Comment European superstitions here!! I can't wait to hear them!
I'm studying in the Czech Republic in the fall and this is an interesting superstition from Czech culture:
It is good luck for a bride to break a plate on her wedding day. The groom should then sweep it up, and all of the guests get a fragment of the smashed plate, and the new bride and groom keep a piece for themselves as well.
French and UK superstition.
ReplyDeleteLighting 3 cigarettes with one match.
This comes from trench warfare in during WW2. The first alerts the enemy, the second gives him time to aim and the third .... fire.
Thanks for commenting Alison! It's interesting because my grandad told me this one too-- I guess it must be more well known than I thought!
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ReplyDeleteNever place bread upside down on the table - it invites famine into the house!!
I REALLY like this one. It just seems so funny to me. I wonder how this developed? lol.
DeleteIn some countries (including the UK) to be hit by bird’s droppings is good luck.
ReplyDeleteIn France, if you step in dog poo with your left foot you will have good luck- but if you step in it with your right food worse luck will come your way. Yuck!! :)
Typo - should say 'right foot', not food!! :) xx
DeleteWalking under a ladder,walking on a cracked pavement slab,crossing someone on the stairs,laughing at someone tripping up,saying ie *look at that cat * when you meant to say *look at that dog* and then changing it , saying thank you to the person if they pick your glove up once you dropped it xx
ReplyDeleteWow-- I can't imagine not saying thank you to someone if he/she picked up my glove! I would feel as though I was being rude, especially if he/she did not know the superstition!
DeleteWalking under a ladder... it's cool how a lot of superstitions are basically about safety. I wonder if this is because kids were more likely to listen if it was a superstition rather than just an order not to do something?
Knocking on wood when we say something you don't want to come true. Apparently it confuses malicious spirits that live in the wood. Waving at a single magpie or it will bring you sorrow. Putting a hole in the bottom of an empty boiled egg shell to save a sailor at sea, not sure if that is a general one or just something my mother does but I'm assuming it comes from somewhere.
ReplyDeleteThis one is really cool, thanks! I've always wondered why people knock on wood but I never looked into what it meant or why it was done. I really like that it is to confuse malicious spirits--- I may have to start knocking on wood!
DeletePassing Salt from one person to other in our house is another xx
ReplyDeleteHi Eirinn,
ReplyDeleteThere are a few of Ukrainian superstitions for you:
- A black cat crossing your path is a sign of bad luck. To nullify that, you have to touch/hold a button in your hand while walking over that place.
- Never pass anything through the doorstep.
It turns out that in the ancient times the ashes of ancestors were buried under a doorstep of a house, and people tried not to disturb them, passing anything through the door. According to this, one cannot sit on the doorstep as well.
- One can not go back to the half-way
This superstition is inversely associated with the doorstep one. It is believed that to neutralize this one, a person needs to look in the mirror before leaving again.
- Never give a watch as a present.
We say that such a gift will count down the time of friendship. But to avoid all this mishap one can only ask a coin for the watch - you do not receive a gift, you buy it. That's how simple it is.:)
- If one travels far from home for a long time (a week), he/she cannot leave the house until he/she sits on a chair for a few seconds "in order to bring good luck during his travel"
- Never celebrate 40th birthday.
Number 40 is associated with a funeral.
- Do not take out the garbage after sunset.
Hi Sergey, thank you for posting so many Ukrainian superstitions! They're great. I tried to google why the number 40 is associated with a funeral and I couldn't really find anything. You wouldn't happen to know why?
DeleteThe one about the watch is very similar to Scottish superstitions about sharp objects. If you give a silver coin in return, then your friendship will be fine.
In the Ukrainian tradition number 40 is associated with funerals. The fasting length is 40 days. It is believed the soul spends 40 days on the Earth before leaving to Heaven.
DeleteThanks for sharing!
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