Exposé d'anglais: superstition
1304 mots
6 pages
IntroA superstition is a belief, practice or rite irrationally maintained by ignorance of the laws of nature or by faith in magic or chance.
Another definition is that a superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.
Moreover, a religion is a belief concerning the supernatural, sacred, or divine, and the practices and institutions associated with such belief.
So is there a difference between the religion and the superstition?
People who don't believe to a religion can think that there is not difference between superstition and religion. However, others believe that luck and bad luck do not exist according to religion. Everything happens thanks to God. Therefore, superstition is not a religion.
Whatever our opinion on the subject, many superstitions find their origin in the religion like the fear of the Friday 13, walking under a scale, knocking wood or crossed fingers.
Other superstitions have nothing to do with religion.
Unfortunately we don’t have the time to present all the superstitions which exist in the world. Indeed there are so many. Therefore, we have chosen to explain the origins of the most famous superstitions.
Friday 13
Numbers are often a source of superstition. We have all a lucky number, most often linked to our birth date. Among all these numbers, the 13 is almost universally acknowledged in Western societies as an unlucky number. Besides, in some countries, there is not thirteenth floor in buildings or 13 in hotels rooms, or thirteenth line in a plane. The fear of the number 13 is called “triskaidekaphobia”. This word is a Greek word: tris meaning three, kai meaning and, deka meaning ten and phobia meaning fear.
There are many different theories about the origin of 13 being considered an unlucky number. The earliest come from ancient religious beliefs.
First, for Christians, 13 was the number at the last supper when Judas betrayed