Happy Friday the 13th! (and other superstitions)

[Daveman]

So here it is, Friday the 13th (don't worry, I'm watching NewJason for signs of Hockeymaskness)


Is this a shared superstition with Russian culture? 




We've talked quite a bit over time about RW being generally superstitious and have made mention of some of these..  here's a thread to put together a list of every superstition we can think of, along the western version of it if there is one.


And Ladies, feel free to list wacky western superstitions you've encountered too. 

[Boethius]

Don't whistle in the house.

Don't light a cigarette from a candle.

A baby should not be taken out in public during its first month of life.

Same superstitions about black cats and walking under ladders.

[newjason]

Haha
I was going to start this thread this morning but was late and had to run to work.

I was always fascinated by  the stories of Baba Yaga for some reason.

But generally I am not a superstitious person.

But I like fairy tales and stories in the children's books.

-Princess and the Pea
-Handsel and Gretyl
things like this.

Here's an odd factoid.  I did meet my  Ex on Friday the 13th

 

[TheTraveler]

great topic!

don't sit at the corner of a table.

don't turn around and go back to the house after you've left.

no knives as gifts.

[Darth_Budda]

I live next to the town were "nightmare on elm street" was kinda based on...

Potsdam NY,,,, The writer lived in a frat house on,, you guessed it elm street... lol

I try not to fall for any of this stuff,, But  bad events usually come in three's.
That is about the only one I go for...

[alex330]

no knives as gifts.

and don't lick a knife. Causes arguments.

Don't put keys on the table. Same meaning as whistling in the house.

Toss a coin towards the new moon for wealth.

Ballerinas or sportsmen put on left shoe first.

[SANDRO43]

and don't lick a knife. Causes arguments.

Licking a knife once was done to assess the sharpness of its blade prior to assaulting with it, no wonder someone may find it objectionable .

[Daveman]

Since we have an influx of relatively newly married couples, I thought it would be interesting to bump this thread on superstitions.  So, what have you learned?

I know in western Ukraine, the "evil eye" is alive and well, and witches are not uncommon (e.g., if someone came to visit and afterward a cow gives less milk, chances are, that visitor may be thought to have thrown some hoogabooga on the cow.)

Sit for one minute in silence prior to leaving on a trip.

Don't shake hands or "kiss" across the threshold of an outside doorway.

We seem to share "knock on wood" to avoid something mentioned coming to pass.

[SANDRO43]

We already had a thread on this last year: http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=16120.msg334983#msg334983 .

Superstition varies with location, here Naples is our most superstitious city, and many other Southern cities follow in part its example - ethnologists believe it to be a relic of old peasant cultures, where bad luck might mean ruined crops and the threat of starvation.

Most popular item in Neapolitan gift shops is o' cuorno (the horn), a good-luck charm to ward off the evil eye. It used to be made of red coral, now rare: 

Related to it are e' cuorna (the horns, middle above, the hand gesture that also has the offensive meaning of cornuto, i.e. cuckold ). Another hand-related good luck charm is the Brazilian figinha (http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=7346.msg131238#msg131238):

[Daveman]

We already had a thread on this last year: http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=16120.msg334983#msg334983 .

ah HA! This thread predates that one!  That thread also appears to be a discussion specifically relating to the number "13".  This is more of a catch all thread attempting to gather the various superstitions mentioned around the forum and newly discovered ones in a single location. 

We also have the mention of death/illness of/to oneself or others as attracting that:
http://www.russianwomendiscussion.com/index.php?topic=16984.msg355180#msg355180

There is also something about dreams of weddings.  I can't remember this one exactly, but it has to do with brides and the color or existence of her shoes.  If the dream shows the bride with red shoes (or maybe no shoes), then she will not be happy in marriage.  Can someone correct/elaborate on this one? 

[SANDRO43]

If the dream shows the bride with red shoes (or maybe no shoes), then she will not be happy in marriage.

Inspired maybe by Hans Christian Andersen's 1845 fairy tale De røde sko (The Red Shoes)? I remember seeing the movie they made of it as a kid, and it was a bit scary :

The Red Shoes (1948)

[calmissile]

We were almost literally married in the rain (Kiev).  My wife told me that it was good luck.  I never thought more about it until this thread.  Did a Google search and low and behold, it seems to be a valid superstition.

[SANDRO43]

We were almost literally married in the rain (Kiev).  My wife told me that it was good luck.

An old Italian proverb:

Sposa bagnata,
sposa fortunata.

Wet wife, lucky wife .

Must have been dreamed up by umbrella and raincoat makers .

[steveh1155]

I know in western Ukraine, the "evil eye" is alive and well,

Sit for one minute in silence prior to leaving on a trip.

LOL! I've been admonished more than once by my gal about looking strangers in the eye - but maybe that's only if they're female, young, blonde and attractive!
In all 6 trips over, every time she's insisted that we (and whoever else was in the house) all sit in silence for the prescribed amount of time before I left for the airport (I thought they were all praying for me or something!).

We were almost literally married in the rain (Kiev).  My wife told me that it was good luck.  I never thought more about it until this thread.  Did a Google search and low and behold, it seems to be a valid superstition.

It was pouring down rain on the drive to the airport after my first trip to Ukraine & my gal told me it was good luck - the heavens weeping at my departing or something like that.

[Chicagoguy]

If you do forget something and MUST go back to get it you must look in the mirror before leaving again.
My Siberian friend always insists on sitting by suitcases before leaving on a trip. But he always adds a shot of vodka for himself.
Many illnesses are caused by a "cold wind".

[Faux Pas]

As I understand it, the sitting before departing isn't so much a superstition as it is a tradition for a moment reflection, remembering and appreciating who you are with (in case you don't see them again). My wife and MIL aren't really superstitious at all that I can see but, we do this every time someone leaves on a trip. I find it a bit annoying at times but, I comply