Witam,
Właśnie napisałam moją prezentację na speaking, którą mam wygłosić w piątek na zajeciach ;D bardzo poprosiłabym o sprawdzenie i poprawki, jeśli są jakieś błędy. Proszę mi wybaczyć, jestem dopiero na pierwszym roku...
Superstitions have existed since the beginning of mankind. They are the belief that particular events, rituals, actions and objects bring good or bad luck. Poland, like any other culture, has its own superstitions which we are going to have a closer look at in this presentation.
Polish people are very superstitious about the number 13, especially Friday the 13th, which is believed to bring bad luck. Unlucky is also when you break a mirror which will cause you to be unhappy for seven years. If you happen to forget something from home and you must go back there for it, you better sit down for a moment and count to ten. Well known superstition in Poland is "knocking on wood". If you want to succeed in something or are afraid of a sudden change of fortune, you should knock on wood to scare bad luck away. Another popular superstition says that if a woman puts her handbag on the floor, she will have no money.
People also believe in the magic power of lucky objects such as horseshoes, elephants with raised trunks and four-leaf clovers. Many superstitious people wear talismans or carry lucky stones to scare evil spirits away. Some students often bring their lucky pens to exams, and others who graduate from school wear red underwear during the traditional ball, which is organized a hundred days before final exams and then they wear it on the day of the exam. Brides wear "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" for their wedding ceremony.
Speaking of weddings, there are some Polish superstitions related to this ceremony as well.
First of all, it is good if the wedding is in a month that has the letter "R" in its name while it is considered bad luck to have it in May. Secondly, the day before the wedding the bride should put her shoes on the window sill to have nice weather for the next day. The bride's bouquet should not have roses in it since sharp spikes symbolize a cut on the heart. It is also important not to be seen by your future husband in a gown and also not to look at your reflection in the mirror when you are completely dressed. What is more, there should be money in the bride's shoes to assure wealth. And here is a little tip for future wives: if you want to rule in your upcoming marriage throw delicately a patch of your dress on the groom's shoes while kissing in front of the altar. At that moment you will gain the power of deciding.
There are also superstitions typical of particular holidays. Let's talk for example about Christmas. It is believed that if the first person to enter a house on a Christmas Eve is a woman, it is a bad omen, thus is it more preferable when a man is the first to cross the threshold of the house. During supper on Christmas Eve, each dish should be sampled. A traditional meal consists of twelve dishes. The more you eat, the more pleasure will await you in the upcoming year.
As you can see, superstitions are still present among Polish people. There is something funny about them and mysterious at the same time. Although, to contemporary, well-educated people the word "superstition" can sound offensive and ridiculous, somewhere inside we believe in them. There is an anecdote that even Albert Einstein had a horseshoe nailed above his door. Somebody asked him, "You, man of education and a physics genius believe in this superstition?" To which he replied, "No, but apparently it works even if you don't believe it".