“Not the progress of science, neither the sophisticated technology, nor the high standards of civilization or a very developed culture can kill the superstitions forever. Because it is beyond logics and ratio and any attempts of explaining it will hit the wall of personal beliefs. “ Carmen Mihalache
A short look in the not so far past would give us an understanding of the superstitions transmitted from a generation to another and which, sometimes, we believe in. I will present you, every now and then, some of the funniest ones, interesting or ridiculous ones, on different subjects, taken from a very good book, “Romanian beliefs and superstitions” by Irina Nicolau and Carmen Mihalache, after Artur Gorovei and Gh.F. Ciausianu.
So, let`s talk about money today!
If your left palm is itchy, you will get money, but if the right one is itchy, then you will give.
– If you receive money from someone on Mondays, it is a good sign!
– But on the hand, it is not good to give money on Monday, it means you will be giving it the whole week.
– At New Year`s, you should have money in your pockets, so the year is good and prosper.
– The money received as wedding gift (a Romanian tradition is to give money to the newlyweds) should be kept by the bride, after the godfather put some salt and wine over it, this way the new couple is happy and lucky.
– If your cigarette is burning on one side, you will receive money!
– If you wish to sell something, you should take a coin or a banknote, rub it against the soil and use it to make a cross sign on your forehead, this way the trade will be successful.
– There is the belief that if someone has a drinking habit, it is recommended to take a coin and put it inside the mouth of a dead person, during his wake (the Romanian orthodox tradition requires a mourning of 3 days before funeral) and on the 3rd day, it will be removed, washed and put inside a bottle of alcohol and given to the drunk. This will be the cure of his bad habit.
