Italians are big on superstitions…. it’s true. Especially us southern Italians. Here are a few of the ones that stand out from growing up. Some are serious and others are just for fun. I hope you can add some of your own as well.
- Never lay a loaf of bread upside down…. since bread is the body of Crist, it’s disrespectful (to leave Jesus on his head that is)
- Follow that up with never stick a knife into a loaf of bread… which obviously doesn’t include cutting it.
- Never cross arms when shaking hands in a group or toasting in a group… bad luck.
- Never toast with a glass of water.
- Always look into the other person’s eyes when toasting…. 7 years bad sex.
- The dreaded owl! Owls are bad luck.
- The number 17…. not good. My brother was going to get married on the 17th… my mother put a stop to that.
- I also remember that I’m not supposed to trim my nails on Thursday for some reason but I can’t remember why.
- Spilling wine at the dinner table can be easily remedied by dabbing a little of the spilled wine behind each ear.
So what are some of your Italian superstitions?
Thanks to flickr’s “a_soft_world” for the photo
If you are drinking from plastic cups and want to clink glasses while making a toast, you cannot let the actual plastic cups touch one another. You have to hold your cup normally and tap againist the other persons hand….not their plastic cup!
You cannot throw away bread and if you really, really must you have to kiss the bread first. (Because bread is like you said a symbol of Jesus….and also you want to respect those less fortunate then yourselves who cannot afford to throw away even a crumb of bread.
I’ve never heard of numbers 2, 3 and definetely not 5 and 8. Not true, not true! Italians…
The wine one is remedied by putting salt on the stain, and nowdays I just use Vanish!
“7 years bad sex”…only the Italians! That made me laugh, so did not cutting nails on a Thursday, for some reason you can’t remember.
No wonder times have been tough here lately. We’ve got at least three owls in our garden who hoot at night. What’s the antidote for that, I wonder?
My husband goes bananas if I put a hat on the bed – apparently it means there’s going to be a death.
I have heard in Italy that if you sweep the broom over someone’s feet or if you sit at the corner of the table, you won’t get married! BTW, love the charms…my dad has the same on his chain
Buon weekend!
Leanne… there seems to be lots of them with making toasts and bread.
Scintilla, the looking into the eyes one I learned in Bologna. I had never heard of it before either but crossing arms in a group (say 4 people shaking hands at the same time) oh…. that’s a no, no. Vanish certainly works better!
Sally: We used to do a lot of work with Coca-Cola in Italy and the president for the Alpine countries was from the UK. He brought in a Harry Potter sponsorship back when HP was just getting big and they had all sorts of HP stuffed animals at AutoGrills all over Italy…. the owls didn’t sell very well and he didn’t last as President very long! I like the hat:)
HI Carla – I’ve heard of the broom one too…. and “No one puts Baby in the corner!”
Shoes on the table!!!
I thought it was shoes on the table too, Maryann. Back home we say putting new shoes on the table means a funeral, but no, this one is on the bed – goodness knows why. (Like cutting nails on a Thursday, I suppose.)
I thought he meant a hair on the bed, at first! – My bad Italian.
For the Greeks, it’s the evil eye. Some say that you can be cast a curse. Often Greeks will have an evil eye protector as jewelry, in a car, home, a hanging.
Spitting can be a way to help ward off evil spirts/protect.
Remember that wedding scene in Big Fat Greek Wedding? lol
I could write a book!
A knife it the dirt either stops or brings the rain, I can’t remember.
Never have 13 at a table, there were holidays where my granmother ate by herself in another room, she insisted!
Pour water on spilled milk – I don’t know why.
Salt over the shoulder for good luck.
Salt in a red fabric keeps evil spirts away.
An open knife under the mattress keeps the evil spirits away.
Gotta feed those spirits so they won’t bother you, leave a glass of water and a piece of cake or snack for them before you go to bed.
If you drop a fork or a knife (i forget which) means that company is coming.
okay, i’m stopping now. lol
My mother would freak out if we places our utensils on our plate and they crossed each other.
My great grandmother once had a black cat come to her door and she was convinced it was one of her sons who had left home.
And what about dreams! We Italians are the masters at interpreting them. I learned quickly to never tell my dreams to my grandparents – they would always find something dark and eerie in them.
This is a fun post, Joe. I remembered another one..When you give someone a compliment you have to say “god bless them”. This way, you won’t show any jealousy. We know how much the molocchio loves jealousy! And Michelle is right. Dropping a spoon, fork, and knife all mean something different, but I forget which is which! Company is coming, a death in the family, have to wash the thing..LOL..who knows! And always make the sign of the cross over the bread before it goes in the oven!
The never put new shoes on a table/bed is because the recently dead used to be laid out on the table/bed for respects to be paid and they were always dressed in their best clothes and new shoes! Roughly translates to ‘don’t bring it on’!
In Italy you hang a horse shoe up so that the bad luck runs out, in England we hang it so that the good luck stays in!! Finger that out!
Oops! I meant ‘figure’! LOL
I haven’t seen the horns in a long time but I grew up in a culture where a lot of the men wore them. Here’s a few of things I remember:
If you want to sell your house, bury St. Joseph statue in the front yard…upside down.
Lose something? St Anthony, St Anthony come around…Something’s lost and can’t be found.
Want to know the sex of the expected baby? Dangle a threaded needle over the belly…if it goes side to side it’s a boy, if it goes up and down, it’s a girl (or vice versa)
Make the sign of a cross and say a pray over a dish of water with a few drops of oil to eliminate a headache (caused by someone talking about you)
My parents are from the Caribbean but heard some of these growing up.
I wonder why owls are bad luck?
ohhh… saint anthony. i still pray to him – always outloud- until i find it.
this is a great post!
hey, joe, i linked to an old post of yours on our blog and i wanted to know if you updated all our old posts when you got the domain name. let me know if you need me to change the link.
Definitely no shoes on the table (even brand new in the shoebox) — I think that goes for hats, too.
And my mother always made the sign of the cross over the loaves of bread before she baked them.
what’s the one about the elephant statue facing the front door??? or what about the one that women never put their pocketbooks on the floor? what do these mean? anyone know?
I was told that if you want something, say to pass an important test, to write what you want on a piece of paper. Then put that paper in an envelope, seal it, and write your name on the front and then place it under the ice maker in the freezer. Has anyone else ever heard of this!
school project – what does the numbers 45 and 007 mean in italy thank you
I am almost 100% sure the hat and shoes ones come from the fact that many years ago, funerals were held at home, and the deceased was placed either on the bed or on the table, with all his/her clothes on. Putting the clothes on the bed or table was a reminder of a funeral, or an anticipation of one. The only thing missing was the dead person. (So, I guess it was like tempting death to come over).
Whats the story about the owls? My great neighbor saw I had an owl ring on and insisted I remove it and was surprised my Mother-In-Law hadn’t noticed and asked me to remove it before (Italian).
Can anyone give some info on why owls are bad luck?
I have an Owl nightlight in my bathroom, my mom always removes it before she walks in.
My Italian grandmother used to pray to St. Lucy when she lost something. She would say, “St. Lucy help me find ______” and I swear within 15 minutes whatever was lost was found. Try it, always works for me.
hah yes I definitely have many of these in our family. definitely Tony Tony look around somethings lost and must be found, the kissing the bread before you throw the rest away and no shoes on the bed. another one was that we were supposed to make the sign of the cross anytime we passed a cemetery or an ambulance drove by. Also its bad luck to have money on the bed and my nonna also taught me from when I was young and would try to help her and my mom do chores that it’s bad luck for more than 2 people to make a bed.
My Nonni says never let an enemy touch your hair because they can curse you?
If a broom is sweapt over the feet you will be a widow?
If you sweep the broom over your own feet you will be a spinster?
HMMMMMM????LOL
Never put your purse or coat on the bed.
Sweeping all the corners of a new house to get rid of the evil spirits
Birds are bad luck, especially crows
Black cats are bad luck
Covering up the mirrors after someone died.
Both of my parents are Italian. My father is Calabrese and they are very superstitious people.
Nicely, I just want to let you know I like your site.