Most Bulgarians will tell you they are not superstitious. Then they will knock on wood, just in case.
For luck
- Water after the departing. When someone sets off on a journey, to an exam or to a new job, their mother or grandmother pours water behind them so that things go “like water”, that is, smoothly.
- Knock on wood. If you have said something nice out loud, you must knock on wood. If there is no wood nearby, your head will also do.
- „Птю, птю, птю“ (Ptyu, ptyu, ptyu). Light spitting three times to the side – against the evil eye, when someone praises your baby. The spitting is symbolic, not onto the baby.
- Itchy palm. If your left hand itches, you will receive money. If it is the right, you will be paying out. Usually it is the right that itches.
What you must not do
- Sit at the corner of the table. Unmarried people will not marry for seven years. If you are already married, you may sit – the damage is already done.
- Shake hands or pass something across the threshold. It brings a quarrel. First you come in, then you shake hands.
- Whistle indoors. Many believe that this “whistles away” your money. That is why it is so quiet in Bulgaria around payday.
- Go back after you have left. If you have forgotten something, you must look in the mirror before leaving again. Otherwise your journey will not go well.
- Give an even number of flowers. An even number of flowers is taken to a grave. For a birthday – only an odd number. This is not a superstition but a rule that will save your life on a first date.
Grandmothers' medical rules
These rules are not superstitions. They are laws adopted unanimously by all the grandmothers in the country:
- A draught kills. An open window on both sides of the room is more dangerous than a bear. The Germans have the word Durchzug (“draught”) and respect it too, but not quite so much.
- Don't sit on anything cold. On concrete, stone or a bench in October – never. Girls hear that they will “catch a chill in their ovaries”, boys something similar involving another organ. Nobody argues.
- Wet hair outdoors = meningitis. Scientifically unproven, grandmother-confirmed.
- A blue bead or a red thread. These are put on a baby against the evil eye. They work especially well if the baby is also very beautiful.
Between us
The greatest superstition in Bulgaria is the belief that one can refuse a second helping at one's grandmother's. One cannot. Nobody has ever managed it. If you say “no” with a nod, she will serve you more. If you say “no” in words – the same.