by iakul

Created on: July 08, 2008

A major recurring theme that can be found in Chinese superstitions can be summed up in three words "Like attracts like."

Chinese New Year is one of the biggest festivals that are celebrated and quite a number of traditions and superstitions are observed during this time. The color red is worn, and firecrackers are set off, for it is believed that the mystical beast "ning" , a harbinger of bad omens, is afraid of the color red and the sound of firecrackers. The color black is not to be worn, as this is a color traditionally worn and associated with funerals and death, and "like attracts like". Decorations and word pastings are put up, with the word happiness being pasted upside down. While the common explanation given is that "happiness upside down" has positive connotations, there is a rather interesting story how it all came about.

The story goes that an illiterate servant had pasted the chinese word for happiness "fu" upside down when they were decorating the house for a Chinese New Year celebration. When his master questioned him, the quick thinking servant replied that "fu tao" which means "fu" upside down sounds the same as "fu tao" which means happiness has arrived. The master of the house was happy when he heard it and kept the words upside down. The custom spread and that is why the word "fu" is inverted when celebrating Chinese New Year. (And which is why only "happiness" is inverted and why the rest of the words like "wealth" are left the right way although inverting "wealth"would also mean "cai tao" or "wealth has arrived")

Similarly, the rule of "like attracts like" extends to numbers. The number four "si" is considered an unlucky number, as it sounds like the chinese word for death "si" . The number eight "ba" is believed to be an auspicious number as it sounds like the chinese word for prosper "fa".

Sailors all over the world tend to be a superstitious lot, and Chinese sailors are no exception. When eating a fish, one cannot flip the fish over, for it would mean the same fate for the ship. So, the correct way to eat a fish would be to finish one side of the fish, remove the backbone and vertebrae from the fish and then start on the other side.

When visiting Chinese homes, one may sometimes observe a small mirror placed prominently above the front door. This is not an ordinary mirror, it is a "ba-gua" mirror or eight diagrams mirror. This has been placed to ward off unwanted visitors or influences. Just as the physical properties of the mirror reflects

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