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Hernando Today

The Superstitions Surrounding Death

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By KYLE MARTIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 10, 2008

Death has always been a part of life. There's evidence that even as far back as 60,000 B.C., Neanderthals were burying their dead with flowers. Every culture has its own traditions and superstitions that accompany death. These are just a few:

The Saxons in England lopped off the feet of the dead so that the corpse would not return as a ghost. Some aborigine tribes took it a step further and cut off the head.

The use of tombstones may go back to the belief that ghosts could be weighed down.

In many cemeteries, the vast majority of graves are lined up so that bodies lie with their heads to the west and their feet to the east. It's a custom that may have started with pagan sun worshipers, but is more likely linked to the Christian belief that the final judgment will come from the east.

In the 19th century, Europeans and Americans carried their dead out of the house feet first, to keep the spirit from looking back into the house and calling another family member to follow them.

If a funeral procession stops in front of your house, it means the dead wants company. It's considered bad luck to count the cars in a funeral procession; if you do count them you're expected to die in the number of weeks you counted.

It's equally considered bad luck to cross through a funeral procession. If you're in a funeral procession and come across a mad dog or white chicken, bad luck will find you.

Never look backward during a funeral procession or you'll soon find yourself at another funeral.

Source: Superstitions: 10,000 You Really Need; Harper's Weekly, Dec. 25, 1886; about.com: genealogy. Reporter Kyle Martin can be reached at 352-544-5271 or kmartin@hernandotoday.com

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