The Siberian American: My Favorite Russian Superstitions

Wednesday, June 17, 2015

My Favorite Russian Superstitions

Russian culture is a huge part of my life. Even though I grew up in Texas, we were part of a large Russian community, and I have always loved Russian traditions. Each country has its own set of superstitions, so today I wanted to share a few of the ones I have heard often from Russians.


Note: I have been a bit hesitant to post these because I didn’t want it to look like I was making fun of Russian culture. Just like walking under a ladder or breaking a mirror, these superstitions have been passed down over the years. 
 

I have heard this one a million times, and it has always made me giggle. My friends and I used to sit on benches outside of church in the winter, and Russian grandmas would always make us leave because they didn’t want us to freeze our eggs.


I think this one came from chivalry—men are supposed to pour wine glasses for women. But if men aren’t around, women are still not supposed to pour their own glasses of wine. At girls’ night, we pour wine for each other.


Hair is supposed to be flushed down the toilet and never thrown away in a trashcan. I love this superstition because it’s so quirky.

Do you have any favorite superstitions? Are you interested in more Russian culture posts?

22 comments:

  1. Great post, I have never heard of any of these superstitions. Personally, I love learning about other cultures so I think you should post more about the Russian culture. It's so fascinating.

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  2. oh I've never heard any of these! I especially like the wine one. This is so interesting!

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  3. I love hearing about other cultures! Russians must think that some of the American superstitions are pretty crazy.

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  4. How fun! I love the one about hair and birds nests! I wonder how on earth that started!

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  5. Those are great! Especially the pouring your own wine one. Once I can drink again, I'll have to make David start pouring mine. I can just hear the conversation now.
    "Can you come pour me a glass of wine? My blogger friend said Russian culture believes it's bad luck to pour your own."
    "Pour your own damn glass, woman! You're not Russian!"

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  6. These are really fun. I love learning new things like this from cultures I'm not incredibly familiar with!

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  7. How fun! I love learning more about other cultures!

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  8. I love learning these kind of things! I like the wine one, that is a the way it should be right our men always keeping our wine glass full:)

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  9. The frozen eggs one made me laugh!!

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  10. I kind of love the one about pouring drinks for each other. There's a few other cultures that believe that, Japan included. There's something so charming about dishing each other sake when you're out with your partner or girl friends, you know?

    Cat
    http://oddlylovely.com

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  11. Culture posts always interest me. I've never considered myself superstitious. Growing up, I had a boyfriend who had "lucky socks" that he wore when he played in a football game.

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  12. I've never heard of these! These are so interesting, especially the hair one. Thanks for sharing, it's fun learning about superstitions around the world. "Step on a crack, and you'll break your mother's back" is one I always found interesting here.

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  13. I love reading culture posts, it's so much fun to learn what other cultures are like. The one about sitting on a cold bench is so funny.

    Jenni // The Beautiful Little Fools

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    1. Hey Jennifer, thanks for stopping by! So glad you liked the post. The cold bench one is the one I've heard most often, and it has always been entertaining! :)

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  14. I love hearing about different cultures and their superstitions are always fun! However I think I'd be in trouble with the wine one. What if you're having a glass at home by yourself? :)

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  15. I've never heard any of these! It's always fun getting a peek into other cultures!

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  16. The hair one is funny!

    I've heard the wine one before. I think there are a lot of cultures that practice that one.

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  17. I love hearing about these! So interesting, I wonder where they all started!

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  18. i love these!! KC gets mad when I flush hair down the toilet hahaha but I never get headaches so it must be connected!

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