The thought that terrible things might happen to me when a mirror breaks or he or she steps under a ladder is caused by age-old fears called superstitions. Superstitions come from many parts of the world and are taught to us by our parents and grandparents. They are passed down from generation to generation and are considered omens of things that can go wrong. According to Webster's Dictionary, superstitions are a belief or way of behavior based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck. Due to my Dutch heritage, superstition has played an important role in my life from early childhood until today. I didn't know that what I could consider being polite and saying "God bless you" when someone sneezed was a tradition that comes from superstition. . Early Christians, dating back to 360 BC, believed that if a person sneezed, they got rid of inner evil. When you sneeze and people say, “God bless you,” it’s a way of warding off evil. The other belief was that when a person sneezed, their heart would stop beating and people would say "God bless you" in the hope that they would not die. It is a superstition transmitted by Christians, which has now become not only a tradition but also a rule of morals. My Dutch-American heritage teaches that not blessing someone after a hearty sneeze is bad luck. One day, when I was ten, I broke a mirror and my distressed mother told me I would have bad luck for seven years. When I asked her why she was so upset, she said it was because people used to think that a mirror could contain part of the soul; that she could be trapped by the devil, and it could also take up to seven years to recover the soul. This superstition was taught by......the middle of a sheet of paper......no bigger and the top was always left out. It's the best for me because, well, you're eating cake. Friday the 13th is the height of bad luck, as Friday is an unlucky day reminiscent of the 14th century and the number thirteen was an unlucky number of thought at the time of the last supper as there were thirteen people sitting at the table. However, the two did not reunite until around 1869, to form the Unlucky Trio. Throughout the ages, superstitions have been passed down and we have been taught to fear the unknown or to cross our fingers for luck. It is the irrational fear we harbor that causes these superstitions and can completely alter the normal behavior of an otherwise rational person. Even today in modern society my Dutch heritage still clings to these superstitions out of irrational fear of what might happen without knowing why..