The Origins of Popular Superstitions and Customs PDF Download

Author: T. Sharper Knowlson
Publisher: READ BOOKS
ISBN: 9781444650822
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 252

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Book Description
This fascinating book here in its complete and unabridged form makes a worthy addition to the bookshelf of all those interested in this craft. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork

Author: John Brand
Publisher: London : printed for F.C. and J. Rivington ; Wilkie and Robinson
ISBN:
Category : Christian antiquities
Languages : en
Pages : 370

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Author: Stuart Vyse
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0192551310
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Do you touch wood for luck, or avoid hotel rooms on floor thirteen? Would you cross the path of a black cat, or step under a ladder? Is breaking a mirror just an expensive waste of glass, or something rather more sinister? Despite the dominance of science in today's world, superstitious beliefs - both traditional and new - remain surprisingly popular. A recent survey of adults in the United States found that 33 percent believed that finding a penny was good luck, and 23 percent believed that the number seven was lucky. Where did these superstitions come from, and why do they persist today? This Very Short Introduction explores the nature and surprising history of superstition from antiquity to the present. For two millennia, superstition was a label derisively applied to foreign religions and unacceptable religious practices, and its primary purpose was used to separate groups and assert religious and social authority. After the Enlightenment, the superstition label was still used to define groups, but the new dividing line was between reason and unreason. Today, despite our apparent sophistication and technological advances, superstitious belief and behaviour remain widespread, and highly educated people are not immune. Stuart Vyse takes an exciting look at the varieties of popular superstitious beliefs today and the psychological reasons behind their continued existence, as well as the likely future course of superstition in our increasingly connected world. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Author: Rudolph Brasch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Manners and customs
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Author: Nathaniel Lachenmeyer
Publisher: Plume Books
ISBN: 9780452284968
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Triskaidekaphobia: fear of the number 13 If thirteen people sit down at a table, will one die within a year? Why did five U.S. presidents join the Thirteen Club? What is the only major New York hotel that has a thirteenth floor? In 13, a fascinating cultural history-cum-detective story, Nathaniel Lachenmeyer gets to the root of how one superstition—the fear of the number 13—developed among wildly divergent societies. A book about mythmaking, 13 explores why people believe what they believe, and the real reason Friday the 13th is the most unlucky day in the world.

Author: James Clary
Publisher: Thunder Bay Press Michigan
ISBN: 9780916637002
Category : Folklore
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Combining captivating sketches by his brother, artist Ben Clary, and his own prized ghost ship portrayals, Jim Clary presents a compelling and riveting digest of beliefs, customs, and mystery in Superstitions of the Sea. Clary focuses on the vast array of strange, mythical, and often comical beliefs of mariners from ancient times to the present. Collecting the various topics for years. Clary found that maritime superstition was weaved throughout every fabric of his study. So interesting was the folklore that it often lured him far away from his subject search and held him spellbound for hours at a time. Clary offers a unique and encompassing classification of maritime superstitions, including anecdotes on: animals, burial, charms, demons, evil eyes, figureheads, ghost ships, hexes, icebergs, Jonahs, knots, launchings, myths, navigation, omens, people, romance, shipwrecks, triangles, the unexplained, Vikings, and weather phenomena. He combed through countless age-old volumes and interviewed today's sailors to bring to the reader incredible yarns and unbelievable recorded fact enshrouded in mystery.

Author: Tad Tuleja
Publisher: Stonesong
ISBN: 0985434392
Category : Reference
Languages : en
Pages : 205

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Why do we blow out candles on birthday cakes? Use striped poles to symbolize a barber? Throw rice at weddings? Find out in CURIOUS CUSTOMS: The Stories Behind 296 Popular American Rituals.Whether you want a new look at old habits or just love wacky facts and intriguing information, CURIOUS CUSTOMS is full of unusual, surprising bits of information that you'll love to learn and share.

Author: J. Harvey Bloom
Publisher: Read Books Ltd
ISBN: 1473340896
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 202

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Book Description
This vintage book contains a fascinating treatise on the customs and traditions of England, with information on its folklore, history, and more. From folk rhymes and funeral customs to brewing ale and the occult, this volume contains a wealth if information that will appeal to those with an interest in England and it's people. Contents include: "The Farmer and his Men", "Family Life: Marriage", "Christening and Birth Customs", "Children's Complaints", "Women's Indoor Work-Baking", "Brewing", "Washing", "Death and Funeral Customs", "The Husband and Wife", "Dress", "Farm Buildings", "The farm-house and Cottage", et cetera. Many vintage books such as this are increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with its original artwork and text. First published in 1929.

Author: Stuart A. Vyse
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 019999692X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 329

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Book Description
In this fully updated edition of Believing in Magic, renowned superstition expert Stuart Vyse investigates our tendency towards these irrational beliefs.

Author: Euan Cameron
Publisher: OUP Oxford
ISBN: 019161372X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 488

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Book Description
Since the dawn of history people have used charms and spells to try to control their environment, and forms of divination to try to foresee the otherwise unpredictable chances of life. Many of these techniques were called 'superstitious' by educated elites. For centuries religious believers used 'superstition' as a term of abuse to denounce another religion that they thought inferior, or to criticize their fellow-believers for practising their faith 'wrongly'. From the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, scholars argued over what 'superstition' was, how to identify it, and how to persuade people to avoid it. Learned believers in demons and witchcraft, in their treatises and sermons, tried to make 'rational' sense of popular superstitions by blaming them on the deceptive tricks of seductive demons. Every major movement in Christian thought, from rival schools of medieval theology through to the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment, added new twists to the debates over superstition. Protestants saw Catholics as superstitious, and vice versa. Enlightened philosophers mocked traditional cults as superstitions. Eventually, the learned lost their worry about popular belief, and turned instead to chronicling and preserving 'superstitious' customs as folklore and ethnic heritage. Enchanted Europe is the first comprehensive, integrated account of western Europe's long, complex dialogue with its own folklore and popular beliefs. Drawing on many little-known and rarely used texts, Euan Cameron constructs a compelling narrative of the rise, diversification, and decline of popular 'superstition' in the European mind.