Advent Calendar Day 13

[corinthian]

DAY 13: Triskaidekaphobia!

That is -- the irrational fear of the number 13! Do you jump the 13th step? Or maybe avoid flying on Friday the 13th? If you don't have any 13 related superstitions feel free to share any others. Broken mirrors, ladders, black cats, not washing your socks on game day, etc!

For answering this you can immediately take one choice card numbered 13 and you'll get one random special! This post will be open until December 31st like the rest of the advent posts!

Comments

[fuselage]

I'm not superstitious but because my family is coming out of the "old traditional ways", I know a lot about what they avoid at all costs.

I know the one where they absolutely won't use any bowls which has a chip in it. They won't use it to eat, they won't use it to serve food, they won't use it to just even hold ingredients.

No shaking your legs because it's believed to be "shaking away your luck".

No showering/bathing on New Year's Day because you will shower away your luck bestowed on you when it turned into the new year. Also, no reading or writing books because books in Chinese can also mean "lose", so ... you don't wanna "lose" for the rest of the year, avoid books at all cost on that day.

No cutting fingernails or toenails when it's dark.

No hanging windchimes because the ringing is believed to attract spirits (I think). No whistling as well as it attracts the unnatural.

Cannot place the bed facing the door because only people who have passed away have their feet toward the (front) door, "ready to leave the house" in a way.

Do not walk underneath undergarments and socks as those items are ... in a way "beneath you".

Do not walk over books, walk around them. (This is one I follow at all cost for some reason.) Pretty much don't walk over anything that has writing or ... education in them. Newspaper, magazine ... whatever.

If you pee out in the open (due to emergency or ... whatever reasons you wanted to pee out in the open), we have to say something like "Please excuse me while I pee here" over and over again for as long as the urination occurs. (I also follow this one out of respect.) We say this in case there IS some spirit at that area and they will take offense if we take a leak at their "grounds".

When moving into a new house, we put rice and tea leaves (I think) in the four corners of the house. I think this is to ward off spirits that may be residing in the house. For me personally, I would hire the local Kaumātua and a monk to come and bless the house on top of the rice and tea leaves thing. Just to be safe ...

In our old house, we had to sweep the floor and mom would always say to sweep IN to the house, not out of the house as it kinda means "sweeping luck out of the house". But since we have a vacuum now, we don't really follow this anymore.

Do not stick chopsticks straight down into your rice/food because it represents the incense sticks we use to pray to. This is one I also follow because it's just plain rude to just stick a utensil straight down into your food.

Following on from above, do not place chopsticks facing other people. Always place it facing an "empty space". I ... tend to follow this too and I just put my chopstick horizontally to me.

When using a knife, do not use it to point. We also don't gift people knives or any sharp objects. Even if it's painting which has a knife or something sharp in the picture, we do not gift it. I think it means like we're "severing ties".

Wow, this was long. Well, I shall take housework13. Thanks =3

[corinthian]

Thanks for answering!