Do you believe?

It was common during WWII for bomber crews and perhaps other servicemen to be very superstitious and carry out rituals before a mission or carry talismans - family photographs, a clothing item but something meaningful to them. Forgetting to do such was believed to be very unlucky but these days the practice is very much discouraged for obvious reasons. Would you like to be a passenger on an airliner where the pilot felt edgy because he forgot to bring along his lucky teddy bear?

I do understand why people would embrace superstition and rituals which I think is a hangover from less enlightened times (or maybe just the opposite), I leave religious practices out of this deliberately which is something going off on a a tangent. Carrying a religious icon is common but not necessarily related to superstition.

I'm a spiritual person but I just don't embrace the idea of being unlucky because I don't piss on the tail wheel of a bomber before flying to Germany (all crews in the RAF did this), forget to carry some item maybe given to me by a close family member. And this might just open another discussion about luck and fate.

I've had too much Halloween candy already :)
 
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My grandpa used to own race horses.
You could fill a book with all of his superstitions and rituals.:p I still to this day refuse to put a hat on a bed. I did that once at his house and he yelled at me. Somehow he said I was going to have bad luck that day.
I played a lot of baseball and used to pitch. That makes me double quirky.:) Never step on a baseline, put my cleats on a certain way. When I started in inning I would step onto the mound from the back.
Mom and Dad really liked it when I pitched because there was a lot of action -all of those baserunners.:(
 
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I've always been a very superstitious person. Even as a child, it's always been a part of my nature. And Italians are known for being very superstitious people.
My family has a superstition that has been past down for many generations. In Italian culture we have what is called a cornicello, which is an amulet of protection against the evil eye. Everyone in my family has one, I even have two, one gold and one silver. That way if I am wearing gold or silver I always have one to wear. I've always been told that if the necklace breaks or if the amulet falls off the chain it's a bad omen. I had always somewhat believed in it and I had heard stories from family members. My Grandfather specifically. He would always tell me stories about how before any big tragedy in his life his cornicello could break off it's chain. A part of me always thought he was over exaggerating because it was in his nature to embellish and over exaggerate when he was telling stories. Until I had really witnessed it myself. First when my Aunt passed, but I dismissed it as being an accident because I had been playing with my brother when it broke. But within two days of it breaking she had passed from stomach cancer. Then it happened when my other aunt passed from breast cancer but I wasn't even wearing the necklace when it broke so I was unsure of what caused it. After my Aunts passing my cornicello never broke again, never fell off the chain never had any issue with it. And in that time bad things happened in my life which is an inevitable thing. So my belief in the superstition was not very strong and I though it was just a lot of coincidence (and I don't even really believe in coincidences). And then the amulet fell off of it's chain. My Grandfather had Dementia and was suffering from complication due to the dementia and was ultimately put on dialysis. Everyone knew that it was just a matter of time before he would pass. It was just a waiting. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, and due to complications in travel I ended being the last to arrive. The moment that I entered the room and held his had the cornicello just came off of the chain. I hadn't touched it all and it was the only necklace I was wearing so it wasn't because it got tangled in another chain. It was completely unexplained how it broke. When I left I had a gut feeling that he was going to pass. I didn't tell anyone in my family what had happened with the necklace. And at 2 in the morning I got a call from my cousin saying he had passed. Since then I have always completely believed in the superstition, I wear it at all times except when I shower and sleep, and anytime my cornicello falls off of its chain I take precautions that my loved ones are warned and stay careful.
Now whenever someone tells me about a superstition they have I believe them.
 
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WhitneyKristina said:
I've always been a very superstitious person. Even as a child, it's always been a part of my nature. And Italians are known for being very superstitious people.
My family has a superstition that has been past down for many generations. In Italian culture we have what is called a cornicello, which is an amulet of protection against the evil eye. Everyone in my family has one, I even have two, one gold and one silver. That way if I am wearing gold or silver I always have one to wear. I've always been told that if the necklace breaks or if the amulet falls off the chain it's a bad omen. I had always somewhat believed in it and I had heard stories from family members. My Grandfather specifically. He would always tell me stories about how before any big tragedy in his life his cornicello could break off it's chain. A part of me always thought he was over exaggerating because it was in his nature to embellish and over exaggerate when he was telling stories. Until I had really witnessed it myself. First when my Aunt passed, but I dismissed it as being an accident because I had been playing with my brother when it broke. But within two days of it breaking she had passed from stomach cancer. Then it happened when my other aunt passed from breast cancer but I wasn't even wearing the necklace when it broke so I was unsure of what caused it. After my Aunts passing my cornicello never broke again, never fell off the chain never had any issue with it. And in that time bad things happened in my life which is an inevitable thing. So my belief in the superstition was not very strong and I though it was just a lot of coincidence (and I don't even really believe in coincidences). And then the amulet fell off of it's chain. My Grandfather had Dementia and was suffering from complication due to the dementia and was ultimately put on dialysis. Everyone knew that it was just a matter of time before he would pass. It was just a waiting. Everyone was saying their goodbyes, and due to complications in travel I ended being the last to arrive. The moment that I entered the room and held his had the cornicello just came off of the chain. I hadn't touched it all and it was the only necklace I was wearing so it wasn't because it got tangled in another chain. It was completely unexplained how it broke. When I left I had a gut feeling that he was going to pass. I didn't tell anyone in my family what had happened with the necklace. And at 2 in the morning I got a call from my cousin saying he had passed. Since then I have always completely believed in the superstition, I wear it at all times except when I shower and sleep, and anytime my cornicello falls off of its chain I take precautions that my loved ones are warned and stay careful.
Now whenever someone tells me about a superstition they have I believe them.
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that is interesting. i don't think i'd want a cornicello. i'd live in fear it will break.
 
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ghostkind said:
that is interesting. i don't think i'd want a cornicello. i'd live in fear it will break.
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There definitely is a constant fear especially when a loved one gets sick. But there is the belief that it is a good luck charm and protection against evil. I think if I ever stopped wearing it I would feel vulnerable and unprotected.
 
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