Sometimes we feel
that we are “above and beyond” falling victim to some sort of
superstition. But the honest truth is
that many of us have been victim and maybe we don’t even know it. Or perhaps we do and just don’t want to admit
it.
A superstition is
defined as the following:
1. A belief or practice resulting from ignorance,
fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of
causation. Or: an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural,
nature, or God resulting from superstition.
2. It
could also be a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.
You’ve probably
hear of many superstitions regarding certain days, numbers, or objects. People fear that somehow Friday the 13th,
black cats, broken mirrors, or ladders may have a hand in shaping the
future. Many of these superstitions have
a very murky, ancient origin and have usually been passed around for
generations.
One recent survey
reported that 20 percent of Americans think it’s unlucky to walk under a ladder
and 13 percent think a black cat crossing their path will bring them bad
luck. A survey in Britain found that 77
percent of those in the UK admit to being “at least a little” superstitious and
42 percent say that they are very or somewhat superstitious. This is truly amazing when you reconsider the
definition given above.
So why am I
bringing this up at this time on my blog?
The answer is simple: for many
TODAY (February 2nd) is viewed as Ground Hog Day. So let’s consider the superstition behind the
thinking for this day.
February 2nd
occurs halfway between the winter solstice (an astronomical
phenomenon marking the day with the shortest period
of daylight and the longest night of the year) and the spring equinox (when
the plane of Earth's equator
passes through the center of the Sun's disk), so special significance was attached to this
date.
It seems that,
even from early times, the weather on this day was thought to relate to the
length of winter. The early European
Christians adopted this tradition and called it Candlemas Day. On Candlemas Day, the local clergy would
bless candles, and people would carry the candles home and place them in their
window. This day also carried with it
the idea of the prognostication of the weather.
An old English
Candlemas poem reads as follows:
If
Candlemas be fair and bright,
Winter has
another flight.
If Candlemas
brings clouds and rain,
Winter will
not come again.
It wasn’t until
later that the Germans appeared to add the coupling of an animal (a hedgehog or
badger) seeing its shadow to this old Candlemas Day tradition The earliest American reference to
weather-prognosticating groundhogs in association with this holiday is a diary
entry in February of 1841 which reads:
“Last Tuesday, the 2nd, was Candlemas Day, the day on which,
according the Germans, the groundhog peeps out of his winter quarters and if he
sees his shadow he pops back for another six weeks nap, but if the day be
cloudy he remains out, as the weather is to be moderate.”
Of course we know
what this has turned into in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania every year. Thousands of people venture to the area to
see what “Punxsutawney Phil” is going to report for that year. By the way, according to the National Climate
Data Center, Phil has an accuracy rate of only 39%.
Now if you think
that “superstition” is a bit unbelievable go over to www.corsinet.com/trivia/scary.html (wait a few minutes for the page to load) and do some research on some truly “way out” thoughts that some people have as
far as their superstitions!
QUOTE TO CONSIDER
THOUGHTFUL GEM
"If people can hear you enter the room before you walk in ---
don't be so loud!'
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