Everyone experience that breaking a mirror give you seven years of big luck , and that if you step on a cracking you ’ll break your female parent ’s back . It ’s gentle enough to deflect a superstitious catastrophe when you ’re at home and know all about the culture and folklore , but what about when you ’re outside your aboriginal commonwealth ? If you ’re someone who does a peck of travelling , chances are you ’re going to finally run into some questionable scenario that will either fate your day or bring you great luck according to local canon . So to assist you guard off evil spirits and harvest good fortune from on the face of it serendipitous situations wherever you encounter to be , here are 10 absurd superstitions from around the worldly concern .
10. Troublesome Elves (Iceland)
batch of different cultures have myth about elves and fairies , but in Iceland they make reference to a specific supernatural version of gremlin known as the huldufólk , or hidden the great unwashed . As the story go , these magical creatures really hate construction sites . Icelandic authorities and managers have even go so far as to alter plan for building labor in Holy Order to prevent damaging the rocks where huldufólk are believed to survive . There was also a law bring in 1990 which protects any website that has at least 100 year of supernatural account . According to Icelandic prexy Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson , the tales of the huldufólk exist today because , in the old times , Icelanders were few in number , and so the state attempted to increase their universe size with tales of gremlin and sprite .
9. Witch Windows (Vermont, U.S.)
Americans have always had a real bent for being terrified of Wiccan , and no place more so than in Vermont , where the architectural presence of witch windows still hang on today . If you ’ve ever chatter the state , you might have notice one of these cant windows located on the upper floors of residential sign and perhaps think it to be nothing more than an overlooked pattern flaw . But the real understanding for the presence of these slanted window is to preclude beldam from mother into your house because , as everybody recognise , witches ca n’t fly through a angle window . Apparently it has something to do with broom handle and keen Angle .
8. Mice People (Korea)
Okay , this superstitious notion is definitely in the thick remnant of the uncanny pool , but in Korea you should never crop your fingernails at night . This follows from the opinion some Koreans hold that a computer mouse could come into your house , eat your nightly nail cutting , and then attain the supernatural ability to transform into a man who steals your sprightliness . So you should believably just forget about work for that later nighttime manicure .
7. Don’t Chew Gum at Night (Turkey)
6. Tuck Your Thumbs in When Passing the Dead (Japan)
If you walk by a graveyard or a hearse passes you on the street in Japan , you need to gather your thumbs into your pockets for keep your parents secure . The reasonableness for this is because the Nipponese word for pollex literally interpret as “ parent - finger , ” and so by hide your thumbs when you pass by the gone , you ’re in reality protect your parents from death .
5. Good Luck Bird Poo (Russia)
In Russia , if a razzing ca-ca your railcar , your attribute , or even on you directly , it ’s considered good luck . It ’s say the gooey excreta might even institute you rich people . So be sure to resist under any richly - fly heap when you ’re in Russia , because the more birds that are involved , the wealthier you ’ll be .
4. Good Luck Grapes (Spain)
On New Year ’s Eve in Spain , or else of kiss someone , you may get yourself some guaranteed good luck by eating 12 grapes within the first 12 seconds of the clock take midnight . Not only does this guarantee the coming year will be a undecomposed one , but it will also assist kickstart your calling in competitive eating .
3. Broken Dishes (Denmark)
Another foreign New Year ’s tradition can be observe in Denmark , where people hold on to all of the confused dishes and chipped cup they ’ve accumulated throughout the year and then leave them on the porch of a good friend . Whether or not it ’s a skilful thing to have a crew of bankrupt porcelain piled on your front steps is debatable , but if it does happen , at least you know you ’ve get friends , good ?
2. Good Luck Dog Poo (France)
Some people in France think that stepping on doggie doo can have a big impact on your luck . If you ill-use on it with your left foot , there ’s good fortune in store for you . However , if you step on it with your right foot , you ’ve got bad luck and tough luck before . Of course , this could all just be a cagey account made up by domestic dog owners so they do n’t have to pick up after their pets .
1. Lighting a Cigarette With a Candle (Germany)
It ’s said in Germany that if you light a cigarette with a candle it will drink down a bluejacket . This superstitious notion stems from the actuality that many sailors took up match making as an extra source of income in the erstwhile days . We ’re talking about the literal procedure of prepare combustible matches , not the type of matchmaking your Aunt Shirley tries to do when she tells you about that interesting soul she met at the market . So , in those day , by lighting your cigarette with a candle and waive the use of a match , you were depriving a sailor of hard earned money , thereby preclude them from affording any food and causing their destruction . Leave it the Germans to come up with the most impressively logic - bound superstition .
