Superstitions About Death and Dying
Some of us view superstitions about death with amusement, but there are others who take them seriously.
Two bad luck ones are being careful not to walk under a ladder and breaking a mirror. People tap on wood after imagining something bad to avoid it happening to them.
Egyptians believed in an afterlife. The evidence is found in the elaborately mummified bodies and richly decorated tombs.
In Persia, the dead had to cross the Chinvat Bridge without falling off. And, depending on whether you could get across or not, that determined where you will spend the afterlife. The bridge was very high and very narrow for bad people and wide for the good.
You may find the following superstitions hilarious. However, there are some people who take them seriously so that it affects the way they live.
Superstitions about Death – Birds are Bad Omens
Birds are easily able to move from earth to the sky. Therefore many people view them as moving between the spiritual and temporal worlds.
For instance some people consider a bird that flies into a home either through a door or window as a death omen for someone who lives in that house.
Another superstition was that if you saw an owl during the day this is also a sign of death.
Superstitions about Death – Celebrities Dying in Threes
No matter how strange this superstition is, because people are dying all the time, this is an English folk belief from days gone by, when three funerals happened in quick succession. Somewhere along the line, this one has lost a bit of its credibility.
Superstitions about Death – Don’t go to a Funeral if you are Pregnant
Quite a few cultures harbour this belief. Some believe that the dead spirits will possess the unborn child and that attending the funeral could bring about a miscarriage. Some others believe that the pregnant woman should not look at the deceased otherwise, her unborn child might end up the same way.
Superstitions about Death – Hold Your Breath When You Pass a Cemetery
This belief goes along the line that you should hold your breath when passing a cemetery in the same way you would stifle a yawn to prevent your spirit departing from your body. This will prevent the dead spirits from entering in.
Superstitions about Death – Smokers shouldn’t use the Same match 3 Times
Apparently, three people should not ever light up from the same match. One will surely die according to the tradition. This belief possibly stems from the idea from soldiers fighting in the Crimean War in the 1850s. They would strike a match to alert the enemy to their presence at night – the second soldier lit the cigarette enabling the enemy to aim, but the third soldier received the bullet.
Superstitions about Death – Thunder after Funeral means deceased Entered Heaven
This superstition is thought to come from the biblical verse 1 Thessalonians 4:16–17 which says “an archangel will blow a horn which will wake the dead and announce the return of Christ and judgement”. Others believe that thunder during a funeral means the deceased will head to a warmer place.
Superstitions about Death – Flowers grow Only on good People’s Graves
If the person who died was good, then flowers will grow on his grave and therefore he gained entrance to Heaven. Those graves covered with weeds indicated the person was evil and went to Hell.
Superstitions about Death – Bury the Dead with the Head Pointing West
You might not have noticed, but take a look, and you will be surprised just at how many cemeteries bury the dead with their head towards the west. Christian traditions hold that at the end times, the last judgement will start from the east, so the dead are buried looking towards the east.
Superstitions about Death – Pallbearers, wear your gloves
This superstition comes from the Victorian era. Any pallbearers must wear gloves so that the dead spirits don’t enter the body through the direct contact
All of us are at least a little superstitious, but for some of us it goes just a bit too far so that we suffer unnecessarily as a result of our fears and insecurities.
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All info was correct at time of publishing