Today, there was the rise of the eclipsed sun which was visible from northern India. I happened to see it as I am an Indian. In India, we have a lot of superstitions about eclipses. During an eclipse, we cannot eat. As the eclipse ends, we must pray to the sun god. The sun must not be looked at even by mistake. We must bathe after the eclipse. Food prepared before the eclipse must be thrown away. On the eclipse day, cities become lifeless, as temples, offices etc. are closed. We do not venture out durind an eclipse. Some guys visit the holy pond at Kurukshetr as belief is that bathing there during an eclipse purifies your sole. Indian astrologers say that eclipses bring bad luck.

I delebrately do not abide by them actually.

What are the beliefs about eclipses in your region?

Really, the only thing we don't do when there's an eclipse around here is look directly at it. Bad for the eyes until totality.

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Quaeso quousque humi defixa tua mens erit? Nonne aspicis, quae in templa veneris?

Historically, in the days before celestial mechanics were properly understood, eclipses were often considered to be ill omens (in the Western world). Still, I don't know of any rituals surrounding them like the ones you describe.

I have to wonder: did these rituals develop before or after eclipses became predictable? I would suspect the former, since once it became possible to predict them they would no longer hold much mystery or occult power.

So, could these rituals be holdovers from ancient times when eclipses were not understood?

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Bring back Firefly!

"It is quite clear that Occam's razor does not sharpen in your pyramid." (Nicolas)

"Still, a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest." (Paul Simon)

That thing about not looking is not just superstition. You really should not look at the Sun directly any more than is necessary - which pretty much means you shouldn't. I've broken this rule a couple times in the past just to see what it looks like. Not a good idea though.

We also bath after an eclipse, . . . eventually.

The belief in our area, in general, is that solar eclipses are caused by the Moon and sun lining up in our line of sight. A few people, mostly living in caves and trailer parks, think there is some connection to Gods, supernatural powers or unexplainable mysterious and spooky phenomena.

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Don of Borg - Cool, Calm, Collective.

"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley

Related thread.

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Scienara: A rejection of reason and evidence.

These superstitions are followed by Hindus. I am a Hindu myself and I know it is a very old religion and these superstitions have existed from the ancient times.