Japanese Superstitions, part 2

The answers!

Don't whistle at nighttime. -- It calls ghosts, the devil or snakes. My students can not come to agreement on this one, but they all say one of these three. Snakes is the most common answer.

Don't cut your fingernails at midnight. -- Two answers: 1) In the old days before electricity, if you cut your nails at night, you could cut them too far or cut yourself. If you do it after midnight, there is a higher chance of infection. 2) If you cut your nails at night, your parents will die.

Don't stand your chopsticks in a bowl of rice. -- A buddhist tradition. When a person dies, a bowl of rice is placed with two chopsticks standing vertically in the rice. This is so that the person has food to eat in the afterlife (which is curious because as I know it, most buddhists believe in reincarnation)

Don't pass food between two chopsticks. -- Another buddhist one. The person's body is cremated (always?) and their bones are passed between people (family, friends, and monk, I'd imagine) with chopsticks. So if you pass food this way it is a HUGE insult.

Don't sleep with your head to the north. -- When a person dies indoors, they are laid with their head to the north. If you sleep this way, you are likely to die in the night.

Don't eat before bed. -- Watch out. If you eat at before bed, you will turn into a cow! Literally; not get fat, but transform into a cow.

(no subject)

Have you ever splurged and bought 7 (gasp) dollars worth of chicken wings, only to fry them up in a pan that is covered with dry soap residue?

Nothing is more appetizing than the smell of burning soap.

Japanese Supersitions

One of the lessons that I like to teach at work is, "Talking about Superstitions." Here are some common Japanese superstitions:

Don't whistle at nighttime.
Don't cut your fingernails at midnight.
Don't stand your chopsticks in a bowl of rice.
Don't pass food between two chopsticks.
Don't sleep with your head to the north.
Don't eat before bed.

"Good, good. So how can we ask about superstitions?"
"What .. do this mean?"
"Yes, good! What does this mean?"

What do you think?