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***This Magic Monday is now closed. See you next week!***
Last week a friend visited who was brought up on the belief, that opening an umbrella in the house brings bad luck.
Out of curiosizy: Would you, or the commentariat know anything about this? I never encountered this before, the person originally is from east-Germany.
Hi, I am of mostly British stock here in Canada and as children, we were taught that opening an umbrella in the house was bad luck. My mother thought it was because of the likelihood f poking someone in the eye. Maxine
Huh, that's a common superstition in the United States, but I've never looked into the origin. I just looked up a couple of articles (one here: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/616903/why-opening-umbrellas-indoors-is-bad-luck and another here: https://psychiclibrary.com/umbrella-superstition/) that give some seemingly-dubious origins linked to the ancient Egyptians and a more plausible, but prosaic, one linking the belief to the potential for breaking things and hurting people caused by the invention in Victorian times by spring-powered opening mechanisms. At least in America, it's in the same family of superstitions as breaking mirrors or walking under ladders - stuff that "everyone knows" is bad luck, but most folks don't take all that seriously.
Hopefully someone else has a more insightful answer!
well, funny coincidence, or is it? Today I (half british halfecuadorian) told my egyptian partner to stop opening the uumbrella inside the house as it is bad luck (in both my Uk and Southamerican cultural background). He mentioned it is also bad luck in egypt ( I dont know he thought dancing with the umbrella in the room was a good idea haha)
Data point, I was raised with this same belief via my mother, who likely got it from her Slovak mother—so the region lines up (Slovakia and Eastern Germany have had a lot of cultural links over many thousands of years).
No idea about umbrellas inside the house but I think maybe there's a bit of belief around them given that a sure fire way to make it rain is to forget your umbrella lol I put that down to someone in the universe having a joke on my behalf.
I'm just American, and I was *always* told this. I don't actually believe it, but it's so ingrained that I freak out a little when my kids open one in the house!
Though... there is something to it when little kids go opening umbrellas inside: stuff gets knocked off the table, people get bumped... and then if allowed to play around with it, the umbrella gets broken.
Perhaps that was started as a way of keeping umbrellas intact!
Umbrella superstition
Out of curiosizy: Would you, or the commentariat know anything about this? I never encountered this before, the person originally is from east-Germany.
Thank y'all!
Emily07
Re: Umbrella superstition
(Anonymous) 2022-07-18 04:17 pm (UTC)(link)I am of mostly British stock here in Canada and as children, we were taught that opening an umbrella in the house was bad luck. My mother thought it was because of the likelihood f poking someone in the eye.
Maxine
Re: Umbrella superstition
Hopefully someone else has a more insightful answer!
Cheers,
Jeff
Re: Umbrella superstition
(Anonymous) 2022-07-18 07:00 pm (UTC)(link)Today I (half british halfecuadorian) told my egyptian partner to stop opening the uumbrella inside the house as it is bad luck (in both my Uk and Southamerican cultural background). He mentioned it is also bad luck in egypt ( I dont know he thought dancing with the umbrella in the room was a good idea haha)
Re: Umbrella superstition
(Anonymous) 2022-07-18 04:33 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Umbrella superstition
(Anonymous) 2022-07-18 08:28 pm (UTC)(link)Re: Umbrella superstition
In China umbrellas are ledt open in the hallway to dry off as a routine matter of course. There is no taboo about it in China.
Re: Umbrella superstition
Though... there is something to it when little kids go opening umbrellas inside: stuff gets knocked off the table, people get bumped... and then if allowed to play around with it, the umbrella gets broken.
Perhaps that was started as a way of keeping umbrellas intact!