Millions of Indians believe that they get lucky doing or not doing certain things. How did Indians get to be so superstitious? In the past, several practices were upheld for valid reasons. For instance, Indians believe that while cutting nails, if any nails fall inside the house, poverty is sure to strike that household. What began as a scare to make one clean up after cutting nails is now a superstitious belief!

Some superstitions are based on religion too. For the number of regions, temples, gods and goddesses in India, it comes as no surprise that superstitions based on religion abound.

Here below is a list of select Indian superstitions. You can use them to have a good laugh if you think these are a bunch of old wives tales or if you are the superstitious type, beware!!

•A black cat crossing your path is a sure sign of misfortune

•Cutting nails at night is evil

•Giving away old clothes on Friday brings disaster on the person/family that gives the clothes away

•Do not mop when someone from the house is travelling

•A broom gets attached to the house it sweeps. So if you move house, don’t take the broom along.

•While shifting home, never sweep and clean the house vacated as this signifies scooping the wealth off the house.

•Never dispose garbage after the lights are put on in the evening.

•Sewing after lights are on in the evening brings bad luck.

•Nothing should be given or received with the left hand.

•If you have hiccups it means someone is thinking of you.

•If you hear dogs howl, it indicates that something bad is going to happen.

•When you see someone go out, never ask where he/she is going as it brings bad luck.

•A woman is considered unclean during her menstrual cycle. She cannot enter the kitchen or temple at that time.

•If a lizard falls on your head, you are doomed. There are other superstitions based on which body part the lizard falls on too.

•If you see a married woman with floral adornment on her head and kum kum on her forehead, you are fortunate. However sighting a widow is regarded a sign of misfortune.

There is really no end to Indian Superstitions. New ones come up every day and majority Indians dare not disregard these superstitious beliefs.

Here is a book for further reading on the topic

Buy Indian Life. Religious and Social- Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India from Flipkart.com

Buy Incomparable India--Tradition: Superstitions Truth from Amazon.com