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~~~~~ We grew up in a Southern Mindset household (we kids are first generation Northerners) and EVERYTHING we did had a superstition to it. As a kid, I thought superstition meant "fear". As I got older, I understood that it meant "belief". As I studied History and Mannerisms through the ages, I came to understand why they had the superstitions that they observed...it was just that the reasons for those observances got lost over many generations. That's when I came to discover that superstition actually means "societal warning". Failure to heed the societal warning and unwanted consequences were sure to follow. Case in point, one such superstition that was a MUST to observe was "Never set your had on the tables or chairs". Growing up, I never knew why that was so important and my imagination created all kinds of scenarios with creatures stealing the hats to critters nesting in them. We were never told why. It was like living the movie "The Village" by M. Night Shyamalan. To this day, I still hesitate about where I place a hat. However, while studying European history (specifically during the time of Dickens) a proper gentleman wore a Top Hat as a sign of state and status. The more pristine the hat, the higher your prestige in society. However, should you accidentally damage your hat by say sitting on it or someone setting something on top of it, your hat would then give you a look on par with that of a vagabond and your appearance would be considered unsightly should you have to appear in public without your status symbol or with a damaged one. That's why it was considered an insult to punch through the top of someone's Top Hat. Therefore, in proper society, upon entering a building, a man would politely remove his Top Hat (so as not to scuff it on the walls, ceiling or low hanging archways) and immediately hang it on a hat rack which would generally be located near the entrance. From that, hundreds of years later, these social observances are still followed, but without understanding or meaning. Men are to remove their headgear upon entering a building. Men (in particular) are not to wear headgear indoors. Never set your hat on a table or chair. Always make sure your headgear is presentable in public. As I would learn things, I would share them with family members so they would at least understand why they were doing what they were used to doing. Needless to say, that never went over well and, apparently, I was not good at reading the cue to shut up. As adults, it was like those superstitions were ingrained in the actual fiber of their being and to say anything against those beliefs was just this side of sacrilege. Eventually, I learned to keep a lot of things, I learned, to myself. Wow, that turned into a novel...😅