JEvery country has its customs and misconceptions. Many come from epochs when the world was still unexplained and dangerous. Superstition helped to explain mysterious phenomena and, like a placebo, to reduce fear. While everyone still knows black cats and the number 13, there are traditions in other countries that are less familiar.
Egypt: Wow, that baby is ugly!
Strangers in Egypt shouldn’t happily emphasize how cute the newcomer is when they see a baby. Because in order to keep the evil eye – and thus the misfortune – away from the child, locals would never shout “oh, how cute!”, but rather “oh, how ugly”. Who wants to make the evil powers jealous and endanger the child?
Likewise, no matter whether you are a child or an adult, in the land of the pyramids nobody is roused from sleep because it could separate the soul from the body and is therefore a bad omen. But if the coffee cup tips over, no one gets upset because that means a good day.
Brazil: Don’t drop the knife!
The mixture of religions and beliefs in nature has produced many everyday rites throughout Latin America. In Brazil, falling a knife means a fight that can only be avoided by making a cross on the ground with the knife.
Flip-flops can portend mischief in Brazil
Quelle: Getty Images/Tetra images RF/Rolf Bruderer
Flip-flops that are flipped upside down also make many people queasy because it could herald the death of a relative or friend. And that, or maybe because the whole of Brazil wears this type of footwear. Nobody really knows where this superstition comes from. It’s not quite as dangerous to point your finger at the stars. In the worst case, this only gives warts on the hands.
Japan: Welcome, morning spiders!
Those familiar with the Far East know that certain numbers, such as four, are feared because they pronounced “death”. In Japan there are also other phonetic syllables that say something similar. Therefore, it is better not to cut your nails at night, because phonetically “yotsume” means not only night nails, but also “reaching the end of life”.
Not quite as bad, but still unlucky is an evening encounter with a spider. A sign that thieves are coming soon. It is therefore best to kill the insect immediately. Spiders in the morning, on the other hand, bring luck because they connect this world with the one beyond.
Russia: Please never whistle!
Even if Russians aren’t all that religious, they’re always superstitious. That’s why whistling outdoors and indoors is frowned upon, because otherwise everyone thinks the money will fly away. Of course, you can’t whistle in the theater either, because in earlier times a whistle signaled that the gas lamps were emitting dangerous fumes.
Anyone who travels sits on the suitcase again to be on the safe side, so that the evil spirits do not think that you are traveling. Doom is also programmed if you shake hands with someone over the threshold. So either invite the guest in or step out of the door yourself so as not to harm anyone with the greeting.
South Korea: The fan brings death
The people of South Korea take the matter of the death omens very seriously. Names of the living are never written in red ink because in Buddhism this color is reserved only for the names of the dead on the tomb.
The misconception that one could die if the fan is running in a closed room at night is probably much more recent. In the hot summers of Korea, however, air conditioning systems are part of everyday life. Fortunately, Korean society is dealing with this problem pragmatically, countering this superstition by putting timers on their fans.
Turkey: throw the money on the ground!
In Germany, many do not give away knives or scissors because they could cut relationships. And if so, then a symbolic fee has to be paid for it. This belief also exists in Turkey in a modified form. You would never hand a knife or scissors directly to a person there. Instead, you just put them on the table for the other person to pick up.
If you want to give someone a knife in Turkey, you put it on the table
Those: Getty Images / Priscila Zambotto
Money plays an important role for retailers and service providers. When a salesman throws a coin or a bill on the floor in the bazaar in the morning, he shows how important the first transaction of the day is to him. A variant of this custom consists of symbolically stroking the money over one’s cheeks. It’s about thanking Allah.
Vietnam: are you a ghost?
Ghosts lurk all over Asia and shape everyday life. Apparently in Vietnam they are always made up. There is no other explanation for the fact that the country’s women do not forget to remove their make-up before going to bed. Not only is it better for the skin, but it also prevents the demons from mistaking them for their own kind.
Like all locals, they make sure – whether man or woman – that they lie down in bed with their heads not pointing towards the door, as this will bring bad luck. The reason: Only the dead are transported out of a house head first.