5 More Superstitions

Since coming to Kazakhstan I’ve taken an interest in superstitions. Learning and sharing superstitions with people of other cultures is very fun, a great cultural exchange, and collecting them has become a bit of a hobby for me. People in Kazakhstan get a hoot out of hearing American superstitions about black cats, the number 13, walking under ladders, breaking mirrors, and summoning the Bloody Mary.

Last year, I wrote a blog post about 7 superstitions that I thought were interesting. This Halloween, I have 5 more. I originally had 6 but that’d make 13, and both Kazakhstani and American people consider this number unlucky. I did not want 13 superstitions on my blog, not that I’m superstitious or anything…(well…not that much!).

Showing money to the moon

When the moon is at its smallest, people will sometimes show a small amount of money to the moon. Then they put the money away and try to forget about it. The idea is that as the moon grows so will the money. I tried this last month with a 100 tenge coin, and found 200 tenge my pants pocket a couple of weeks later while doing laundry. Was it because I let moonbeams hit it? Who knows!

Preemptive celebrations aka “early happy birthday”

It’s bad luck to wish somebody a happy holiday or birthday until the real day happens. What if they die or you never see them again? Then it is your fault. There’s no penalty to wish someone a belated birthday or holiday (outside of being that person who forgot the date) but it’s definitely against the rules to give an early congratulations.

Cats and boyfriends (The mystery of the cat lady)

This one I’ve heard on 4 different occasions, usually from babushkas. As many people already know, cats are possessive, selfish, greedy creatures that care only about themselves. They wish to be the most important thing in their owner’s lives. If it’s not about them, then they don’t care. However, the surprise is that cats have special powers to repel potential lovers. For women, if they own a cat, it will extend a field of negative energy around the person that will scare away young men so the woman can never get married. I think this makes sense, as it explains why cat ladies die alone.

Maybe she is Emo because she doesn't have a boyfriend.

Whistling inside

Whistling is perfectly acceptable outdoors, but is not inside. If a person whistles inside, other people will blame this person if any money goes missing because whistling makes money go away. Many a Peace Corps Volunteer has been yelled at by babushkas (whom are always right) about whistling inside.

Safety Pins and the Evil Eye.

The evil eye is a big deal, which is the fear of being harmed by other people’s envy. Usually people wear a talisman to protect themselves. I own one myself and always keep it in my bag. But since anyone, anywhere, at any time can give you the evil eye, what if you do not have a talisman handy? A safety pin can work just as well to repel the evil eye in a pinch. Wear it over your heart for maximum results.

Want to avoid homework? Wear a safety pin!