Thursday, February 17, 2011

Superstitions

Hi,

I would like to share some of the unique superstitions and give my view on these beliefs.

Some superstitions are listed below:

If you cut an apple in half and count the number of seeds inside, you will hence know the number of children you will have.
However, if a person eats many apples a day, does it mean that the number of children he will have will change? Anyway, the number of children a couple has can be controlled by them and thus I believe that this superstition is not really true.

It is bad luck to cut your fingernails on Friday or Sunday.
I have cut my nails on Sunday before but nothing noticeably bad had gone wrong to me. Also, life is full of ups and downs, therefore it is perfectly normal if I get into trouble.

A yawn is a sign that danger will come.
I think that I yawn almost once every day, and science has proven that we yawn because of an excessive amount of carbon dioxide in our body, not when we are going to face danger.

A watermelon will grow in your stomach if you swallow a watermelon seed.
This is completely untrue.

I think that the reality of superstitions is really up to the person. In my opinion, I think that suprestitions are just things that were made up due to coincidences that happened in the past or when people decided to have some fun scaring their friends. However, I find superstitions quite interesting and enjoy proving them wrong.

Loo Nathanael (18) 2I1

4 comments:

  1. Personally, I feel that superstitions are just a belief, and they should not be taken seriously. If one were to watch out for superstitious all the time, they would feel extremely worried, and pessimistic as most superstitions describe danger, bad luck, and nothing good.
    Take for example the superstition to find the number of children you have. It is like taking a dice, rolling it to see the number of children you have. How is it supposed to be accurate? Also, taking into consideration Genetically Modified fruits, people would be having more children. But of course, that is not the case in Singapore. Superstitions are just unproven beliefs. However, some of them are good, for example the practice of giving red packets to children every Chinese New year.

    Lam Wen Hong (16)
    2I1

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  2. Hi Nathanael,

    Those are pretty interesting superstitions you mentioned there! :) What I actually like about superstitions is that you can sometimes make fun of your friend by citing the superstition. :P For example, if your friend eats an apple with nine seeds, then you can make fun of him and tease him for being a stud! :) However, superstitions can be a fun and interesting thing unless you believe in too many of them. If you believe in so many superstitions, then your life would eventually be destroyed by your paranoia, wouldn't it?

    Cheers,
    Roystan

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  3. Oh haha :D
    I would like to share my experience with you xD

    I was told about the watermelon superstition when I was in Kindergarden, except that my version was different; the seed would grow on top of the head. At the point of time I was rather afraid of that happening and I actually did believe it, and I had a kind of fear of eating watermelons, picking out the seeds carefully if I really have to.

    I felt constraint at the time, and I felt as if I was controlled by the superstition. I had to eat watermelons like it was a chore and I could not enjoy it as I was too occupied with picking out the seeds. Of course as I grew up I started to refute it as absurd, and I felt better (:

    Cheers!
    Glenn Ang

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  4. Hehe, Glenn has the exact same superstition which I have known since I was young! xD Actually its been years since I have actually thought about it and only when Glenn stated the Watermelon superstition in his comment, was I then reminded about my childhood experience. I guess this also reiterates the point that once you realise that the superstition is false and it is not true, you will forget about it and soon it does not even play a part in our life. I think that superstitions although might be true or not true, the best thing to do is to always play safe, especially for superstitions which are related to religion. Because, who knows what might happen? :)

    Cheers!
    Raphael :D

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