英国迷信英文稿

英国迷信英文稿 Superstition is a part of British culture today. Although superstition was more alive a hundred years ago, there are still superstitious people around, both young and old. I will talk about it from four themes:Everyday life,lucky thing,unlucky thing and animals.Now first I will show you superstitions in everyday life. In Britain People seemed to believe that to climb a ladder or to walk up the stairs means luck because this is the way up to God. Going under a ladder might therefore mean the opposite... if you do have to go under a ladder you can keep your fingers crossed to avoid bad luck. But you have to make sure to keep your fingers crossed until you see a dog, for some reason. If you go up or down the stairs and you have to pass someone, you can always cross your fingers and this way avoid disaster. If you should stumble on the staircase, that is said to be good omen. It might even indicate a wedding in the household in the future. Did you know that if you open an umbrella indoors it means bad luck? In the old days umbrellas were used just as a sunshade, but today we mostly use them when it rains. Because of the connection with the sun, and because the umbrella has the circular shape of the sun it became very important not to open the umbrella in a dark area, as for example inside the house. One must remember not to give an umbrella as a gift or place it on the top of a table or on top of a bed. One should also try to avoid dropping it on the floor - all this would bring bad luck. Horseshoes were originally made of iron, and iron was supposed to give protection against witches, fairies and devils. If you find a horseshoe consider yourself a very lucky person (especially nowadays when they are so hard to find!), but you must follow a ritual to get the good luck. You must pick up the horseshoe with your right hand, spit on one of the ends of the horseshoe and make a wish. Then throw it over your left shoulder, and leave without looking back to see where it landed. Freaking out because you discover that you have just broken a mirror ? You should be freaking out, because breaking a mirror is a terrible thing to do.It will give you seven years of misfortune. The reason behind this belief is probably the old idea that a person's soul is in their reflection, so that if you smash your mirror, your soul will be damaged too, dooming them to an early death, and not giving them an entry to heaven. Are there any ways of making up for this bad luck then? Yes - if you very carefully pick up all the broken pieces and throw them into a river of stream, then the bad luck will be "washed away". A black cat crossing the road means bad luck in almost all countries except in the British Isles. Here, the black cat means good luck! The reason for why people often dislike the black cat is that it has been considered the witch's helper, and a friend of everything evil. If, however, a tabby or grey cat comes into your house and wants to stay there, that is a sign that you will get some money. A cat can predict the weather as well - if a cat sneezes then rain is on its way. But if a cat is sitting with its back against a fire, a storm is on its way. It is thought very unlucky to have the feathers of a peacock within the home or handle anything made with them. This is possibly because of the eye shape present upon these feathers i.e. the Evil-Eye associated with wickedness. Bats are animals which humans often are afraid of. It is considered bad luck to kill a bat, and it is a death omen if one flies into a house. If one flies past you - beware! That means someone is trying to let you down. Some people consider it lucky to keep a bone from a bat in your pocket, but that belief is not so common any longer.