Popular Superstitions Essay

Look how the world’s poor people are amazed at apparitions, signs, and prodigies!

William Shakespeare

A Superstition is an irrational fear of what is unknown or mysterious. It is founded on ignorance and illiteracy. People all over the world seem to have superstitions. certain hours are believed to be auspicious and certain hours inauspicious.

Charms and amulets are worn as protection against evil spirits. A comet in the sky is believed to herald the death of a great person. The hooting of an owl is supposed ominous and so is the whining of a dog in the dead of the night.

It is considered inauspicious to travel towards the north on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and towards the South on Thursdays. Some persons do not pay or lend money on Tuesdays and Fridays; they fear that day will be reduced to poverty if they do so.

Sneezing is regarded as a bad omen. If anybody sneezes before a journey is to be begun or some important work is to be started, it is postponed. If a cat crosses the way when a person is proceeding on important business, he fears that he will not succeed.

in many European countries, number 13 is considered unlucky so that many hotels do not contain room number 13. They believe that if 13 persons sit at a dining table one of them will die in a few days.

It is unfortunate that superstitions still persist in spite of the advancement of science and technology. all superstitions are obviously baseless and observed and prevent us from making progress in life. Man is a rational being.he should not allow the clear stream of reason to lose its way into the dreary desert of superstition.