I remember my grandmother's panicked reaction to my nearly knocking a large mirror from a wall as a child. It wasn't the cleanup or the possible injury she feared from it shattering to the floor. It was the fate of her granddaughter, strapped with seven long years of bad luck that would ensue from a broken mirror. When it happened, my nana set the mirror aside, hugged me tight, wiped the nervous perspiration from her nose, and walked me to her kitchen to find something sweet to eat. I'll never forget it.

Italian culture is rich with superstitions, both good and evil, and many of them pervade everyday life, such as tossing a pinch of spilled salt over the left shoulder to ward off bad spirits.

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Source: http://bostoniano.info/