Last Thursday, we attended Anna Kurakova’s lecture on Russian superstitions Russia’s rich culture and history are evident in the many beliefs that are still a part of everyday life.
Most of these superstitions are not believed on a conscious level, but followed out of a sense of custom.
Russians will avoid cutting their hair while they are sick, and won’t celebrate a birthday early.
Some of these superstitions are from pagan times, when people worshipped elements of nature. Every house had a “domovoy”- a good spirit who helps you find lost items. Still today, if someone is searching for something, he will stop and ask the domovoy to return it to him and thank him when the item is found.
Likewise, everyone has a “chort” living behind his or her left shoulder. This creature tries to mislead us and spoil our plans. You must spit over your shoulder three times to ward him off. If you need to return home for something you forgot- which is bad luck- before going back out, you must stop and look at yourself in the mirror and stick out your tongue, so that the chort will see that it did not succeed.
Some of the beliefs can be traced to Christianity. Three is a lucky number because of the Holy Trinity, and Russians kiss each other three times when they meet.
The dead wander the earth for forty days before continuing on and all mirrors in the house must be covered during this time.
Also, you do not show a newborn to any but the closest family for the first forty days of his or her life.
Most Russian superstitions involve avoiding doing something that will bring you bad luck. Here are a few more:
• Never greet or shake hands across a threshold.
• Never carry an empty bucket.
• Never wash your hair before an exam; you might forget everything.
• Never leave an empty bottle on the table.
• Never give a gift before the baby is born. There are no baby showers in Russia!
• Never gesture or show on your own body where someone was injured.
• Never hand someone salt or money. Always try to set it down so that the other person picks it up.
The list of bad luck superstitions is almost endless, but there are also plenty of things that can bring good luck, too. You will
have good fortune if any of the following happen to you:
• It rains on the first day of a trip or your wedding day.
• You see a funeral procession.
• You notice a bug in your drink.
• You break a dish.
• If you stand between 2 people of the same name & make a wish, it will come true.
Anna’s talk was entertaining, and gave a wonderful overview of Russia’s many superstitions.
