Russians are a superstitious folk, they do a whole host of strange or unusual things to ward off the bad luck and welcome in a bit of good luck.
Russia is indeed a strange and mysterious land, but if you can understand something about the wonderful folklore and superstitions Russians have you’ll get a lot closer to the heart of this enigmatic culture.
According to Russians, there are many things that you can do to bring bad luck upon your home. Whistling inside your home or office will cause you to lose money.
Remember there’s a financial crisis at the moment and anything you can do to prevent an economic breakdown is worth trying. In the same vein if you want to give someone a wallet or purse as a gift, remember to put some money in it or you’ll be bri
nging poverty upon them! Also, be careful not to leave bags or purses on the floor, you’ll lose your money (or someone will probably just steal it).
One of the most popular superstitions in Russia regards returning home when you’ve forgotten something. It may sound illogical but, if you’ve forgotten something you shouldn’t go back. If you really need to go back, just make sure to look in a mirror before you leave the house again and you should be ok.
If a black cat crosses in front of you, be prepared for a terrible day. To offset the potential bad luck it is said that you should walk backward away from the cat… and if you see a woman with an empty bucket coming towards you – run! She too will bring you misfortune.
Most Russian superstitions originate from paganism, beliefs that there are different gods and spirits of the house and wind, and earth… Nowadays people don’t remember the reason why they do what they do, they just repeat some daily rituals the same way as their parents or grandparents did.
There are a few opinions on how this
superstition appeared.
Our ancestors believed that whistling is the language of evil spirits and by whistling we are calling them, and inviting them to our houses.
Whistling was a magical way to call the wind, which was used by sailors when the weather was too quiet. So you can’t whistl
e in the house, because the wind will blow everything away, including the money.
Domovoy (house spirit) that usually protects the house doesn’t like whistling, that’s why he might leave the place and the house will stay unprotected and unhappy.
It’s just bad behavior. Usually, mothers don’t allow their children to whistle even outside, because it’s considered to be a bit rude, especially when you are trying to call someone by whistling. Mostly just hooligans and bullies do this.
