Friday 17 March is Anti-Superstition Day 2023: do you believe in black cats and broken mirrors?

Superstitious of the world, unite. Today is friday 17. Absolutely unfortunate day for those who believe in it, identical to the others for those who are not touched by superstitions. For today the Cicapethe Italian Committee for the Control of Claims on Pseudosciences, organizes an anti-superstition day to affirm that there is no truth in these beliefs.

What beliefs? The union of Friday and the 17th combines the day of Christ’s death and a number already a harbinger of misfortune according to the Greek Pythagoreans. The great flood also began on the 17th day (Genesis 7-11). They are just two of the most common beliefs, the most used superstitions. For all there is a story.

Let’s go by the numbers

The belief dates back to the times of Greek civilization: in Greek heptacaidekaphobia means “fear of the number 17”. The followers of Pythagoras despised this number because it was between 16 and 18, numbers considered perfect. Another reason, this time from the religious world, is that in the Old Testament the starting date of the universal flood is the 17th of the second month. In Ancient Rome, on the tombs it was customary to write VIXI, in Latin «I lived», that is «I died». VIXI is the anagram of XVII, 17 in Roman numerals. In the Middle Ages, due to widespread illiteracy, the inscription VIXI was confused with XVII. Furthermore, on Fridays Jesus is believed to have died, and Fridays are the day on which hangings were done in Great Britain. Finally, even in the Neapolitan grimace (the dictionary of lottery numbers), 17 is synonymous with misfortune.

17 does not always have only a negative connotation. In the Kabbalahfor example, is a beneficial number, since it is the result of the numerical sum of the Hebrew letters têt (9)+ waw (6)+ bêth (2), which when read in order give the word tôv «good, good».

Italians don’t like Friday the 17th above all. Elsewhere other beliefs exist. In Anglo-Saxon countries, for example, the unlucky day is friday the 13thwhile in Spain, Greece and South America it is Tuesday 13. For the Orientals it is the 4 that does not bring good luck.

Colors

It’s not just a matter of numbers, there are “Friday the 17th” in other areas. In England it is blue that is forbidden, green in France. So it’s not just the viola to bring bad luck to the theatre. For Italy the tradition comes from the fact that purple is the color of liturgical vestments in periods such as Lent when performances were prohibited. For the actors it was the worst period, without earnings. For England it is the blue because fabrics of this color were expensive and the companies that bought them went bankrupt. In France it is the green because it seems it was the color worn by Moliere in his latest interpretation, but also because it didn’t stand out much with the lights.

I wanted a black cat

The poor felines have no other fault than that of having been associated with witches in the Middle Ages and considered demonic. The witches themselves didn’t exist, of course. The verse of the owl the cry of the owl is associated with the lamentations of the souls of the dead. The night brings bad luck, even death. Sailors’ superstition that he wants to kill a albatross bring bad luck. It is believed that it carries within it the spirit of drowned sailors. The Crow it is notoriously a messenger of misfortune. For some he represents the devil and he didn’t make a good impression when Noah sent him to explore: he ate the carcasses on the water, he didn’t bring the olive tree like the dove.

Money question

Seven years of trouble for one Broken mirror. But why? An economic reason. Buying a mirror back in antiquity was expensive. A more spiritual motivation speaks instead of the sacredness of the object that reflects the body, but also the soul of man. This is remedied by placing the pieces of glass as soon as possible in a river or in a container with water for 7 days. Also for the spilled salt there is an economic explanation given the great value of salt, for a long time one of the few ways to preserve food. Misfortune is averted, if you will believe it, by throwing a pinch of the spilled salt over the left shoulder.

Watch where you go

Never go under a ladder. It’s bad luck above all because it’s danger. Never putting a hat on the bed brings mourning to the family. Perhaps the superstition derives from the fact that the priest placed his hat on the bed when he went to give the last rites to a dying man. Never an open umbrella in the house, it is a bad omen because it would represent a house where it rains therefore poor and without means to repair the roof.

– Father’s Day canceled, the manager: “I did it for children who don’t have a father”

– Aggression between girls, the expert: “Adults must learn to really listen to their children”

– Friday the 13th, do you believe in superstitions?