15.  Beware of those Bearing Gifts

People give their boyfriends or girlfriends gifts all of the time.  It might be something as small as a tiny love note or as big as a diamond necklace.  But, who would think to give someone a knife for a gift?  It certainly doesn’t sound very romantic.  Maybe that is why superstitious folks believe it signifies the coming end to a relationship.  Maybe it’s because a knife is a pretty scary present and you should be worried about what is going to happen next.

16.  Salt=Love?

According to this superstition, if the cook makes the soup too salty, she is in love. What if she just read the recipe wrong or accidentally spilled a little too much into the pot? Seems like an unlikely way to signify love by giving a poor fellow high blood pressure.

17.  For the Birds

If you see three seagulls flying together, and you are prone to superstitions, you might think that someone you really care about is going to die soon.  On the other hand, you might just want to make sure your picnic basket is covered.

18.  Bless You

When you sneeze, place your hand in front of your mouth.  Otherwise, your soul might escape.  And, all of this time, most people thought it was simply the polite thing to do, in order to keep germs from spreading.

19.  X Marks the . . .Baby?

Take a close look at the palm of your right hand.  Use a magnifying glass to make sure you can see it in great detail.  Now, count all the X’s that you see.  According to a popular superstition, that will be the number of children you will parent.  Unfortunately, one poor guy counted 47.

20. Home Sweet Home

In Medieval times, carrying the bride over the threshold was symbolic of girls being kidnapped away from their families and forced to marry.  The bride was carried into the home, because it wasn’t her fault that she was about to lose her virginity.

However, other cultures truly believe that carrying the bride over the threshold wards off evil spirit that want to enter the home, instead bringing good luck to the newlywed couple.

For some people, superstitions are as real as the nose on the front of their faces.  To ignore certain rituals can only prove to be very bad luck and possibly even fatal.  Many of our superstitions have been handed down through generations as part of our heritage and culture.  It is simply not worth the risk to test the fates, in order to see if the superstitions are true.