I do it all the time.

Yes, I have lived here in the U.S. for well over 20 years. My neighbors from India, Pakistan, and Colombia can’t help themselves either, even though they, too, call Collin County their home. Trying to shed the weight of these beliefs has proved cumbersome…we still cling to our steadfast stubborn superstitions.

So just for fun, aside from the everyday black cat, ladders, and Fridays that fall on the 13th, I have added a somewhat colorful sample of superstitions from the Irish culture, but have also cheekily included some from other countries, too. You may or may not recognize them. Know, though, it may be bad luck to get offended!

Do You Know These Cultural Superstitions?

Fairy Forts
For those of you that may be unfamiliar, fairy forts are natural circular mounds in fields usually lined by trees. They can seen from any roadside as, noticeably, they may be the only thing left untouched. Fairy forts are seen as sacred ground because It’s where the fairies live. Popular belief holds that if a farmer so much as pulls at a branch from the fairy fort, he is doomed. Needless to say, don’t mess with the fairies!

New Shoes on the Table
Never put new shoes on the table. This is a big deal! My own children tease me about this after they come home from the mall, laden with brand new trainers. They hover them over the kitchen table and look on at my horrified, don’t- you-dare-do-it face. Of course, they wouldn’t dare. They know better.

Dark-Haired Men & New Year’s
It is vital that the first person to walk through your front door on New Year’s Day is a dark-haired man, or even just a bald man. That way, you can rest assured that you did everything within your power to ensure good luck for your household. I had my black-eyed, dark-haired boy do this for years. Last year, at 17, he was tired and refused to do it (teenagers!). Naturally, I was distraught.

Eat 12 Grapes on New Year’s Day
In Colombia, it is a MUST to eat 12 grapes on New Year’s Day (one for each month) while making a wish for each month. Aside from this being a near-choking hazard, I can see the logic. Additionally, if you happen to be carrying a suitcase on the same day, it means that you will be traveling a lot in the year. Placing your purse on the ground, however, ensures you will lose all of your money. 

Moving Home
Friday is the day to avoid. For years, my mother would announce to anyone that cared to listen, ”Friday flitting, short sitting.” This means that if you dare to move house on a Friday, you won’t stay there for long. Saturday is the day to ensure a long residency.

Priests
It is a bad omen to meet a priest on the road, especially if you are on your way to work on a fishing boat. You’d actually be better off turning on your heel, and going back to bed for the day instead.

Red Heads & Fishing Boats (Prompt apologies to redheads everywhere!)
Hiring a red-headed woman to help in your fishing boat is just asking for trouble. Furthermore, if she is a red-headed woman, or indeed, even just a woman, and she happens to be whistling on your boat, you would be better served jumping off and swimming to shore!

May 1st is a day for those that wish to be beautiful. So, listen up, everyone! The trick here is to arise before dawn, and bathe your face in the dew from the grass. It’s always wise, I think, to leave the dog inside until you have done this, of course.

Itchy Body Parts
An itchy nose, with or without a mask, means that you are about to fight with someone. A twinging right hand indicates that you will meet someone for the first time. And a ticklish left hand means that you will receive money as long as you alleviate the itch with wood that does not have legs; a ruler or a wooden box, for example. Applying some hydrocortisone might be helpful for any other pesky body part that is itchy.

Cars
Never, under any circumstances, buy a green car. Like ever! It will be stolen, get in an accident, break down, or all of the above.

Magpies
Always greet the lonesome bird with “Hello, Captain!” If you encounter a lone magpie and do not salute it in this way, you will have great sorrow along the way. Weirdly though, if that same bird poops on you, that is good luck. Indeed, no great sorrow there.

The Moon
Never look through glass at a full moon. Regardless, I think that if you wear glasses and look out the window at the full moon, the double negatives make it a positive. But just in case I’m wrong about that, avoid the moon and glass.

Nails
Never, under any circumstances, cut nails on a Sunday. They recently had a volcanic eruption in Iceland. This, I’m nearly sure, had something to do with someone cutting their nails on the Sunday before. In Pakistan, cutting nails after sunset any day of the week is a big no-no.

Flowers
Depending on where you are from, flowers hold a lot of power. For example, Hawthorn flowers are not allowed past an Irish threshold. In India, the Cacti plants are not permitted indoors as they apparently exude bad energy.

Weddings
Since Bollywood was a thing, we all know that Indian weddings are a lavish affair. However, once widowed, the mother of the groom will not participate for fear of giving bad luck to the newly-wed couple. Also In India, eating something sweet before an important event is good luck, while hanging a lemon and chili garland outside the entrance of the house will ward off the “Evil Eye.”

My favorite superstition: According to Hindu astrology, if a person is born under the influence of Mars, he/she is called a Manglik and cannot marry a non-Manglik. This kind of marriage is considered disastrous. The Manglik person has to marry a tree, animal, or any inanimate object. This is called a mock marriage and all the bad luck will now pass onto the mock spouse. Now marriage with the real spouse will work out successfully. Hopefully. Some might argue that they are still married to a tree! In Pakistan, two sisters may not marry within the same family; the idea here is that one of them will be happy, but the other miserable. Plausible? Maybe not. But why take the risk?

Quirky or anxiety enabling, those of us that grew up with a “superstition eye” come at the world fully-armed. We most often see it as a love language, handed down to guard against any ill will.

Above all, superstitions continue to be a fire blanket and a near extinguisher of life’s total disasters that may continually try to trip us up. As an added bonus, the face of the person that taught us these rules is forever etched in our memories. Lunacy or not, superstitions forces us to cling to our roots and reflect on those that have long passed on, yet are still shielding us, no matter where we live.

What cultural superstitions do you find yourself believing?

More on superstitions and how they affect us.