In a different era, when the scientific reasons behind lunar eclipse were not known, people had different interpretations on their own that wasn’t logical. Surprisingly, some of the superstitions are even believed to be true today. There are various superstitions and myths about why a lunar eclipse occurs. Even today, some people are scared to look at a lunar eclipse. People considered their eclipse’s as a bad omen. During a lunar eclipse, the Earth gets sandwiched between the sun and the moon. Here, the moon completely gets blocked by the Earth. Hence no sunlight falls on the moon. Some of the sunlight that reflects off from the Earths edges illuminate the moon a little. Earth’s atmosphere, filters out blue and green light, the light that falls on the moon appears to be that of a red – reddish brownish colour known as the blood moon. The scary appearance of the moon has a lot of stories and myths.
Native American Belief.
Native Americans believe that, during an eclipse, the moon controls over the earth and the sun. They believe and live in the fear that some transformation would take place on the Earth.
Apocalypse.
In the Holy Bible, Joel 2:31 reads: “The sun will turn to darkness and the moon to blood before the great and dreadful day the Lord comes”. Many Christians in the U.S believes that apocalypse (second coming of Jesus Christ) would be on the day of a lunar eclipse.
Advice for Moms!
In many beliefs and cultures, the lunar eclipse is considered to be a bad omen for pregnant Mom’s. They are advised to stay indoors and not look at an eclipse. The belief in the myth that using knives in the kitchen, during an eclipse would leave a very big birthmark on their baby.
The Jaguar story!
Many tribes believe that an eclipse is called because a jaguar has devoured the moon. At night, in disgust, the people raise spearheads against the moon, make noise with their mouth or instruments (like a drum) and make their dogs bark thinking the jaguar would run and stop attacking the moon.
Tibetan Stories.
Most of the Tibetan Buddhists believe that whatever good and bad deeds you do will get multiplied ten times during a lunar eclipse. Make sure you do only good deed during a lunar eclipse!
South African Myth
South Africans believe that the Sun and the moon engage in a huge fight during an eclipse. The people offer prayers to encourage the celestial bodies to resolve their fight and make peace.
Indian Myth.
Many people in India avoid cooking and drinking on the day of a lunar eclipse. They believe that eating food may bring indigestion and that food would get spoilt faster without sunlight.
