These Italian Superstitions Need To Be Understood And Loved

Some of the popular superstitions in Italy are familiar to Americans even if the origins are very clear. These include:

• Having A Lucky Shirt – A lucky shirt, hat or some other piece of clothing is popular in Italy and abroad. Wearing that lucky shirt when you need to take a test in school is a popular way to get a good grade. Wearing it for your next truffle hunt will help the dogs or pigs and of course it needs to be worn when your favorite team is playing.
• Breaking A Mirror – There are many reasons that breaking a mirror is bad, but the most popular is the bad luck that will follow. The ancient Romans believed their gods watched souls through mirrors, so breaking one was seen as disrespectful and worthy of 7 years of bad luck.

Crossing your hands (Incrociare Le Mani) can invite bad luck and should be avoided at all costs. This may not be an obvious risk, but there are two situations where this presents itself:

• Meeting People – imaging a small group of people meeting in a business setting. They usually introduce themselves in a somewhat haphazard manner, but be careful. YOu don’t want to cross arms as you shake each other’s hands. Go slowly, greet the person next to you and DON’T cross arms.
• Toasting To Good Fortune – So you are out with friends splitting some Prosecco and you want to toast (brindisi). Again, when you are clanging glasses, don’t cross arms and be sure to maintain eye contact with the person with whom you are toasting!

The new year brings new opportunities, so why not try to have the best luck you can. In order to start the year off right, you will need to be concerned with what you are eating and when you are wearing underneath your clothes. Specifically:

• Eat Some Lentils – It is believed that Lentils will bring wealth and prosperity in the New Year, so why not enjoy these “coin shaped” delights as you celebrate with your family. In particular, Lentils and Sausage (Lenticchie e Cotechino) are delicious and an easy way to boost your bank account in the new year.
• Wear Some Red Undies – This may seem a little risqué, but this tradition goes back to the ancient Romans, so it must be good. On the night between New Years Eve and the next day, wearing a red bra and panties is important to ensure good luck in the new year. Interestingly, legend dictates that you should throw away the red underwear the following day, to face the beginning of the new year in the best possible way and chase away evil spirits.

Since a charm is typically something you wear, there probably isn’t really a bad luck charm, but more likely a charm that wards off evil, like the horn shaped pendants you will find particularly in Naples. There are, however, some things that invite evil, and some interesting ones are:

• The Cursed Owl (L’uccellaccio del Malaugurio) – The cry of an owl (gufo) is an omen that means bad luck is on the way. It is so serious that the verb gufare, based on the word for owl, means: to bring bad luck, or to jinx someone.
• Broom Across The Feet – Although a bit sexist, one who passes a broom over the feet of another person (Passare La Scopa Sui Piedi) will not marry! The idea is that a woman (or a girl) who can’t do housework well, like she doesn’t know how to clean the floor, will not find a husband. Again, not a modern concern, but few of these superstitions are based in today’s culture.
• Don’t Say: Good Luck! – Not unlike the phrase “Break A Leg”, it can actually be considered bad luck to explicitly wish someone good luck (Buona Fortuna or Auguri!). The right phrase is: In Bocca Al Lupo!, which means: In The Wolf’s Mouth to which the response should be: Crepi! (Kill It!).