they still, to some extent, affect lots of people regardless of today’s modern technology, educational level or ethnicity. Hence, it is of great importance to build up an appropriate attitude toward superstition though we may not know all the truth about it. When dealing with superstitions, we don’t have to pay too much attention or out great emphasis on these so-called ‘signs’ of forthcoming bad things. If you just inevitably feel tense about what may happen in the near future after seeing those ‘signs’, just bear in mind that what you believe in is infinitely much more powerful than superstition itself. However, superstitions are not just that worthless; it makes cultures around the world more fascinating and attractive after all.

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