Superstitions from Around the World!

The Hangout Archive
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Superstitions are one big part of a culture—they define the morals and values of a society and they vary from one culture to another!

In this thread, let us talk about different superstitions from around the world!

  • What are some superstitions you know from where you are?
  • Do you believe them? Do your elders believe them?
  • What do you think was or is the role of superstitions in our culture?
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My grandparents believe sleeping with the fan on can cause “the wind” to run through my body, make me sick, and kill me. It’s a very old legend. They have this oil remedy for it too

Nope, not at all. I sleep with the fan on regardless to show them I’m not gonna die lol.

I’m actually not sure, I’ve never done any research into it and they never really told me any stories other than scolding me for sleeping with the fan on

They always think that my stomach hurting means the wind did sometbing. Idk it’s very odd to me

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1 Do not sweep over someone’s feet, they will never marry.

2 Don’t sew on yourself (like a button), it makes people talk bad of you.

3 Never take out the trash after 6, your taking the wealth out of your house.

4 . Always turn your back to the inside of the house when opening the door at night, that way the spirits that have followed you home, will see your face and will not enter.

There’s a lot more from country and people tend to believe these superstitions even me lol and also my family.

Maybe to safeguard us from evil spirits that roam idk…but my country has a lot of history with spirits and ghost… it’s baffling.

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not from my culture but as research I found some superstitions for chopsticks like;

  • Don’t stick them into your food – this is reminiscent of placing incense at the altar during a funeral.
  • Don’t pass food to another person chopstick to chopstick; this is also symbolic of a funeral ritual.
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why am I not dead yet? :thinking:

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Maybe you’re a ghost :thinking:

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I know this one… except that it leaves us poor and needy for the rest of our lives.

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Nope, I am immortal :relieved:

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I’ve been sleeping with fan since I was a baby :rofl:
But I’ll admit I did catch a cold from sleeping with the fan directly in my face and I had also gotten a swollen chin from the coldness of the breeze

it’s all good now …I don’t have fans directly on my face now but it’s on me.

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you can’t cut your nails or hair on a tuesday lmao

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Wait, that’s an Indian superstition too.

Another one is that if you sit for too long on a pillow, you will get ill and your butt will get an… ulcer? :thinking::grimacing:

Oh, and another one… the “bad eye” concept. Apparently, if something very good happens to you (like buying a big house, getting your daughter married, winning a lottery etc), other people get jealous and cast the infamous Buri Nazar (bad eye) on you which leads to unlucky things happening to you. So you should refrain talking about your good things in front of people. :joy:

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Lemawwwwe have that too, exceot that it’s in the night-

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Well I just realized I haven’t shared mine-

Anyway, so some superstitious beliefs that I have around me are:

  • Buyag. When someone comments about you, especially a compliment, you say buyag so nothing will go wrong the next day. An example of this is when someone says that your baby is looking healthy, the baby’s guardian will then say “buyag” both to appreciate the comment and to ward off any misfortune to happen. If it won’t be said and if the next day something happens to the baby, the guardian will often say “Nabuyagan ni ba”
  • Don’t do these at night. You can’t cut nails at night or sweep the floor at night because you might get unlucky.
  • Leaves and Memories. This one, I heard from one of my classmates in elementary: she said that if you put leaves in a certain page of a book and never open it again, you will magically remember whatever was on the pages where you left your leaves.
  • Knock on surface three times. When you say something bad, especially when it’s something along the lines of “Oh my God, will he die?”, you should knock on the surface three times to ward off the devil and evil spirits to grant what you said. (I think you should also say “purya buyag” with this?)
  • Don’t try the wedding dress. Also, you shouldn’t try on your wedding dress no matter what because the wedding might not happen. Students try to joke with this by wearing their school uniforms so that the school will not happen lol
  • Utensils. Alsoooo about spoons and forks. If a spoon falls, it means a female visitor will come. If a fork falls, it means a male visitor will come. Teenagers nowadays also joke on this by saying "I’ve let all my spoons and forks fall but why am I still single lmao
    • There’s a story with this superstition that is creepy. It goes with the line “They tell you who comes when your spoon or fork falls… but they never said what will come when your knife falls.”
  • Tabi Apo, Purya Buyag. When we come across big trees such as a *balete" or basically anything that we think are being inhabited by a mythical creature, we say “Tabi Apo, Purya Buyag” to let them know that we mean no harm when we pass by. They say that if you don’t say this, it will bring bad fortune to you.

@Discussions, what are some superstitions that you have?

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Ooh, I remember my mom’s sister saying that turning on the fan on the baby will not result into a bright future for them-

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woah :star_struck:

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Also omg I remember what my 7th grade classmate told me ;-; there’s this creature we call “Kikik” who you can hear whistle at night (they literally make sounds like “kikikik” so maybe that’s where they got their name). If you whistle with them, they will come for you at night to kill you (you can’t seek help because they will silence/deafen your family who are sleeping). To ward them away, you need to light a candle.

My classmate told me this already happened to them, but I don’t know-

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Does anyone want to share their superstitions here? :thinking:

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I sit long on pillows :sneezing_face:

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I remember that “buyag” one and I find it gross when people lick their index finger and then put their saliva on my forehead :grinning:

There’s also this “pwera usog” one. This happens when someone mysteriously acquires an illness (usually a fever, body pain, or colds) out of nowhere after being “cursed” by someone who also has “usog”.

The said “cure” for usog is for a stranger to put their saliva on the different body parts of the victim. Then, they have to recite the phrase “pwera usog”. After that, the ill person will get healed on the next day.

I personally don’t believe in it. Some people have said that the reason behind it might be psychological wherein the mind intentionally causes someone to get sick. The said “cure” for it is also purely psychological.

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Great how many ulcers do you have tom :cowboy_hat_face:

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