Superstitions are as old as the human race, and many
of them revolve around food. Many of these beliefs
make little sense and are born out of a fear for the
unknown and a belief in magic and chance.
Here's a look at 13 food superstitions:

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 symbolises 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 symbolise 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 symbolises 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 realise 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.

I know of garlic

abila122:
I know of garlic

Do you practice it? I mean carry bulbs of garlic in your pocket?