Dos and Don'ts: Superstitions

Cats, Ladders and Mirrors
The poor black cat is the bearer of bad tidings here too, which might be why there are so many dogs in the Czech Republic. Going under ladders is also bad luck and so to breaking mirrors. Some superstitions just seem universal.

Changing fortunes
Breaking glass when it is, well, a glass, is not bad. In fact, it is meant to bring good luck. So is throwing a shoe over your shoulder, though not for the person who might be standing behind you. Spiders in the house are also lucky.

Christmas – More than Gifts
In the last Dos and Don’ts, we mentioned how apples are cut horizontally through the core to predict good luck – if  the seeds are arranged in a five pointed star – or death – if they form a cross. Molten lead is also poured into water at Christmas time and the future is divined from the shapes formed.

Men & Women
On Easter Monday, tradition holds that women must be whipped (gently, please) by men, lest they “dry out” during the following year. In return, men should receive chocolate and hard-boiled eggs (and maybe a shot of slivovice).

Bridal Powers
Some superstitions are similar to those from US and the UK. The bride should wear something old, new, borrowed and blue to ensure a happy marriage. Tin cans tied to the bridal car are also believed to chase away evil spirits.

Be sure to avoid May weddings: superstition dictates that bride & groom will die in a year should they marry during this month (svatba v máji, do roka máry).

Baby Friendly
For new and expectant parents there are a whole range of things you should or shouldn’t do to influence the health, future, and even sex of your child. For example a pregnant woman shouldn’t walk under a clothesline, otherwise the umbilical cord will become wrapped around the child’s neck. If the birth is taking too long, an expectant mother should drink water in which an egg has been boiled and which has the powder from the ground shell. Another way to speed up the birth is apparently to open all the cupboards in the house. In the first six weeks after birth there are a number of superstitions. The mother shouldn’t change her underwear or go for water at the well (if you have one of those) or visit a cemetery, go to the cellar, attic or pub. In fact, according to superstition she shouldn’t leave the house.

Don’t Change Cords
The same link includes a great number of superstitions concerning the umbilical cord. If you can stand the idea of saving it then the umbilical cord can be used to predict your child’s future. Just keeping it will bring luck. Also, their career will be spelled out in the dried tissue by the seventh year – or at least the initials, so they will still have some choice. Throwing it over the child’s head will also make the child clever – at least clever enough to duck.

Other Dos and Don’ts in the Czech Republic:
– Introductions
– Public Behavior

– Some More Behavior

– Czech Pubs

– Fashion
– Visiting
– Dating
– Shopping
– Public Transport
– Kids
– Dogs
– The Road

– Animal Sounds

– Culinary & Medicinal Customs

– Czech Superstitions

– Neighbors

– Visiting the Doctor
– Money
– Small Talk
– Going Out
– Swearing
– Names
– Camping
– Measurement