Superstition

Hi readers, it’s Kerry and William here, and thinking about Friday 13th, and if it’s unlucky or not.

Neither of us are superstitious, at least we thought so until, I William realised that if I broke a mirror, I’d expect 7 years of bad luck!

There are so many others – touching wood, magpies, walking under ladders etc.! One we weren’t sure about though was black cats, if they are good or bad luck? We looked it up and it depends as it turns out there are many different beliefs! In Scotland a black cat coming into your home is believed to bring prosperity. It’s also good luck for a black cat to cross your path in Britain and Japan. In Germany though, it’s only lucky if they cross your path from left to right. Other countries like America believe black cats bring misfortune as they are witches’ companions, stemming from 17th century legends. We also learnt that British sailors welcomed black cats on boats because apparently, they’d bring luck and a safe return.

We also looked up why people say ‘we’ll keep our fingers crossed for you’ or ‘keep your fingers crossed’ for say, good weather at the weekend. Well, it comes from pagan times when it was thought to bring good spirits together if you crossed your own finger and the index finger of another person. Eventually it was easier to cross your own fingers!

As for Friday 13th, there are many reasons why it’s unlucky, so it’s hard to really know why this superstition started. The good news is that neither of us are feeling anxious about tomorrow and by the time you read this, the following Tuesday, we hope that you had a fine and even lucky Friday too!

The writers of the Our View column are supported in their editing by People First Dorset - a charity led and run by people with learning disabilities with support from staff.