So if you decide to go to study/work/travel to Russia or you just interested in... you start to make a list of places you would want to visit, do research about them, and of course you learn about the culture and traditions.
I want to tell you some things about Russian customs so when you meet a Rissian you won’t get into awkward situations because of customs ignorance.
Russians are very superstitious, and this probably inherited from pagan ancestors.
In Russia one should give only an odd number of flowers otherwise it may cause of misfortune or even death.
In ancient Russia it was considered that even numbers represent the completeness of the life cycle ie death.
On the other hand odd numbers symbolized life and acted as a kind of talisman against evil spirits.
And in our days in Russia people give each other an odd numbers of flowers and put an even – on a grave of the dead person.
Some people make a joke out it... For example - A guy goes to his Mother-in-law's birthday and gives her two roses... which is a hint that he wants to see her in a grave or he thought that she is dead already. That kind of thing you can see in families where husband has not very good relationships with his wife's parents (but I think it's international) and has some sense of humor.
Russian often afraid to startle or enraging the fate, feared opponent’s envy, an evil eye etc.
If suddenly a Russian man talks about his great plans for the future /about his unexpected good luck/ he doesn’t have any problems – most likely out of fear to put a jinx on his welfare he will either a) knock on wood (three times), or b) spit though the left shoulder (three times).
A) In ancient Russia people knocked on wood to ward off evil spirits and protect themselves from the evil eye. The sign appeared in the days when people lived in wooden huts. To spirits not overhear the conversation and didn’t know about the successful development of a business or an event, people would pounding on the wooden walls drowning out their conversation and scaring off the spirits.
Also to knock on wood meant to mentally ask for help. Ancient Christians, there is a belief that if you touch to any wood surface – you touch to a Christ. Because on a wooden cross Christ was crucified.
B) According to legend, behind the right shoulder of a person sits an angel, and behind the left – a demon. And they write deeds, words and thoughts of their ward. The demon whispers to the man to tempt him or to jinx started. So to obstruct the wicked eyes you should spit on him.
But most likely Russian won't tell you about his success to not to play with fate.
To spill salt is to quarrel. The superstition starts from the time when in Russia salt has been a very expensive product for a long time. And if you spill even some of salt your family members will punish you.
Also evil spirit is afraid of salt (hence the custom to greet guests with bread and salt). To avoid trouble after the sprinkling of salt, folk wisdom advises three times to spit over the left shoulder. After all, behind the left shoulder is the devil, and by such action you show that you are not afraid of the machinations of evil spirits.
Of course in Russia there are many more customs and traditions based on customs. If you like this article I'm gonna tell you more )
