Anecdotes or stories about beliefs and practices in my family that are superstitious or something of

the like:
1. Occurrence of shooting stars, also known as fallen stars
- Spotting one of these stars as it falls can bring good luck to the observer and can make his or her
wish come true. Shooting star is said to possess a bit of magic, which means positive vibes and good luck.
This seldom happens that to be able to gaze upon it at the right time and place is a positive coincidence,
perceived as a blessing from heaven.
2. Full Moon
- When this happens, it affects the behavior or sanity of a person. This is attributed to the periodic
lunar changes over the period of a synodic month. A full moon signifies the extreme change of behavior
that leads to a person’s abnormality or lunacy over time. He is considered lunatic, a periodic behavioral
change, from the root word “luna” which means “moon” in Spanish every time a full moon occurs.
3. Full Moon
- It is believed that the date of this occurrence will bring good luck to start construction of a new
house and also the best time to actually reside in a housing facility. The light of the full moon signifies
God’s protection, righteousness, and happiness. The perfect rounded figure means financial prosperity and
good luck as what the Chinese believed.
4. Lunar eclipse
- When a lunar eclipse occurs, it is believed that a “Bakunawa” has devoured the moon that caused
it to vanish. Pregnant women are not allowed to go outside the house for it will do harm to their babies
inside their womb. The “Bakunawa” is a serpent-like dragon in Philippine mythology. It is believed to be
the cause of eclipses usually depicted with a characteristic looped tail and a single horn on the nose. This
dangerous creature is believed to prowl through the sky and threatened to devour the sun or the moon
including children.
5. When a star is relatively close to the moon
- When this occurrence happens, it is believed to have an ominous sign that a violent incident or
accident will occur resulting in death. The Sun, the biggest star, and Moon are brothers who are usually
very close. At times, however, they fight, and those fights are so fierce that they place the whole world in
danger.
6. Respect the elementals
- Filipino folklore is rich with a variety of elementals, from giants smoking tobacco, to small
grumpy old men living in anthills. Stories of these creatures fill the childhoods of many Filipino children,
inciting both intrigue and fear. Many superstitions still surround the beliefs in such creatures today. Among
the most practiced is the saying of “tabi tabi po,” which means “excuse me” when passing through places
where elementals likely reside. These places are usually outdoors, such as anthills and Balete trees. Failure
to do so, and disturbance to such creatures may lead to unexplained sickness that can only be cured by an
albularyo (folk healer).
7. Dropped utensils announce the arrival of a visitor. A fork means it will be a man, while a spoon indicates
that a woman is coming to see you.
 - No one is really certain as to why fallen utensils are omens for unexpected visitors, but it seems
to be a widespread belief in the Philippines and in other countries as well. One theory is that dropping
utensils during the after-dinner clean-up is supposed to be a visitor’s presence making itself known, and
thus asking the family to wait up before they turn in for the day. Even the meaning behind the specific
utensils varies from country to country. Some believe that the direction of the handle indicates the direction
from which the visitor is coming from. Forks symbolize the male gender supposedly because of the
protrusion between the lines, while the concave bowl shape of the spoon allegedly invokes a woman’s
womb.
8. Fortune foreshadowed by the presence of black ants
- Black ants inside the house means good luck. When black ants are parading inside the house, you
should be happy because it means that there is something good brewing. It could mean money coming or a
job promotion. This is mainly because of the black ants’ inclination to get attracted to things that emanate
sweetness.
9. Washing sweaty hands can lead to spasmodic hands or “pasmo”
- It is a common Filipino advice not to wash one’s hands right after finish laborious chores to avoid
“pasmo,” which is the reason for shaky hands, sweaty palms, and numbness or pain in the hands.
Oftentimes, right after ironing a handful of one’s clothes, he or she will be discouraged by his or her mother
or grandmother to wet his or her hands. Similarly, it is believed that taking a bath after a workout can lead
to illnesses.
10. Siblings should not marry within the same year
- This superstition is called “sukob” and this advises that marriages of siblings within the same year
can induce the death of an immediate family member. Pushing to do so is considered bad luck.
11. Pointing at certain places might cause you harm
- In the Philippines, you cannot just point at a tree, a mound, a mountain, or a landmark. Filipinos
believe that there are spirits or “dwende,” also known as “goblins or dwarves,” residing at these places, and
it infuriates them when you point at any of these, thereby punishing you by giving you illness(es). In fact,
this is probably the reason why we, Filipinos, point with our lips by pouting them.