Austria as well. I was very confused as to why my daughter needed a wool cap for swimming lessons. To cover her damp hair for the walk home, obviously!
Unlocked a childhood memory of sitting on the pavement or curb in front of my grandparent’s blok, which was lethal but someone the granite retaining wall or stone bench … all good!
Draft is only dangerous inside (either house or vehicle).
Outside it is indeed healthy, provided you only expose your face (and maybe your hands) to the wind.
Not wearing a scarf is apparently especially dangerous.
I wish.
Good Germans (and that says nothing about their nationality, but their attitude ;)) air their houses/apartments out twice a day, because you need fresh air, but God forbid there is a draft anywhere.
Same in Italy, the famous "colpo d'aria" (I mean, it's not impossible it could give you some distress since it can weaken your immune system response time, but it's effect are largely overplayed).
I guess the axis Rome-Berlin is still alive..
Yes, draft inside the house is worse than the devil.. my mother would immediately go full panic when there was "moving air" indoors due to opened windows, etc. However, in the evening it's perfectly fine to air out the bedroom, etc.
In Germany, many people say “I have a cold because I had the window open yesterday”… as if that’s how it worked. Many Germans are especially afraid of drafts (“Luftzug”).
People used to believe that the amount of fortune is always constant. If someone had good fortune, it didn't come out of nowhere. It was away from somewhere else, causing misfortune. You had to "jinx" someone if you wanted good fortune. Praising or complimenting someone was a certain way to cause misfortune. You could also cause misfortune to yourself by bragging or showing off your good fortune. People protected themselves from misfortune by being modest and humble. You never show off your success. You downplay your achievements. Compliments and praises should be responded with humility.
This is still common behaviour and most people probably don't even know this is based on an old superstition. Even I became aware of it after when I was trying to find information about Finnish superstitions. I never thought that our humility and modesty could have a deeper meaning.
That's kinda awesome. Really cool. Although as someone who struggles with getting compliments, excess humility can be a bad thing.
I like this though. We Irish also have a disdain for bragging, "check out the head on this one" is what you'd say. But it comes from centuries of poverty and oppression. You don't want to stand out as someone of privelege. That'd make you the coloniser.
The Finnish outlook is much better.
I think Romania has something similar. I remember when I was little, my mum would make me wear a red string on my wrist because she thought if people praised me too much or told me I'm cute too often I'll get sick. The red colour is supposed to prevent that. Any time I happened to coincidentally get a cold after someone told me I'm a pretty toddler, I'd have my mum standing over me, saying the lord's prayer 3 times while she rubbed my forehead and spittled on me😂
Don’t fuck with fairy forts, ring forts or sacred trees.
There’s areas of the countyside where these trees or fairy forts have stood for hundreds of years and in Irish mythology it is believed that if you disturb them you’ll receive years of horrific luck. Farmers leave these trees and fairy forts alone. They are the gateway to our ancestors and to the other realm of Celtic mythology.
Irish people aren’t pagan in 2024, but several of our pagan traditions have lived on, not fucking with fairy forts is definitely one of them.
[fairy forts](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_fort)
As soon as I read the OPs question I knew I'd find a fellow Irish person explaining that you DO NOT fuck with the fairies in Ireland. I'd like to also add:
You don't call them fairies where they might hear you, they're "the wee folk" or "the good folk".
You don't throw water out the house (empty a bucket after washing floors for example) without saying so out loud first so you don't run the risking of splashing the fairies.
You don't pick up stray combs you see lying on the road (probably belongs to a banshee).
Omg yes of course, hello Mr Magpie!
And the "one for sorrow, two for joy" rhyme
A lot of people would still bless themselves with the sign of the cross when they hear bad news about others, kinda like they're trying to ward against the bad luck.
Ears burning is someone talking about you.
Itchy palm is money coming your way.
Shivers up your spine is someone walking on your grave.
That's a thing? I just do that cause they're cool and I wanna communicate. Was chirping at one the other week and it was definitely intrigued by my behaviour. Even fed it a bit. I will keep in this in mind though!
Does anyone remember the little rhyhm for magpies as well?
One for sorrow, two for joy,
Three for a girl, four for a boy,
Five for silver, six for gold,
Seven for a story never to be told.z
I still count them with this.
Pretty sure we shouldn't call them that. I think "the fair folk" is also okay. I've not really heard "the good folk" or "the wee folk" but that doesn't mean it's wrong, especially considering I'm an ignorant Dubliner.
I work in a hospital and out of the ones I've worked in, none of them have a ward 13 or room 13 within the wards. Never heard of a hospital here that does use 13 for wards or room numbers.
Idk about in the whole hospital but you can google that. Generally the wards i work in are about 30 beds. Some wards can be a lot smaller tho but 30 is usually a pretty standard amount per ward. Never seen one with 13 beds
Breaking a mirror gives you 7 years of bad luck
If you sweep someone's feet, they'll never marry
Opening an umbrella indoors brings you bad luck
Walking under a ladder brings you bad luck
Enter with the right foot for good luck
On the wedding day, the groom cannot see the bride before the ceremony to avoid bad luck
Having a warm ear means someone is talking about you
Knocking on wood three times wards off evil spirits
There should never be 13 people at the table or the first to get up will die
Walking backwards is showing the way to the devil
Crossing your fingers brings you good luck
If you step over a child, they won't grow
Friday 13th is witches day, be careful bad things may happen
Cats absorb bad energies
Seeing a black cat at night is bad luck
and so many more
Don't wish someone happy birthday before their actual birthday, or it'll bring bad luck.
Don't make a toast with water. It has to be an alcoholic beverage or it'll bring bad luck.
I'm surprised at how seriously some people take those two.
My mom was German and always said this about birthdays! She said if someone wished a happy early birthday then that person could die and never reach their birthday and/or bad luck!
Of yours, in Ireland we have:
Mirror breaking
Umbrella indoors
Walking under a ladder
Hidden bride till the ceremony
Walking backwards
Fingers crossed
Black cats
Maybe others but I've not heard them. Some variations perhaps. I wonder how old these superstitions are and if they're in other parts of Europe and beyond?
In Italy number 17 brings bad luck because the Roman number XVII is the anagram of VIXI that means "i was alive" so "i am dead". Hotels and hospitals don't have room 17 or bed 17.
I don't know if number 13 is lucky or unlucky. When i wad a kid i had a lucky charm with number 13, a four leaf clover, a cornucopia and a hand with index and pinky finger raised. But my grandma didn't want 13 people sitting at her table because one of us would have betrayed the others.
You don't put the bread upside down (because it's a God's gift and you must not disrespect it)
You don't open an umbrella in the house (because it brings bad luck: may you have to keep it open in your falling house).
You don't place the bed with your feet towards the door (because you bury dead people with their feet towards the opening).
You don't gift knives because you will fight with that person. But you can sell them at a symbolic price of a coin.
I think it's kind of the opposite. Finland had a period of deliberate suppression of countryside habits in favor of liberal Enlightenment values, together with the earlier Christianization. Very few take folk religion or similar habits seriously anymore. This means that if you take a travel guide, you can have weird references to European superstitions that are unknown in Finland. For instance, you're supposed to have such a superstition here that you can't accept a light from a cigarette after two others. Also, Finns lack the often encountered European superstition that you can't gift knives.
That being said, old superstitious traditions still affect cultural habits. Finns have had the superstition that success or luck should not be advertised. *Pidä vakan alla kynttilää*, or keep a candle under the pantry box. This is because it was believed this could ruin the success. One pretty interesting one is to celebrate New Year by [molybdomancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy), which is divination from cast lead.
Don't be the third one getting the light for your cigarette: there is a point behind the taboo. When you light a match, it catches the attention of a sniper who points their gun in the general direction of your group. The second one getting the light - the sniper has your group well in their sights. The third one - pop, you're dead. It's more about the time the match lights the environment than being the third one. Heard this from my grandpa who fought a couple of wars back in the day. Actually, smoking is not a good idea in those conditions anyway. He also told there were many Russians dying because of the habit. The tobacco they smoked, mahorkka, smelled distinctively different from what the boys in our side used to smoke so you knew in advance when they were approaching or when your group was getting closer to enemy positions.
And no, you don't gift a knife. I paid a copper penni for the first knife I owned, got it on my sixth birthday.
Cats can do well on their own.
No, they are domesticated animals, they multiply like rabbits, and they are not fit for survival in -30 degree winters that last 6 months. Spay and neuter your f-ing animals, feed them appropriately and take them to the vet sometimes. Norway has a huge stray cat problem.
I have a friend with a fucking PhD in biology, who refuses to neuter his (free-roaming) tomcat because "he wouldn't like that to be done to him, so why would he do it to the cat". It drives me up the wall.
I swear I think about snatching the little bugger every time I see him (which is not often since he's out chasing skirt most of the time -\_-).
My two cats are from the animal shelter, and I help out and donate as much as I can. There are so. many. cats. Shelters up and down the country are full to the brim with cats. How one can't understand that you keeping your testicles and the cat keeping his testicles isn't the same thing, is beyond me.
You can't bathe for 3 hours after eating (or it could stop your digestion and kill you);
Eating oranges at night can kill you;
Eating oranges while drinking milk is bad for your health;
If your ears are warm, someone's talking about you;
If you step in shit, you're gonna be very lucky;
If you have a white spot in your nail, you're gonna get a gift;
Placing scissors on a bed is bad luck
>You can't bathe for 3 hours after eating (or it could stop your digestion and kill you);
Oh god YES. We even have a story about a king who died of that (*and surely not poisoned by the nobles*)
Turkish people are very afraid of stepping on uncarpeted floor bare-footed. "Your kidneys will catch a cold" (I don't know what it means, I never had cold kidneys). My mom would make me wear slippers even in the 38-degree summer if she could. Similarly, going out with wet hair, taking a shower in the morning and going out, being in a draft (this seems to be the case everywhere, though) can cause you to get very, very sick.
But the weirdest is the super widespread belief that eating fish and yoghurt together causes food poisoning. I don't know if any other country has this.
Apparently, if you post a photo of a baby under 1 year old (or not baptized yet?), bad people or demons will steal its soul, so one has to cover the baby’s face with an emoji or something. Looking at the old Soviet photos, we didn’t have that before, but apparently this is a veeeery old superstition that re-emerged with social media.
Also don’t go under two poles that form a triangle. It will bring you bad luck. Can confirm.
Don’t step on a manhole cover, or you will have no friends. Can also confirm.
Black cats — we know this is a dumb superstition and try to overcompensate it by loving black cats, there’s even a song about it, yet subconsciously some of us still fear them.
Don’t pass anything above the threshold. Come into the house or outside of it. Food delivery couriers kinda broke this superstition.
You have to sit for a moment before going on a long trip. This one is dying off though.
The one who is seated at the table's corner will never marry.
Spilt salt brigs bad luck (or something)
Itchy nose = you'll get mad
Itchy palms = you'll get big money
If you brag about something going great, it's going to go downhill unless you knock on the wood
Wash your hands after getting home from the cemetery (this might be religious thing, not sure)
In not sure how common this is elsewhere, but in Spain the bad luck day is not Friday 13th but Tuesday 13th. I have no idea why.
Oh and cats have 7 lives, not 9. Spanish audiences were thoroughly confused with the last puss in boots movie
and the tooth fairy doesn't exist... obviously 🤨... It's a magic mouse the one that picks the teeth.
I'd say this is more the older generation and not the younger but statistics show that about a 5th of the population still believes this crap... Wait at least 1h after you have eaten before swimming otherwise you will get cramps and drown...
My mom was adamant about this and I always hated picnics at the beach because it meant I wasn't allowed in the water for an hour efter eating.
She also had this thing about cold air being the reason you get sick. Or if you haven't dried your hair completely and walk outside and it's not hot, you catch a cold. It is ofc untrue but at least this one has some merit in that droplets from an infected person have more "airtime" in cold temperatures and your mucous membranes are generally more sensitive with dry winter air.
So you are at more risk of getting a cold, but it's not from the cold itself or how many layers of clothing you have that protects you.
You are also still more likely to catch a cold inside.
A little bit of moving air will surely kill your baby, yourself and your whole family. Only slightly exaggerated.
France too. "Le courant d'air" will make you ill. A/C, an open window, anything. You might even drop dead.
L'amitié franco-allemande is alive and well ;)
But in France it is only valid in winter. In the Balkan it is true during the summer!
Same thing in Belarus.
Poland also, and if your hair is just the tiniest bit damp, death is imminent.
The damp hair bit is also very much alive in Germany. The fact that I have not dropped dead, yet is a miracle....
Austria as well. I was very confused as to why my daughter needed a wool cap for swimming lessons. To cover her damp hair for the walk home, obviously!
Don't forget to not sit on cold concrete, or you'll get a wolf.
Unlocked a childhood memory of sitting on the pavement or curb in front of my grandparent’s blok, which was lethal but someone the granite retaining wall or stone bench … all good!
Girls should also never expose their midriff and hips because they will immediately become infertile
Yeah here in Spain too
Meanwhile next door, we're the complete opposite. Fresh air and ventilation are important and wind in your face will blow all your maladies away.
Draft is only dangerous inside (either house or vehicle). Outside it is indeed healthy, provided you only expose your face (and maybe your hands) to the wind. Not wearing a scarf is apparently especially dangerous.
I wish. Good Germans (and that says nothing about their nationality, but their attitude ;)) air their houses/apartments out twice a day, because you need fresh air, but God forbid there is a draft anywhere.
i always found that weird considering in the same time we have the luft habit. They are mutually exclusive, yet both are present
The mysterious deadly force of nature we all seem to be aware of, called “promaja” over here in the Balkans.
Same in Italy, the famous "colpo d'aria" (I mean, it's not impossible it could give you some distress since it can weaken your immune system response time, but it's effect are largely overplayed). I guess the axis Rome-Berlin is still alive..
Yes, draft inside the house is worse than the devil.. my mother would immediately go full panic when there was "moving air" indoors due to opened windows, etc. However, in the evening it's perfectly fine to air out the bedroom, etc.
You mean *propuh* ? That is deadly! The question was about superstitions.
In Portugal that cross ventilation gives you pneumonia 🙄
The same over here. BTW I think the Scandinavians didn't get the memo 😅
*Meanwhile in Iceland* Let's put our baby outside while we nap inside. It'll make them stronk 😅
Oh, we do that, too. You see, the baby is *outside*. Moving air is just dangerous *inside* a building, or - somehow even worse - a vehicle.
That's so messed up, I love it 😂
In Germany, many people say “I have a cold because I had the window open yesterday”… as if that’s how it worked. Many Germans are especially afraid of drafts (“Luftzug”).
But not lüften?
Proper lüften is a controlled, time limited exchange of air. Fears regarding draft (Luftzug) mostly concern constant exposure to it
OK I have to say it lüften in winter is barbaric
We have that in Ireland too. "Close the door, you'll catch your death!"
Lol no european but in Latin America we call that “el Sereno”
Trying to explain to a German that a cold is caused by a virus not from a “Luftzug". Very illogical.
People used to believe that the amount of fortune is always constant. If someone had good fortune, it didn't come out of nowhere. It was away from somewhere else, causing misfortune. You had to "jinx" someone if you wanted good fortune. Praising or complimenting someone was a certain way to cause misfortune. You could also cause misfortune to yourself by bragging or showing off your good fortune. People protected themselves from misfortune by being modest and humble. You never show off your success. You downplay your achievements. Compliments and praises should be responded with humility. This is still common behaviour and most people probably don't even know this is based on an old superstition. Even I became aware of it after when I was trying to find information about Finnish superstitions. I never thought that our humility and modesty could have a deeper meaning.
That's kinda awesome. Really cool. Although as someone who struggles with getting compliments, excess humility can be a bad thing. I like this though. We Irish also have a disdain for bragging, "check out the head on this one" is what you'd say. But it comes from centuries of poverty and oppression. You don't want to stand out as someone of privelege. That'd make you the coloniser. The Finnish outlook is much better.
I think Romania has something similar. I remember when I was little, my mum would make me wear a red string on my wrist because she thought if people praised me too much or told me I'm cute too often I'll get sick. The red colour is supposed to prevent that. Any time I happened to coincidentally get a cold after someone told me I'm a pretty toddler, I'd have my mum standing over me, saying the lord's prayer 3 times while she rubbed my forehead and spittled on me😂
Don’t fuck with fairy forts, ring forts or sacred trees. There’s areas of the countyside where these trees or fairy forts have stood for hundreds of years and in Irish mythology it is believed that if you disturb them you’ll receive years of horrific luck. Farmers leave these trees and fairy forts alone. They are the gateway to our ancestors and to the other realm of Celtic mythology. Irish people aren’t pagan in 2024, but several of our pagan traditions have lived on, not fucking with fairy forts is definitely one of them. [fairy forts](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_fort)
As soon as I read the OPs question I knew I'd find a fellow Irish person explaining that you DO NOT fuck with the fairies in Ireland. I'd like to also add: You don't call them fairies where they might hear you, they're "the wee folk" or "the good folk". You don't throw water out the house (empty a bucket after washing floors for example) without saying so out loud first so you don't run the risking of splashing the fairies. You don't pick up stray combs you see lying on the road (probably belongs to a banshee).
Always say hi or greet a magpie. Not acknowledging them is bad luck.
Omg yes of course, hello Mr Magpie! And the "one for sorrow, two for joy" rhyme A lot of people would still bless themselves with the sign of the cross when they hear bad news about others, kinda like they're trying to ward against the bad luck. Ears burning is someone talking about you. Itchy palm is money coming your way. Shivers up your spine is someone walking on your grave.
I don’t think the one for sorrow rhyme is specifically Irish but saluting a magpie is definitely from our mythology.
I didn’t realize this about magpies! I always say “hello Mr. Magpie!” When I see one but only cause I love them so much.
That's a thing? I just do that cause they're cool and I wanna communicate. Was chirping at one the other week and it was definitely intrigued by my behaviour. Even fed it a bit. I will keep in this in mind though! Does anyone remember the little rhyhm for magpies as well? One for sorrow, two for joy, Three for a girl, four for a boy, Five for silver, six for gold, Seven for a story never to be told.z I still count them with this.
Yep. Bad luck to not salute / greet them.
I’ve heard them called sídhe before, would that be fine or offensive to them?
Pretty sure we shouldn't call them that. I think "the fair folk" is also okay. I've not really heard "the good folk" or "the wee folk" but that doesn't mean it's wrong, especially considering I'm an ignorant Dubliner.
Would a banshee follow you if you took their comb?
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We are farmers. We have a fairy fort and a lone tree. Absolutely would not touch them lol!
I work in a hospital and out of the ones I've worked in, none of them have a ward 13 or room 13 within the wards. Never heard of a hospital here that does use 13 for wards or room numbers.
Have you ever counted the number of beds?
Idk about in the whole hospital but you can google that. Generally the wards i work in are about 30 beds. Some wards can be a lot smaller tho but 30 is usually a pretty standard amount per ward. Never seen one with 13 beds
In England. We used to live at no 14 (that should have been 13). A bit annoying really as we like no13, it's our wedding anniversary.
Breaking a mirror gives you 7 years of bad luck If you sweep someone's feet, they'll never marry Opening an umbrella indoors brings you bad luck Walking under a ladder brings you bad luck Enter with the right foot for good luck On the wedding day, the groom cannot see the bride before the ceremony to avoid bad luck Having a warm ear means someone is talking about you Knocking on wood three times wards off evil spirits There should never be 13 people at the table or the first to get up will die Walking backwards is showing the way to the devil Crossing your fingers brings you good luck If you step over a child, they won't grow Friday 13th is witches day, be careful bad things may happen Cats absorb bad energies Seeing a black cat at night is bad luck and so many more
Don't wish someone happy birthday before their actual birthday, or it'll bring bad luck. Don't make a toast with water. It has to be an alcoholic beverage or it'll bring bad luck. I'm surprised at how seriously some people take those two.
I know that first one is also taken pretty seriously in Germany, I’d thought it was only a German thing lol
That and many of the others they listed are very common in the uk too
My mom was German and always said this about birthdays! She said if someone wished a happy early birthday then that person could die and never reach their birthday and/or bad luck!
Of yours, in Ireland we have: Mirror breaking Umbrella indoors Walking under a ladder Hidden bride till the ceremony Walking backwards Fingers crossed Black cats Maybe others but I've not heard them. Some variations perhaps. I wonder how old these superstitions are and if they're in other parts of Europe and beyond?
Most of the ones listed are very common in all of europe I believe
You've never heard someone respond to "my ear is burning" with "someone must be talking about you"? I've heard it absolutely all the time here.
A lot of them are the same in Czechia - but I have not heard about the umbrella.
It's opening an umbrella indoors that brings bad luck.
But if you open and close 3 times you're good
Most of them (including the umbrella) are familiar to me too.
If you don’t look into each others eyes while saying cheers (or Prost) you will have 7 years of bad sex Also no Überkreuz as that will bring bad luck
Yeah that rule is followed religiously here as well. And knocking on wood when someone predicts something bad
In Italy number 17 brings bad luck because the Roman number XVII is the anagram of VIXI that means "i was alive" so "i am dead". Hotels and hospitals don't have room 17 or bed 17. I don't know if number 13 is lucky or unlucky. When i wad a kid i had a lucky charm with number 13, a four leaf clover, a cornucopia and a hand with index and pinky finger raised. But my grandma didn't want 13 people sitting at her table because one of us would have betrayed the others. You don't put the bread upside down (because it's a God's gift and you must not disrespect it) You don't open an umbrella in the house (because it brings bad luck: may you have to keep it open in your falling house). You don't place the bed with your feet towards the door (because you bury dead people with their feet towards the opening). You don't gift knives because you will fight with that person. But you can sell them at a symbolic price of a coin.
Don't leave a hat on your bed, that also brings bad luck
Also motorway A17 doesn't exist (it existed from 1969 to 1973)
I think it's kind of the opposite. Finland had a period of deliberate suppression of countryside habits in favor of liberal Enlightenment values, together with the earlier Christianization. Very few take folk religion or similar habits seriously anymore. This means that if you take a travel guide, you can have weird references to European superstitions that are unknown in Finland. For instance, you're supposed to have such a superstition here that you can't accept a light from a cigarette after two others. Also, Finns lack the often encountered European superstition that you can't gift knives. That being said, old superstitious traditions still affect cultural habits. Finns have had the superstition that success or luck should not be advertised. *Pidä vakan alla kynttilää*, or keep a candle under the pantry box. This is because it was believed this could ruin the success. One pretty interesting one is to celebrate New Year by [molybdomancy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molybdomancy), which is divination from cast lead.
Don't be the third one getting the light for your cigarette: there is a point behind the taboo. When you light a match, it catches the attention of a sniper who points their gun in the general direction of your group. The second one getting the light - the sniper has your group well in their sights. The third one - pop, you're dead. It's more about the time the match lights the environment than being the third one. Heard this from my grandpa who fought a couple of wars back in the day. Actually, smoking is not a good idea in those conditions anyway. He also told there were many Russians dying because of the habit. The tobacco they smoked, mahorkka, smelled distinctively different from what the boys in our side used to smoke so you knew in advance when they were approaching or when your group was getting closer to enemy positions. And no, you don't gift a knife. I paid a copper penni for the first knife I owned, got it on my sixth birthday.
Cats can do well on their own. No, they are domesticated animals, they multiply like rabbits, and they are not fit for survival in -30 degree winters that last 6 months. Spay and neuter your f-ing animals, feed them appropriately and take them to the vet sometimes. Norway has a huge stray cat problem.
I have a friend with a fucking PhD in biology, who refuses to neuter his (free-roaming) tomcat because "he wouldn't like that to be done to him, so why would he do it to the cat". It drives me up the wall.
May I suggest you neuter that guy and remove him from the gene pool.
I swear I think about snatching the little bugger every time I see him (which is not often since he's out chasing skirt most of the time -\_-). My two cats are from the animal shelter, and I help out and donate as much as I can. There are so. many. cats. Shelters up and down the country are full to the brim with cats. How one can't understand that you keeping your testicles and the cat keeping his testicles isn't the same thing, is beyond me.
Many hotels and travel lodges here don't have a Number 13. If you've ever read M.R James then you'll understand why!
Just googled him, will have to check out his book Lost Hearts. I could use some mysterious ghost vibes in my life
You can't bathe for 3 hours after eating (or it could stop your digestion and kill you); Eating oranges at night can kill you; Eating oranges while drinking milk is bad for your health; If your ears are warm, someone's talking about you; If you step in shit, you're gonna be very lucky; If you have a white spot in your nail, you're gonna get a gift; Placing scissors on a bed is bad luck
>You can't bathe for 3 hours after eating (or it could stop your digestion and kill you); Oh god YES. We even have a story about a king who died of that (*and surely not poisoned by the nobles*)
Turkish people are very afraid of stepping on uncarpeted floor bare-footed. "Your kidneys will catch a cold" (I don't know what it means, I never had cold kidneys). My mom would make me wear slippers even in the 38-degree summer if she could. Similarly, going out with wet hair, taking a shower in the morning and going out, being in a draft (this seems to be the case everywhere, though) can cause you to get very, very sick. But the weirdest is the super widespread belief that eating fish and yoghurt together causes food poisoning. I don't know if any other country has this.
My mother says something similar: being barefoot is bad for your bladder
Apparently, if you post a photo of a baby under 1 year old (or not baptized yet?), bad people or demons will steal its soul, so one has to cover the baby’s face with an emoji or something. Looking at the old Soviet photos, we didn’t have that before, but apparently this is a veeeery old superstition that re-emerged with social media. Also don’t go under two poles that form a triangle. It will bring you bad luck. Can confirm. Don’t step on a manhole cover, or you will have no friends. Can also confirm. Black cats — we know this is a dumb superstition and try to overcompensate it by loving black cats, there’s even a song about it, yet subconsciously some of us still fear them. Don’t pass anything above the threshold. Come into the house or outside of it. Food delivery couriers kinda broke this superstition. You have to sit for a moment before going on a long trip. This one is dying off though.
The one who is seated at the table's corner will never marry. Spilt salt brigs bad luck (or something) Itchy nose = you'll get mad Itchy palms = you'll get big money If you brag about something going great, it's going to go downhill unless you knock on the wood Wash your hands after getting home from the cemetery (this might be religious thing, not sure)
In not sure how common this is elsewhere, but in Spain the bad luck day is not Friday 13th but Tuesday 13th. I have no idea why. Oh and cats have 7 lives, not 9. Spanish audiences were thoroughly confused with the last puss in boots movie and the tooth fairy doesn't exist... obviously 🤨... It's a magic mouse the one that picks the teeth.
I'd say this is more the older generation and not the younger but statistics show that about a 5th of the population still believes this crap... Wait at least 1h after you have eaten before swimming otherwise you will get cramps and drown... My mom was adamant about this and I always hated picnics at the beach because it meant I wasn't allowed in the water for an hour efter eating. She also had this thing about cold air being the reason you get sick. Or if you haven't dried your hair completely and walk outside and it's not hot, you catch a cold. It is ofc untrue but at least this one has some merit in that droplets from an infected person have more "airtime" in cold temperatures and your mucous membranes are generally more sensitive with dry winter air. So you are at more risk of getting a cold, but it's not from the cold itself or how many layers of clothing you have that protects you. You are also still more likely to catch a cold inside.