by Dora Galván
Staff Writer
Many people have always found superstitions and old wives’ tales fascinating and intriguing. These tales have been ingrained in our minds since adolescence. There are people who explain the phenomena of everyday occurrences through science or religion. There are also others who have chosen to protect themselves from the unknown through rituals known as superstitions.
“I believe that in this world so many things can happen, anything is possible. How can we assume that we know everything that is going on?” said sophomore English major Desiree Ochoa.
The origins of Friday the 13th cast as an unlucky day is based on Christian beliefs. It is believed that this particular day is unlucky, because the thirteenth person who attended The Last Supper was Judas, the betrayer of Jesus. Friday is also unlucky because it is the day that Christ was crucified.
Many people attempt to avoid crossing the path of a black cat. In the Middle Ages, people believed that black cats accompanied witches throughout their evil journeys.
Once the cat reached 7 years of age, it was understood that it would transform into a witch, devil or demon.
Due to the cat’s potential transformation people assumed that it was best to not encounter a black cat at all.
“When you use salt, you have to make three crosses on it and pour a little bit of water on it, so something bad doesn’t happen,” said junior English major Lusina Brutyan. Brutyan’s Armenian ancestors believed that bad luck would follow them if they did not practice this every time they came in contact with salt.
Freshman international business and french major, Sophia Andary, said that when she visited Lebanon, she experienced an unusual illness, which made her body weaken. Andary’s superstitious mother took her to an old couple who is infamous in the village for curing Andary’s particular kind of illness.
The old couple rubbed her shoulder and prayed. They concluded that the sickness was caused by, what is known in the Arabic culture, as the “bad eye.” Andary explained that the “bad eye” can occur “if somebody wishes something bad for you.”
The old couple concluded that the person who wished the sickness upon Andary was a woman who was jealous of her, because a young man asked for Andary’s hand in marriage rather than the woman’s daughter.
“The guy that she wanted for her daughter asked my mom for my hand in marriage. She hated me because of that so she put this evil thing on me,” said Andary.
