They Don't Make Grannies Anymore

When Superstition Meets Scripture and Somebody Spills the Salt!

 

It’s Friday the 13^th…..and I ain’t scared.

I grew up in superstition alley.

My Mom grabbed a button when a funeral passed by and she never swept the dirt out the door at night.

How did we grow up in households where everybody believed God was in control, but nobody was willing to risk sweeping at night!

I didn’t walk under ladders or open umbrellas inside!

It was always unlucky for any cat that ran out in front of me crossing a road….no matter the color!

A bird flying in your house meant someone in the family was gonna die,…my bet was the person who discovered a bird flying straight at them.

For example, a couple of years ago we had a bat fly into our kitchen and circle the light in frightening fashion! It nearly put myself, my elderly Mom and two elderly Aunts into an early grave! We shrieked and ran bumping into each other trying to save ourselves from the horror! But no one died.

Then there is the palm itches theory which has never proven true. The left means receiving money and the right meant you are giving out. Seems like my receiving palm was always broken. Maybe I moisturized more on the left?

No space is sacred, at the dinner table, spilling salt was unlucky too, so you had to throw some over your shoulder to ward off bad luck. I wished I had spilled salt before the bat showed up!

Some superstitions became traditions. That’s ok such as the bride receives something old, new, borrowed and blue before the ceremony. That’s just sweet and I don’t know if any bride has chanced not doing it…and believe me some of those marriages needed every bit of help!

Eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day for luck. Add collard greens for money and cornbread for gold. Apparently the entire Southern economy depends on lunch.

Then there is the whole Sports superstitions!

My family believed in them!

Of course, the New Orleans Saints needed every bit of luck!!

At a tense moment, the team needed to score with a field goal, and someone shouted, it’s good luck to rub a red headed’ s head! Three hands popped immediately on my husband’s head.

It worked. They scored.

Needless to say, his head was rubbed a lot!

Then, my mom picked an opportune time to walk out in a leopard suit that was funny outfit for something she was dressing up for…an interception and score happened. We won and poor mom had to wear that ridiculous outfit for the rest of the season! Just in case!

We played the superstitious game and followed the rules. Afraid to not to I guess.

I am so glad we did our due diligence and kept some of the bad luck away because we had plenty still to deal with.

Then there is this Friday the 13^th thing.

This was not born from a scary teen slicer movie in the 80s. It was a thing before then. It just helps  keep the fear growing for this doom and gloom day!

When did it become such a bad day?

History points to there were 13 at the last Supper? That can’t be it.

The Knights Templar were arrested beginning on Friday, Oct 13, 1307. Some have suggested that event contributed to the superstition, although historians haven't established that connection. That can’t be it.

Then there's a popular Norse mythology story about Loki becoming the 13th guest at a banquet of the gods, bringing tragedy and chaos. Nah, that can’t be it.

The truth is, nobody knows exactly when Friday and the number 13 joined forces to become the most dreaded date on the calendar.

The 1907 novel Friday, the Thirteenth probably perpetuated this superstitious theology, the number has a history of being an unlucky number in written references through history.

Then Jason came along in 1980, exploding the cultural phenomenon that any Friday that fell on the 13^th was very, very bad.

What should Christians think about this superstitious day?

From a biblical perspective, there is nothing, no reason to fear a specific date. In Psalm 118:24 “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”

That even means Fridays that fall on the 13^th of the month!

Strangely enough, the Bible frequently uses numbers in a symbolic way. It never identifies the number 13 as a cursed or inherently evil representee.

The bottom line is that Friday the 13^th is a combination of historical traditions, folklore, religious associations and popular entertainment and not anything a true believer of Christ should take as a biblical warning.

And while I enjoy remembering all those old Southern superstitions, I don't believe they have any power over my life.

I am so confident in that fact that I open umbrellas indoors, laugh at spilled salt, and don't give a second thought to black cats crossing my path.

I still avoid walking under ladders, but that's because I have enough sense not to stand under somebody holding a bucket of paint!

And just for good measure, I occasionally stay at my Mississippi cabin in the woods beside a lake without worrying that some crazy teenage slasher named Jason is going to take me out!

After all, I've survived hurricanes, Southern family gatherings, and years of being a New Orleans Saints fan.

Greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world!

Friday the 13th doesn't stand a chance.

 

Come on, bad luck. I double-dog dare you!