Many believe that scaramanzia is a thing of the  South, but nothing is further from the  truth. I am from the North-West and I, too, grew up knowing that opening an  umbrella inside the  house porta sfortuna and that a hat on the bed is nothing short of a  catastrophe. My grandparents — and our elderly in general — were pretty adamant these things were a no-no and, while always led by  a  fairly inquisitive mind, even as a child, I  never asked them why. Well, I think it’s time to find an answer. 

Let’s start with our umbrella.  Even the  Romans used similar objects, more than 2000 years ago, to protected themselves from both rain and sun. Thing is  the sun was a divinity for our ancestors, so the idea of opening an umbrella inside a home sounded a bit like trying to shade your abode from the protection of a god.