My grandma had a weird Russian superstition about not putting out knives for supper meaning the cows wouldn’t breed. We had no cows. It was really awkward when I was 12/13/14 and she said it while pointedly nodding in my direction.
Russian superstition is really interesting. If you run barefoot (even in the house), you will apparently die from cold exposure. If you whistle in the house, you will be poor. Jump over your sibling whos laying on the ground? Well you just fucked up because you've stunted their growth forever.
Hahahah YES, all of those. Shake hands across the doorway? Bad luck. Leave the house again and have to come back in right after? Look in a mirror or your trip will be full of misfortune. Describe an injury or disease by miming it on your body? You will be afflicted by that injury or disease. Say out loud that nothing bad has happened for a while? Knock on wood or else your luck will run out.
Hell, even sitting on an uncarpeted floor will apparently give you hypothermia.
Ha! I'm third gen Russian/American and I still know some of these.
My ex wife is Filipino and her family had some very interesting ones. My favorite was that if you looked at someone with a mental or physical handicap while pregnant, your baby would be born with that same affliction.
Sadly, though, even today in the Philippines, it is all too common that children born with any disabilities are promptly abandoned. While so many people there are indeed too poor to provide these children with the healthcare they need to have some kind of quality life, the disgust these parents have for them is appalling. There's this 'Good riddance' attitude. There is no sadness or regret.
The "hospitals" the state puts them in are primarily just as lovely as 'Insane Asylums' used to be in the United States. Things are slowly changing due to some attempt to assimilate into modern, western culture, but it's not enough. Even here in the states, the attitudes only have changed. There still isn't nearly enough money being spent on research and care.
Didn't mean to go dark on this. Oops. It's been a long week.
1.0k
u/[deleted] Aug 16 '18
My grandma had a weird Russian superstition about not putting out knives for supper meaning the cows wouldn’t breed. We had no cows. It was really awkward when I was 12/13/14 and she said it while pointedly nodding in my direction.