superstitions / prejudices in your country

[elizabeth]

As the title says
Do you have any pagan superstition, religious prejudices ?

For example in Poland we say thay if you break your mirror you will be living in sorrow and you will be unlucky for 7 years.
Or if a black cat crosses your way you can't go further .
It you saw a chimney sweeper you should touch button from your shirt for luck
and it is not allowed to go under the ladder if you don't want to be cursed:)

[Hedetrolden]

Well, all the superstitions you mentioned above are also known i Denmark. There are some more. I'll post them later when I've looked into some of my books and maybe found some odd and strange ones too, hehe...

The only superstitions I have are these:
If it's snowing you can be pretty sure it's winter
If there's ice on the water you better put some warm clothes on 'cause it's likely to be damn cold outside.
When the leaves turn brown you can almost always be certain it's autumn
If you suddenly gets wet all over it's probably raining or you have walked into a lake. If you're inside, you might check if the roof is proof unless you're taking a shower.
If you hear a bird singing there's probably a bird nearby
If it smells like shit there's a good chance somebody has taken a shit or farted near you

[elizabeth]

hedetrolden said:

If you hear a bird singing there's probably a bird nearby

If it smells like shit there's a good chance somebody has taken a shit or farted near you

brainwave;p

funny examples but frankly speaking, I wasn't exactly thinking about these kinds of eternal verities
whatever

[Nordis]

If things are going well for you and you happen to mention it out loud, you should knock a wall to drive away the mischievous spirits that might want to take away your luck

And it's somewhat 100% accurate that if you see a cat or dog eating grass from the ground it's going to rain soon.

[Hedetrolden]

nordi said:

If things are going well for you and you happen to mention it out loud, you should knock a wall to drive away the mischievous spirits that might want to take away your luck

.

This superstition actually seem to work for me, especially when it comes to sports. Whenever I got the feelings in my guts that my soccer team will win their next match against all odds, and I don't metion it to anybody they win. But whenever I go out and tell my friends, espiecially those supporting the rival teams, my team lose and I gets mocked by my friends for the next weeks .
Unfortuenately this year I've been too big mouthed and bragged about my team whenever I'm drunk, and my team seems to lose most of their games
Anyway, this was a bit off topic, but that superstition is also known in Denmark and Norway

[elizabeth]

nordi said:

If things are going well for you and you happen to mention it out loud, you should knock a wall to drive away the mischievous spirits that might want to take away your luck

oh in Poland we knock into the wooden surface which is not pained , just in case

[Nordis]

elizabeth said:

oh in Poland we knock into the wooden surface which is not pained , just in case [/quote]

Well actually it has to be wooden surface in here as well.

- At christmas some people either leave foor on the table overnight or take it outdoor so that the house gnome can eat too.
- When leaving sauna, you should throw some more water on the stove so that the gnome can bathe after you ;D

[elizabeth]

hahahaha ,we don't have any gnomes in Poland (and saunas are not popular also, I mean it's too expensive for average person to have one at home )

btw during christmas we leave one extra plate for un-expected quest and we put hay or money under the table cloth oh and some people (especially people who are dreaming about beeing rich carry a few scales in their wallets .

[Ǽcen]

In America, if you disturb an Indian burial gound, you'll be haunted by a ghost until you return all the bones to their proper place.

[DiabolicalSaintSalem]

In fall, if a squirrel's tail is thick and bushy, it's going to be a mild, warm winter; if the squirrel's tail is very thin and scruffy, it's going to be a harsh, cold winter. Strangely, more often than not, I've found this to be true.

Here's a Texas prejudice: the only 'true' barbecue is beef brisket. To me, that's complete rubbish. If it's not slow-smoked pork, it's not barbecue (for those who may not have heard of barbecue, it's meat that's usually either shredded or chopped and then mixed with sauce that's most often vinegar or tomato-based). Pfft...beef...

This is more of a tradition than a superstition, but some Native Americans thank the spirits of the animals that died to provide them with food before they'll eat it. Noble thing, that.

[Nordican]

Most of you are from the Nordic countries, so my state (Minnesota) has ALL of your superstitions plus that Indian Burial ground one. The only other one I can think of that hasn't been mentioned is that if it's going to rain or snow, the deer are going to be out so drive careful.

Another is if you see a tree frog climb to the highest point it can, it most definitely will rain.

Oh and something about the metal'd fist (you know the \m/ thing that's awesome) that wards off evil. My great grandfather would do that sometimes. That or he was getting senile. Whatever.

[wolferin]

I think this thread is interesting to revive it.

It is bad:
-Black cat to cross the road before you - bad luck.
-To meet somebody outside the home, on the street, etc., caring empty vessel - cup, plate, bucket, etc. - bad luck, poverty.
-To pass under poles forming this ^ (v upside down) or under signboards forming Greek letter pi. - bad luck, something bad will happen to you.
-To spill salt - the welfare of the house will be spilled.
-To break a mirror - unhappy love so many years as the pieces of the mirror are.
-When shaking hands two or more couple of people to cross their hands - they will quarrel. They must shake hands one after another or to go aside and do it.
-To give a ring from hand to hand, except wedding or engagement ring - the people will quarrel. You must put the ring on the table or somewhere else and the other to take it.
-To turn back after leaving a place ( especially home, if you have forgotten something - if it is not very important, you'd better go without it).
-To sew torn clothes when someone wear them - you may sew his mind and he'll become a fool. The clothes must be taken off and then sewn.

Other:
1. On Christmas we do not clean the table after the dinner, it is believed in the night come the dead relatives to eat.
2. When you buy a new house (home, office) there must be made a party, called "sanctification'. Some people call a priest to sanctify, but it can be without a priest. Otherwise the new house will take a "kurban" (victim), especially the first to step in it - some people let an animal (cat,dog) first to enter a new house.
3. Knocking on wood for good luck.

[Deleted]

Yes it is interesting. And funny or not, all the superstitions you've named are present here too ( talking 'bout our resemblance between countries again ). Ah, a new one just came to my mind: they don't pronounce a child's name until he is baptised. As they don't think the small one has a name until the priest says it. And related to the birth of the child are numerous superstitions...

[Mighty Croc]

A very huge lot of prejudices are here! They are mainly the same as in other Slavic countries (like Bulgaria, of course). I don't believe in them much.
I can remember one more - to greet and shake hands over the threshold. Only when both people greeting each other will be on the same side - in or out.
And more - whistling at home means that you won't have any money soon. I'm whistling a lot, because I usually have no money at all

[wolferin]

Sept 11, 2009 14:57:41 GMT 2 @walkyrie said:

Yes it is interesting. And funny or not, all the superstitions you've named are present here too ( talking 'bout our resemblance between countries again ). Ah, a new one just came to my mind: they don't pronounce a child's name until he is baptised. As they don't think the small one has a name until the priest says it. And related to the birth of the child are numerous superstitions...

Haha, are they really the same?
But we do not have this with the child's name. I've heard in the old times, before baptizing people gave to the children temporal names, but they were some kind of pet names and after the baptizing the children adopted their real names. After that I read that there was similar old Slavonic tradition - to change the name during different periods of life.
About the new-born baby very common superstition is to tie a red thread on its hand, it can be with blue bead as well, against evil eyes.

Sept 11, 2009 15:34:02 GMT 2 Mighty Croc said:

I can remember one more - to greet and shake hands over the threshold. Only when both people greeting each other will be on the same side - in or out.

We also have this.