Superstitions in BritainDiana Pitea

• Good Luck• It is lucky to meet a black cat. Black Cats are featured

on many good luck greetings cards and birthday cards in England.

• It is lucky to touch wood . • It is lucky to find a clover plant with four leaves. • A horseshoe over the door brings good luck. But the

horse shoe needs to be the right way up. The luck runs out of the horse shoe if it is upside down.

• On the first day of the month it is lucky to say "white rabbits, white rabbits white rabbits" before saying your first word of the day.

• Catch falling leaves in autumn and you'll have good luck. Every leaf means a lucky month next year.

• Animal Superstitions• One English superstition concerns the tamed ravens

at the Tower of London. It is believed that if they leave then the crown of England will be lost.

• It is said to be bad luck if you see bats flying and hear their cries. In the middle ages it was believed that witches were closely associated with bats.

• It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a peacock within the home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the eye shape present upon these feathers i.e. the Evil-Eye associated with wickedness

• Bad Luck• It is unlucky to walk underneath a ladder. • It is seven years of bad luck to break a mirror. • It is unlucky to spill salt. If you do, you must throw it

over your shoulder to counteract the bad luck. • It is unlucky to open an umbrella indoors. • The number thirteen is unlucky. Friday the thirteenth

is a very unlucky day. Friday is considered to be an unlucky day because Jesus was crucified on a Friday.

• It is unlucky to put new shoes on the table.

Andrei had a terrible day. When he woke up in the morning, he saw that it was raining and he opened his umbrella in the house before going outside. He thinks that this is why everything during the day was horrible. Is that the only reason?

• I woke up at 7 o’clock because my neighbor’s baby was crying very loudly. I wanted to have a shower but there was no water. While I was getting dressed, I realized that I had forgotten to wash my clothes and I had no socks. I looked through the window and it was raining. I said to myself “don’t forget your umbrella!”. To be absolutely sure that I would take it with me, I opened it and put it in front of the entrance door. Then I had breakfast- just an apple, because my parents had forgotten to buy bread- and took my jacket. My mom said “don’t forget your umbrella!”, I said ok, drank some Coca-Cola, and on my way out, I bent to take my umbrella and hit the mirror with my schoolbag. It broke. My mom was very upset especially because she was expecting guests. She always expects guests on Fridays. I went out and I was so upset that only when I arrived at school I realized that I had left my umbrella. I met Miruna who asked “Are you ready for the test?”. Then, it hit me: it was the 13th, the day of the most important English test called Kangaroo. At least I had slept well during the night, without worrying about it.

Answer the questions.

• 1) Is it lucky to have peacock feathers in the house? Why? /Why not?

• 2) What kind of birds can you see at the tower of London?

• 3) Are bats believed to bring good luck? What about cats?