Interesting beliefs that are still common today
I wanted to ask you to share your country’s beliefs that clearly have ties to paganism but are so widely spread that everyone does it.
Some examples I’ve noticed:
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Don’t whistle at night or you invite demons
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Knock on wood, obviously, the most widespread one
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If you feel someone’s watching you, don’t turn around or you’ll be looking at the devil in the eyes
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If a baby is born, before christening, you need to put a piece of clothing inside out (mostly a sock) to ward off evil every time you take it out of the house
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If you put on your undershirt inside out you can’t take it off and put it on the right way, it’s warding you from evil now
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If you get hiccups someone is talking about you, now you have to list off names in your head and on the name that the hiccups stop- that’s the person that’s been talking about you
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Do not wash baby clothes on a sunday, also do not pick up baby clothes from the line when the sun has set. It needs to be seen by the sun.
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Do not let anyone see your baby’s eyes before it has been christened. (Evil eye)
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If tour left palm itches you’ll receive money, if your right one itches, you’ll be giving away money
I’m sure there’s a lot more, but these are the ones off the top of my head. I’m interested in how different cultures have different beliefs, or if maybe they’re similar?
Posted Jul 17, 2025, 8:34 AM UTC