Russian Customs and Superstitions

My friend Melissa asked me about Ukrainian customs, and I decided to brush up my memory on some of the customs and superstitions (couldn't remember them all though). After living in the States for 11 years, we no longer believe in many of them, though some still rule on our household :)

Customs

- Only an odd number of flowers can be given as a gift. The even numbers are usually brought to the funerals. I still enjoy getting 3-5-7 roses, but the dozen doesn't shock me anymore.

- Men usually shake hands, but women never do.

- When you are invited to someone else's house, you should bring a gift. Usually it's a dessert, a bottle of wine (or vodka :), flowers, etc.

- Don't drink without a toast! You must propose a toast! The glass can't be put back on the table between the time a toast proposed and the time you drink.

- The drinks are usually served at the time of dinner, so you need to be able to eat and drink at the same time.

- Sit quietly for several seconds before leaving on a long trip. Usually we load the luggage in the car, return to the house, and do it :)

- It's believed that to avoid colds in the winter, you have to keep your body warm at all times. Poor kids are usually dressed in so many layers, they end up sweating and catch a cold anyway. So having compared the way I dressed Alex in Ukraine and Victoria here, I can say that American way is much better :) But keep in mind that dressing your child lightly will be considered neglect in Ukraine, so make sure to follow the rule over there!

Superstitions:

- Do not whistle indoors - you won't have any money! Victoria is not allowed to whistle in our house :)

- If you step on your somebody elses's toes by accident, you have to let the other person step on your shoe, or you will have a conflict.

- If you forgot something after your left the house, you can't go back - it's a bad luck.

- Though some people say it's OK as long as you look in the mirror when you return to the house to retrieve your item.

- Don't show newborn baby to other people until the baby is 1 month old. The only exception is immediate family - parents, siblings, etc. We broke this rule and went to our friends house when Victoria was 7 days old. It was okay!

- Don't buy anything for the baby while pregnant. Baby shower is a foreign concept in
Ukraine. I totally broke this rule while pregnant with Victoria :)

- Don't celebrate a birthday early.

- Don't demonstrate somebody else's wound or surgery on yourself, it's a bad luck.

- When you see somebody on the street with a full water bucket, it's a good luck. Empty buckets - bad luck. I haven't seen anybody in America with a bucket yet, so I guess this rule doesn't count.

- If you are not married - don't sit at the corner of the table, otherwise you won't marry for another 7 years.

- Black cat is a sign of bad luck. If you see a black cat on the street, try to take another route :)

- Knock on wood and spit three times over your left shoulder for good luck. If someone praises you, or your kids, make sure to knock on the wood 3 times, and pretend to spit three times over your left shoulder. This is done so that you are not jinxed by the comment. When you see someone's baby, don't ever say "what a beautiful baby" - parents will be afraid you'll jinx it. Instead say something like "what a bad baby", then proceed to knock and spit, so the parents will see you actually were taken with the baby, but you are afraid that your positive comment will jinx it. I'm serious! Don't laugh!

- Do not shake hands or kiss over the threshold of a door.

- Don't look into the broken mirror.

- Don't ever put your keys on the table.

- If you spilled salt, you'll have a conflict with someone.

- If your nose itches, it means you'll be drinking soon :)

- If you by mistake put your clothes on inside out, it means somebody will beat you up :) People should point this out, wait for you to fix the clothes and then pretend to beat you, so that nobody else can really beat you after that :)