Philippine Superstitious Beliefs

Philippines is a country rich in cultural heritage,traditions and natural resources. But there are certain things that we call "TATAK PINOY" (mark of a Filipino).
Among these things are the fact that Filipinos have superstitions which started years and years ago even before the dawn of history. The country has been a haven
for many settlers and visitors from foreign lands and neighboring countries. And along with these people they brought in with them their culture and beliefs. These have been passed on to generations until today. Although a lot of these have been modified. Superstious beliefs stayed even if some of them contradicted to what religion is about. The Philippines is the biggest catholic country in the whole Asia. That is why many nationalities are questioning on why superstiitons exist in a religious country like the Philippines. But up to this point, Filipinos still linger on these beliefs and see to it that practicing these won't violate chuch teachings.

We, Filipinos were given the freedom to believe such things or not. Like what our elders would always say that " It will do you no harm if you live to it".
For the younger generations, superstitious beliefs are starting to die specially in the rural areas. We believe it is because of technology and the kids are nowadays educated enough to know what is worth believing and what's not.But some say these beliefs , as it was passed on to this generation became eventually warnings and not something to get scared of. Warnings that will remind everybody to avoid occurrence of unlikely events. I myself grew up with some of the most famous superstitious beliefs.

1. Sprinkle salt at your doorsteps or windows to prevent elemental beings and elemental from entering your house.

2.Sweeping the floor during the night brings bad luck because you're sweeping off the luck and throwing it away.

3. When at the dinning table and you're the kind of person that gets clumsy and in cases that you dropped your spoon, it means that you will have an unexpected guest. A spoon means a female relative or friend is coming,and a fork would mean a guy.

4. During the new year's eve,wearing of something with polka dots is very common. Filipinos got these from the early chinese settlers. Polka dots of different colors brings brighter and a more colorful year. And since dots are round-shaped,everything goes around in cirles and the luck never ends.

5.Do not wear or fit your wedding dress prior to your wedding day or else something will happen and the wedding won't push through.

6. Sleeping with your hair still wet will cause you to go blind.

7. Have you ever dreamed of numbers??like certain numbers??Well,some say those will be your lucky numbers for the lotterry.

8. Don't cut or trim nails at night. It means that you are like calling death to come to your family.

9. If you accidentally bite your tongue without a reason at all,then someone you know is talking behind your back.

10. Siblings shouldn't get married on the same calendar year. It will bring misfortune to either of them.

Some of these beliefs are distinctly Filipinos. Whether these are true or not- although some claims there are some truth to these- Filipinos still continue to preserve these.It is said to be inhertited mostly from the Spanish people who colonized the country for 333 years, but for us, these beliefs make us Filipinos as what we are today.Concrete proofs don't have to exist.Anyone can opt to believe or just leave it as it is. But one thing unique for Filipinos is the way we value where we came from and these superstitions are part of our culture,our history,part of us being Filipinos. There is nothing wrong respecting these traditons because these are what make the country stand out from the others.Furthermore,a belief may sound bizarre,but one thing is for sure.The next generation of Filipinos will surely be aware about it.