In light of today being the fearful Friday the 13th , let’s talk superstition. American culture is filled with all kinds of interesting superstitions: black kitty cats, don’t walk under a ladder, the horror of all things number 13 (to the extent of emitting it in buildings and airplanes even!), etc etc… But you might be surprised to hear that in Italy it’s Friday the 17th that is very bad news. Here’s a little list of superstitions, Italian style!
Malocchio: The Evil Eye! It’s as simple as someone giving you a bad look, and it’s not to be taken lightly! Avoid being seriously cursed by making a hand gesture: index finger and pinky up, other fingers down (think the devil horns sign at a metal concert) and point down towards the ground. But careful where you point those “horns”…make this gesture towards someone and it means that their significant other is unfaithful. Might be easier to carry the corno with you, a red horn-shaped charm.
Nuns: See some nuns coming your way? Better touch something made of steel or say “Suora tua!” (your nun!) at the next person you pass, and thereby passing off the bad luck to someone else. Why are nun’s bad luck? They say it’s because sisters are associated with two places: the hospital and the cemetery, 2 places you don’t want to be.
Dropping Olive Oil: I once misjudged how many things I could carry in a small grocery store and dropped a bottle of olive oil which broke and made a glassy golden mess. I thought my friend Emiliano was going to have a heart attack when I told him, because this is apparently super bad luck. Origins of such a superstition are likely to be from days when olive oil was extremely precious (it was even once used as a currency).
The Number 17: Americans have Friday the 13th (and about 10 films dedicated to it), but Italy has Friday the 17th. Origins of the dreaded number 17 are thought to be due to the fact 17 written in roman numerals, is XVII. Rearranging those symbols spells VIXI, Latin for “I lived.” VIXI was commonly inscribed on tombstones.
The Number 13: The number 13 is avoided specifically at any dinner table…Think about how many folks were at the Last Supper before Jesus was arrested by Roman soldiers and you may understand why.
Birds: Birds are interestingly a source of both good and bad luck. Birds in your house are said to be majorly bad luck. This is thought to come from the Bible, because after Peter denounces Jesus for the last time a rooster is said to have crowed. On the flip-side, it’s believed to be very good luck if a bird *ahem* ‘blesses’ you. My own personal theory on why this is said to be good luck, is that this is such a common and hard-to-avoid occurrence that it would be just plain depressing if it were anything but a “good” sign!
New Home, New Broom: When moving into a new home, you’re supposed to buy (or be given) a brand new broom. It’s bad luck to use the one from the previous tenants!
Hat on Bed: When visiting a friend don’t you dare put your hat on the bed! Theory has it that this is considered bad luck because when a Priest visits someone sick or dying, they tend/tended to take off their hat and put it nearby, ie: the bed with the sick person.
(C)atchoo!: It’s believed that hearing a cat sneeze is good luck. If the opposite were true, then this would finally explain why cats always gravitate towards the person in the room who is allergic to cats!
Spilling Salt: Spilling salt is bad luck here too. While I imagined this is bad luck for the same reasons dropping olive oil is (ie: salt also was once precious enough to be used as currency), I’m told that it might be also due to the fact that conquering armies once “salted” the cities they defeated, as a way of ruining the soil.
Touching Iron: Where in English we say “Knock on Wood”, when we don’t want to jinx ourselves, in Italian they say “Tocca il Ferro” or “Touch Iron”.
Buona Fortuna!