Superstitions you should know to feel at home anywhere in the world
While travelling to any corner of the world it is ultimately important to get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the place. However, not to find oneself in an awkward or uncomfortable situation one should also take care of local superstitions. Here is a list of some superstitions that will let you feel at home staying in these countries. Many superstitions are believed not only in one country but in the neighbouring countries as well.
01. Brasil
Look after your purse. Here people say if you drop your purse on the floor it is a sign of loosing money soon.
02. Britain
British women always carry a handful of acorns with the in the pocket to stay young and healthy. They believe that via acorns the oak gives them its longevity and protects from illnesses and diseases.
03. China
In China people do not like number “4”. It is considered as the number of death. The fact is that the pronunciation of “4” and the word “death” are very close to each other. You will not find floor 4 in China. So do not be confused if you go by elevator there and do not find the floor 4 button.
04. Danmark
In Denmark people keep all the broken dishes throughout the year. When a New Year night comes, they give one piece to every relative and friend of theirs. It is believed the more pieces of broken porcelain dishes a person has, the happier he or she will be the next year.
05. Egypt
Opening and closing scissors without cutting anything is believed to bring bad luck in Egypt. The worse is only to leave scissors open on the table. Meanwhile if you put closed scissors under the pillow and go to sleep, it will protect you from nightmares.
06. Greece
Staying in Egypt try to avoid such a coincident when saying the same words at a time with another person. Local people believe it leads to an arguments between people. If such a think happens, immediately pronounce the magic words “Piase Kokkino”.
07. India
In India people avoid washing hair on Thursdays and Saturdays. From ancient times barbers didn’t work on Thursdays. And Saturday is considered the day of the planet Shani that has a great respect among the Indians.
08. Japan
In Japan every child knows that he or she should hide the belly during the storm and while sleeping, otherwise it will be stolen and eaten by Raijin, the God of storm .
09. Qatar
In Qatar people never kill spiders that live in their homes. It is believed that these insects protect homes from fire.
10. Rwanda
In Rwanda women do not eat goat’s meat. They believe that if a woman eats goat’s meat, she will get a beard like a man.
11. South Korea
In South Korea people believe that if to leave a working fan in a a closed room while sleeping, it can kill you. So every Korean set the timer for automatic turn off of the fan.
12. Spain
In Spain every person should eat 12 grapes at midnight when a New Year comes. Each berry signifies a lucky month of the upcoming year.
13. Turkey
Do not chew a chewing gum after sunset in Turkey. Here people say that chewing a chewing gum at night is chewing the dead’s (corpse) flesh.
14. Philippines
In Philippines there is a saying “There’s a quiet angel passing in the room” when a sudden silence takes place during a conversation. Actually this superstition has its origin in literature. It belongs to the writer – Thomas Dylan. The expression was fist found in his novel “Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog”.