Russians have lots and lots of superstitions (in my opinion anyway). I never realized there were so many until Lena came to me when we were married. It seems though, that not all superstitions are recognized by all Russians.
Let’s talk about a few.
Whistling indoors: This brings bad luck. Apparently you will lose all of your money soon.
Frying Pan: Our first New Year’s together was quite interesting. Lena brought a skillet to bed on New Years Eve and put it under her pillow. Believe it or not, it has something to do with good luck for the coming year? What’s up with that? Later I found out that in Russia, the handle’s on frying pans are seperate items. Russians take the handle with them to bed and put it under their pillow.
Empty bottles: Lena does not believe in this one, but most of her friends do. Never, never ever leave an empty bottle on the table. When it is empty, place it on the floor. I don’t the reasoning behind this one, but her friends all say it will bring bad luck to you if it is left on the table.
Pillow cases: When you make the bed, always put the open end of the pillow case to the inside or towards the middle. Again, I don’t know why, but we do it.
Leaving on a trip: Before leaving a house for a long (even for a couple of days) trip, you and everyone in the house should sit for a minute in silence and stand up at the same time.
Shaking hands: Shaking hands across the threshold (in a doorway) is bad luck. Also giving anything across the threshold. Just make a step and shake hands when you both are in the same room. FYI – never try to shake hands while wearing gloves. A Russian will not do it. It is considered extremely rude.
Russian Superstitions
Bread: Cut bread only with a knife. Don’t break it with you hands. Otherwise your life will be broken.
Leaving the house and returning: If you leave your house and then suddenly discover that you left something at home, think twice, coming back home for forgotten things is a bad omen. But it’s not that hopeless. When you return, look in the mirror and the evil spell will disappear. This is something we run into occasionally.
Mondays: Don’t start anything serious on Mondays. Lena makes an exception if her horoscope says its good to start something new that day.
Dreams: Anything you dream between Thursday night and Friday morning can come true. Hope you always dream good things on Thursday night! Could be a nightmare for you if you don’t…
Empty water buckets: If you see a woman with empty water buckets coming up to you, run away! Lena still has not explained this one to me. Guess I should just heed the warning.
As I said earlier, this is but a few of the numerous superstitions in Russia. If you decide to travel to Russia, at some point I will put together a downloadable pdf document with a list of as many as I can find to go along with other traveling docs we will offer.
Pakah (bye in Russian)
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on Aug 24th, 2010 at 1:23 pm
The superstition behind the bottles under the table is, that (don’t accuse me if it is not the right war) when Napoleon invaded Russia soldiers were like nowadays sitting in pubs having a little drink. The French soldiers ordered the bottles and left them on the table. When it came to pay the bill, the waiter counted the empty bottles on the table and charged accordingly. The Russian guys got this and hid the empty bottles under the table for a lower bill. This is where this superstition or custom comes from.
By the way I am a German student spending half a year in Russia. If you would like to share some experiences, send me a message to the mail adress above.
So long, take care.