1) Garlic
Garlic is not just great to spice up your food
and ward off colds - it also wards off bad
spirits. If you want to prevent someone from
giving you the Evil Eye and bestowing bad luck
on you, you should always carry some garlic in
your pockets. Garlic is also a powerful deterrent
for demons, werewolves and vampires. To
protect yourself from vampires, wear bulbs of
garlic around your neck, hang it in windows, rub
it on chimneys and keyholes or place wreaths
of garlic over your doors. To protect your
newborn baby from evil spirits, hang some
garlic in the room.

2) Salt
Spilling salt is considered very unlucky. This is
probably due to the fact that it was a very
expensive commodity in the past – wasting salt
was like wasting money! If you spill salt, the
only way to turn your bad luck around is to
throw some salt with your right hand over your
left shoulder. It is believed that the salt will go
into the devil’s eyes and blind him from seeing
your stupidity and taking your soul.
Some people also believe that you should strew
salt on the windows and threshold of a new
house before the new inhabitants move them,
to protect them from evil.

3) Eggs
There are many strange beliefs around eggs. In
Europe, some farmers plant eggs in their fields
or throw eggshells between the rows of crops
to ensure a good harvest. Jews believe that
eating an egg with two yolks will bless you with
bearing many children. And; if you want to bake
a lovely cake, do it while the sun is rising and
don’t throw away the eggshells before the
baking is done.
If you want to start your day with a boiled egg,
make sure that the witch does not get her way.
There’s an ancient belief that you should always
crush the ends of an egg’s shell after eating it,
otherwise a witch would gather the shells and
use them to build a boat and sail out to sea to
raise terrible storms.

4) Bread
It’s very important to always mark bread or
rolls with a sign of the cross before baking as
this will chase away the devil. In ancient times
it was believed that the cross would prevent the
devil from sitting on the loaf and cursing or
spoiling the bread. There is some truth to this
superstition as crossing the bread will help the
bread rise better in the oven.
According to a very old superstition, it’s really
bad luck to find a hole in a loaf of bread when
cutting it. The hole in the loaf symbolizes the
coffin and implies that someone is to die soon.
On a lighter note, if you’re serious about getting
married, remember to never ever take the last
piece of cake or the last biscuit on a plate – if
you do that, you’ll never find a husband!

5) Onions
If you throw onion peelings on the floor, you’ll
throw away your luck. Protect your home from
bad spirits by sticking a small onion full of pins
and keeping it in a window. Get rid of warts by
rubbing the edge of an onion on the wart and
then throwing it over your right shoulder
without looking back - you will never get warts
again.
If you have to take a decision on an issue but
your options are confusing you, do the
following: scratch each option on a different
onion and keep them in the dark. The first one
that sprouts decides your answer.

6) Tea
There are many beliefs – both good and bad –
around tea. To put milk in your tea before
sugar, is to cross the path of love, perhaps to
never get married. Stirring your tea anti-
clockwise also spells trouble and, if the tag falls
off the teabag while in your cup, you’re bound
to lose something within a week.
If you find undissolved sugar in the bottom of
your teacup, someone has a crush on you.
Spilling some tea while preparing it, is another
lucky omen, whilst spilling tea while carrying
the teapot means a stranger is to visit soon.
If you’re worried about evil spirits bringing
trouble to your home, protect yourself by
scattering tea leaves at the entrance of your
house.

7) Noodles
If you like Chinese food, take note that you
should never cut noodles, as long noodles
symbolizes long life. If you cut the noodles
before serving them, you’re cutting life short.
You should also try to slurp your noodles up
without breaking them, for longevity.
There are also many superstitions around
chopsticks: if you find an uneven pair at your
table seating, it’s believed that you will miss the
next train, boat or plane you are trying to catch;
dropping your chopsticks is a sign of bad luck
to come; and remember to never let your
chopsticks stand straight up in a bowl of food
as it’s a death curse.

Bananas
The banana is one of the most popular fruits as
it’s so easy to eat and a quick source of
energy. However, if you want to steer away
from bad luck, keep in mind to never cut a
banana, as cutting brings bad luck. It’s best to
break the banana into smaller pieces.
Some people also believe that anyone who
carelessly throws away a banana skin will die a
painful death – this belief will hold some truth
for anyone who has had the misfortune to slip
on a banana peel and suffer nasty injuries after
the fall.
Bananas are a very bad omen for seamen and
you should never try to take a banana on board
a ship. It’s believed that they will bring bad luck
and that boats carrying bananas won’t carry
any fish. Another possible reason for their
perceived bad luck is that many vessels that
were lost at sea in the 1700s had bananas on
board.

9) Grapes
Many South American nations have a tradition
that, on New Year’s Eve, you should eat 12
grapes at the stroke of midnight. Each grape
symbolizes a different month of the New Year.
If a grape tastes sweet, it means that that
specific month will be a good one, if a grape
tastes sour, that particular month will be a bad
one.
Grapes are also a symbol of abundance and a
variation on the 12 grapes at midnight tradition
is to try and eat as many grapes as you can at
midnight. The more grapes you can eat, the
more abundance you will have in the New Year.
However, bear in mind that you should spit out
the seeds while eating a grape. If you don’t, the
seeds are believed to give you appendicitis.

10) Other fruit
Oranges are lucky fruit and brides should carry
an orange blossom in their bouquets to bring
them good luck. If you love someone and you
want him to love you back, give him an orange.
It’s good to know that lovers who give each
other oranges will be drawn even closer
together.
Eating peaches will give you wisdom. A peach
is also supposed to bring you a long life and to
keep evil away.
When it is time to harvest the apples, it is
considered bad luck to leave one apple on the
tree after the rest have been picked. If you
leave just a single apple on the tree, a death
will occur the following spring.

11) Rice
Rice has always been a strong symbol of health
and prosperity. You might not realize it, but
throwing rice, confetti or rose petals at
weddings has a long superstitious tradition – it
was believed that rice would appease evil spirits
so they would not harm the wedding couple.
Throwing rice was meant to bring happiness,
fertility, wealth and prosperity to the newly-wed
couple.
In China, young girls are told that they must eat
all of the rice in their plate otherwise each grain
of rice that they don’t eat will represent a pock
mark on the face of their future husband.
In Indonesia there’s a belief that you should
avoid eating rice from a small plate, as this will
cause your close relations to spurn you. Spilling
rice all over the table is also a definite taboo,
as this will cause your mind to become
polluted.

12) Black-eyed peas
Black-eyed peas are a very old symbol of luck
and fortune and a popular food to celebrate the
New Year in the US. Every New Year’s Day,
Americans eat black-eyed peas for good luck,
health and fortune in the forthcoming year. This
tradition originates from an old Jewish custom
to eat black-eyed peas in celebration of the
Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.
As black-eyed peas are an inexpensive and
modest food, it is also believed that people who
eat them will show their humility and save
themselves from the wrath of heavens because
of the vanity that they might otherwise have.
In the US the black-eyed peas can be eaten in
many different ways, and some people add a
coin to the dish – the person who gets the coin
in their serving gets extra good luck for the
coming year.

13) Birthday Cake
We can thank the ancient Greeks for birthday
cake. The Greeks celebrated the birthday of
Artemis, the goddess of the moon, with moon-
shaped honey cakes with candles on top. It was
believed that bad spirits were attracted by
celebrations. Saying “happy birthday” and
burning candles on the cake, helped to chase
them away. The Greeks were also the first to
write “Happy Birthday” on a cake in edible
writing. If the piece of cake with the writing is
eaten, the person will gain the positive power in
the phrase “happy birthday” and receive magical
protection against evil forces.
Today we still have candles on our birthday
cakes. Make a wish before you blow out the
candles. If you can blow them all out in one
breath, you’re wish will come true.

Reference: noblecares..com

Woah.... Gud tin dey are supersitions!

wetin concern me... na to chop I know