56 this morning, absolutely balmy. Coffee and tea on the porch in the sunshine.
I have been sneezing like a crazy woman for the past week. It's no fun either, feels like my whole body gets a shake-up every time. This got me to wondering if there are superstitions connected with sneezing, and of course, there are. There are also many medical reasons for sneezing which I'm not going to get into, preferring to leave that to the professionals. I am much more interested in the odd things that people have believed over the centuries about all facets of our life, and today, that's--ah-choo!--excuse me--sneezing.
When I was a child, I believed that if I sneezed with our eyes open, our eyes would pop out. Really! So I was careful to always close my eyes when I sneezed. I think I read that in a book and took it to heart. I was pretty disappointed to learn later on that it wasn't true, but for some years I watched people who sneezed very carefully. Not one eyeball popped out.
In Poland, people believed that if you sneezed, your mother-in-law was talking about you. I suppose this could be a good thing if she liked you?
Asian cultures link the number of sneezes to specific events. Owlcation gives this explanation: "One sneeze means people are saying good things about you; two sneezes in a row means people are saying bad things about you; three sneezes in a row is a sign that someone is in love with you or you may fall in love soon. Four or more sneezes mean a calamity will come upon the person or their family."
Oh dear. I've been sneezing many times in a row these days. I hope there is a belief somewhere else in the world that this is good luck. And speaking of good luck there are lots of associations between sneezing and luck, such as:
- it will bring a windfall of money,
- In ancient Greece, sneezing was believed to be a sign of prophecies from the gods.
- Sneezing in the evening, but before midnight, is a sign of a pending invitation.
- In Scotland, a child who sneezes will escape the clutches of the fairies.
- Some say that three sneezes in a row means someone loves you.
We typically say "Bless you" or "God bless you" when someone sneezes. All over the world, people offer some type of saying after a sneeze, such as in Greece, where the comment made after a sneeze can be translated as "the gods have sneezed on it," meaning that what was spoken was the truth.
It's amazing how many superstitions link to this odd function of our body. To read more, check out these websites:
Wikipedia gives extensive history and more.
Owlcation offers a long article with more superstitions than I can count.
Along with superstitions, luckeymoneymyth starts their article with a funny personal story about sneezing.
Beijing Kids offers a look at Chinese superstitions about sneezing.
Even the LA Times got into sneezing with an article.
The University of Michigan offers an article from 1869 on sneezing. A snippet from the article: "Sneezing was not always a lucky omen. If you sneeze between
midnight and the following noontide, very fortunate; but, if from
noontide till midnight, unfortunate. Some old writer says: "When
the ancients were getting up in the morning, if they chanced to sneeze
while putting on their shoes, they immediately went back to bed again,
in order that they might get up more auspiciously and escape the misfortunes which were likely to recur on that day."
I am happy to report that while finishing up this post, I have not sneezed once, so surely writing about sneezing is good luck? or maybe it's because of the Claritin I took. Whatever the truth, God bless all of you, whether you are sneezing or not.
Lots of sneezing going on here at the primary school where I teach. I guess all of the children are protected from the fae. You have now turned me onto Owlcation. I am enjoying the site.
ReplyDeleteHope you feel better soon!!
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