Whether we want to believe it or not, we all have superstitions that we live life by. Some seem as meaningless as putting our right shoe before our left when we get dressed in the morning. We don’t know why we do it but it is just what we were always told to do, so we do.

There are still others that we have heard all our lives and some we do but we have no idea why.

There are some that are deathly afraid to walk under a ladder. In modern times this is more a safety concern than a superstition. But at one point it was believed that the triangle that a ladder formed was the symbol of the Holy Trinity and anyone who broke it was in league with the devil. They also believed that the triangle was a symbol of life. If you broke that you would die soon.

One of the most common superstitions that almost everyone uses today is saying “God Bless You” when someone sneezes.

This originally came about from the belief that when you sneezed you expelled evil from your body and you deserved to be congratulated for it. Later during the time of the plague, constant sneezing was a sign of the disease. This meant impending death. The pope decreed that if someone sneezed you were to say “God bless you” praying for their souls.

Knocking twice on wood is another common superstition but if you ask most people why they do it they have no idea.

The origin of this comes from ancient times when people believed that trees were the homes of the gods. If you wanted favor from them you would touch the tree (the first knock) and ask the favor. Then you would knock as a sign of your thanks (the second knock).

The superstition about breaking a mirror has been around since before there were mirrors. Ancient Romans believed that a reflection was a view into the viewer’s soul. They had reflecting or gazing pools to look at themselves in. If a stone was thrown in while someone was looking in it disrupted the water and also the viewer’s soul. The breaking of a mirror is just the modern day equivalent.

There are some people who refuse to come out of their homes on Friday the 13th. It has been marked as the unluckiest day of the year since the time of Christ.

It is believed that there were 13 people at the Last Supper. The 12 disciples and the 13th was Judus, who went on that same night to betray Christ. And since Christ died on Friday, Friday the 13th has been a bad day ever since.

Almost all superstitions are rooted in history. Even though we don’t understand them anymore many still practice them to this day.