wiPeople and cultures probably have more superstitions about death than any other experience in life. We could probably write for weeks about the superstitions various people hold about death and dying. That might be too much, but we would like to begin a weeklong series about superstitions regarding death. Here are the first few that you may find interesting.
• It is believed that grabbing a button on your clothing when passing hearses or funeral cars will help you stay “connected” to life and the living rather than death.
• At one time, pallbearers wore gloves when carrying caskets because they believed the deceased’s spirit could enter their body through their bare-skinned hands.
• The custom of wearing black to a funeral began long ago when people believed it would make this less noticeable to surrounding spirits. However, burying a person in black will cause them to haunt the family.
• People once believed that birds contained human spirits.
• During wakes and grieving times, people would cover the mirrors in a home because they believed the spirit of the deceased person could live inside the mirror and then inhabit the body of the next person to look in the mirror.
These are just a few superstitions and beliefs about death. As you can see, we still hold on to many of them today whether it is through habit, tradition or beliefs of our own. Come back on Wednesday for more!