Home Palmistry Slavic signs and their meaning. Signs of the ancient Slavs. Spiritual Day: traditions, customs, signs

Slavic signs and their meaning. Signs of the ancient Slavs. Spiritual Day: traditions, customs, signs

A fern flower brings wealth if you find it on the night of Ivan Kupala.

A pregnant woman should not borrow if she wants her child to be rich.

You can sweep the floor with only one broom. There should not be two brooms in the house at the same time.

You can't whistle in the house - there won't be any money.

Finding a coin means wealth. But if in the morning and on an empty stomach - to poverty.

In the evening, debts are not returned.

On Monday there should be no settlements - neither pay nor take.

Chipped coins bring good luck; these should always be kept in your wallet.

If you give a handkerchief, you have to pay a ransom, at least a penny.

If you don’t keep an empty bottle on the table, there will be no money.

If you borrowed dishes, you must return them full, otherwise your dishes will always be empty.

Having sold the first thing, touch the rest of the things that are intended for sale with money - then they will be bought quickly.
* The old man is the first to enter the new house:
The belief primarily reflects respect for elders. But there is also a mystical meaning in it. It is connected with the fact that starting a new business, a new stage of life requires sacrifice. The role of the victim was taken on by the old man, since it was believed that the one who first crossed the threshold of the new house or spent the night in it would be the first to die.

* The cat is the first to be let into the new house:
In essence, this custom is based on the same thing as the previous one. But another interpretation is added to it: a cat is able to find the healthiest, most comfortable place in the home. They enter the house after the cat has settled down in this place. Usually a bed is placed there for the young, and after the birth of a child - a cradle.

* On the first night in a new house, you need to lock up the rooster:
It is clear that the reason for this belief is the same as the previous ones. The main thing is to make a sacrifice, and it is desirable that it be as “bloody” as possible, not human. In addition, in Slavic mythology the rooster was credited with the ability to disperse evil spirits (the rooster crowed three times, announcing the dawn, and the devils fled). A rooster is also allowed into the house for the reason that it was considered one of the symbols of fertility. Consequently, his stay in the new hut provided the new settlers with children and wealth.

* Don’t leave the copy out of public view for Fedora:
In every hut there is a “grandfather”, an “owner” - a brownie. He lives wherever he wants - behind the stove, or in the closet, or under the threshold. His favorite item in the house is a broom. On Fedorin's Day, the brownie does not come out from under the broom, so the housewife must be careful not to throw out the “grandfather” with the garbage, otherwise he will be offended and start doing dirty tricks.

* When moving to a new house, take an old broom with you:
This belief, like the previous one, is due to the fact that a brownie can live under a broom. But, in addition, people have developed a difficult attitude towards the broom due to its mystical duality. On the one hand, a broom and a broom are the favorite tools of witches, who fly on them, shake off dew with them, cause damage, and send diseases (throw the broom after them or throw it under the threshold - and you’re done!). On the other hand, since a broom is used to get rid of dirt, it is also credited with the ability to get rid of evil spirits (they sweep the path in front of newlyweds, etc.). If a broom was used to sweep away the straw on which the deceased was washed, such a broom must be thrown away. But when moving to a new house, they always took an old broom with them: firstly, to move the brownie; secondly, so that they don’t step on the discarded broom and thereby cause trouble for the owners.

* Don't whistle in the house - there won't be any money. You can’t whistle in the house, otherwise it will be empty:
People generally have a negative attitude towards whistling. Whistling is the pastime of idle people. In addition, by whistling sharply, you can scare a child or a pregnant woman, so this fun is dangerous. And mystically, this is associated with the whistle of the wind, which can take money and property away from the house. But the closest thing in this case is an everyday explanation: how can everyone else in the household like it when one of them constantly whistles? So they let him know: if you whistle, you will bring misfortune on everyone, including yourself.

* Washing or sweeping the floor immediately after the departure of a loved one or guest is the same as washing it out of the house:
A belief, the essence of which is the mystical perception of a person and “traces from him.” The man has left, but the atmosphere in the house where he stayed for some time still remains, as does a certain “spiritual trace” of the food on the dishes from which they just ate. There is no need to destroy these mystical traces immediately (unless, of course, we are talking about the “traces” of the enemy).

* Forgetting something in someone else’s house means returning there soon:
I think it’s clear here, even without any mysticism: if you’ve already forgotten something, then willy-nilly you’ll have to come back. And since they usually carry things necessary for every day with them (in our time - a telephone book, an umbrella, etc.), it is logical that they will need to return as soon as possible.

* A brick falls out of the oven - don’t expect any good:
This is due to the attitude towards the stove as one of the most important symbols of the house (not to mention the everyday danger of such damage). The stove in the minds of the people is not only warmth and hot food, but also a place through which the house is connected with the outside world (we remember stories about witches flying out of the chimney). Previously, people also slept on the stove, so dreams and the image of the stove were also combined. A fallen brick breaks the integrity of the stove as a boundary between the house and the open world. Through the resulting hole, evil spirits, the soul of the deceased, illness, damage, etc. can enter the house. Some beliefs connect the falling brick with the penetration of the mythical fiery serpent into the house. It seems that there is also a hidden everyday meaning in this, since we are talking about the increasing possibility of a fire.

* Saying hello and goodbye on the doorstep means a quarrel:
The meaning of this belief goes back to the special role of the threshold in the house (like the stove) - the mystical boundary between the outside world and the home (which we have already discussed). But the everyday meaning is also quite clear: it is inappropriate to start greetings before inviting the person to enter, or to continue the conversation when the guest has already left. That is, we are talking about the rules of decency and politeness.

* The broom should stand in the corner with the handle down: this saves you from the evil eye:
A broom is perceived not only as an object for cleaning the house, but also as one of the important mystical symbols. Garbage was associated with the restless souls of the dead, and a broom was in constant contact with garbage. The broom is also one of the brownie’s shelters. At the same time, witches fly on a broom (on a broom), evil spirits cover their tracks with them, and with the help of a broom left somewhere by a careless housewife, one can cause damage and send illness. Based on all this, the attitude towards the broom is ambivalent. Placing it with the handle down means using its protective function, namely, calling on the brownie for help and showing the enemies at home that you are ready to sweep them out. In essence, thrifty housewives always hold the broom with the handle down for the simple reason that it lasts longer this way. And finally, only a clean broom can be placed with the handle down, which is what this custom implicitly suggests.

* Storing broken dishes is bad luck:
Broken dishes symbolize damage, lack of integrity (one can recall the custom of breaking dishes at a wedding, associated with the fact that the bride loses her virginity). Consequently, storing broken dishes in the house can lead to discord and disagreement. From a household point of view, broken dishes are simply dangerous - you can get hurt. And therefore it is better not to provoke misfortune by gluing together shards, but to get rid of them. It’s not for nothing that the old belief has been preserved: “Dishes breaking are good luck.” Everyone has forgotten that this has to do with the bride, and repeats it just so as not to darken their mood because of a broken cup.

* The doors began to creak - unfortunately:
This belief can be explained in the same way as the beliefs about the stove or threshold. The door is not only a real protection from strangers, but also a symbolic obstacle to evil spirits. Naturally, its creaking is perceived as a kind of warning. In reality, the creaking of the door escalates the situation more than any mystical interpretation of it. And the longer the door remains unlubricated, the greater the likelihood of mutual claims and a possible quarrel, which is one of the manifestations of “misfortune.”

Signs, beliefs and superstitions surround a person from birth to death. All peoples of the world have many signs and beliefs, some of which are common to many countries. Slavic peoples remain very superstitious. All occasions and phenomena in life have their own signs. Our ancestors attached great importance to the phenomena of the world, noted all events, and on this basis signs and beliefs grew. Over the course of many centuries, our people have added new signs to their list and borrowed them from neighboring peoples. And by now the entire list of Slavic signs has become huge. But, unfortunately, many signs remained superstitions, some lost their meaning, etc. And naturally I would like to figure out which sign carries meaning and which is superstition.
This section will contain not only a list of the main signs, but also a detailed consideration of them. The section will also include a Slavic dream book. The section is based on the book by I. Pankeev “Secrets of Russian superstitions”. For those wishing to engage in independent research on this topic, I recommend the following books: V.I. Dal “On beliefs, superstitions and prejudices of the Russian people”; M. Zabylin "Russian people. Its customs, rituals, legends, superstitions and poetry"; I.M. Snegirev "Russian common holidays and superstitious rituals"; I.P. Sakharov “Tales of the Russian People”; A.A.Korinfsky "People's Rus'".

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The concepts of evil spirits and its various manifestations undoubtedly constitute the general background on which the largest mass of prejudices and superstitions existing among people rests. Everything that is more or less mysterious and that at the same time is in one way or another harmful to a person, people usually attribute to the action of some unclean spirit (since they all have their own special functions, or, more correctly, special areas of their actions), then still this does not destroy the general belief of a person that, in any case, this is the work of an “unclean” one.

However, it cannot be said that people attribute to evil spirits only manifestations that are harmful to people, causing harm to people. Although all unclean spirits, according to the concepts of the Slavs, are indeed evil creatures in themselves, sometimes they are patronizing to certain people they “like” and provide various services to their favorites in their material life. Not to mention the fact that there is a whole category of persons who are, as it were, intermediaries between people and unclean spirits and for whom these latter play an almost service role, fulfilling their various desires and whims, mostly aimed at the harm of other people. But besides these persons who are in constant communication with evil spirits, according to the concepts of people, every person in general has the opportunity to appease or appease an unclean spirit who is angry for some reason or to prevent this anger in advance. For this, there are well-known rules and rituals that can be called, in some way, a demonological cult.

According to the Slavs, the origin of evil spirits is as follows: in the beginning there was God and only good angels. But one of them, nicknamed Satan, was filled with envy of God, and he himself wanted to be one. A struggle broke out between him and God, and it ended with God casting Satan into the mud (swamp), which is why Satan has since become known as Satanail. And his minions fell from the sky in all directions, and became goblins, water goblins, brownies and other evil spirits. Thus, unclean spirits have taken possession of certain areas, in which they are trying in every possible way to harm people.

Below will be presented various rituals of modern Slavs, shown in the example Surgut region.

a) Views of modern people on various church holidays and the accompanying customs and rituals

Christmas time, and especially New Year's Eve, is a time for young people to make fortunes about their future fate. Let's consider the most important church holidays and periods, starting with Epiphany Christmas Eve.

Evening Epiphany Christmas Eve people call it “a terrible evening” and say that at this time one must be especially wary of evil spirits, which, as if alarmed by the upcoming blessing of water, begin to rush and rush everywhere. Therefore, upon coming from church, all windows and doors are covered with coal or chalk. And with the holy water brought from the church, having sprinkled the house, they certainly then sprinkle the cattle as well, because, according to legend, if you do not sprinkle the cattle and the fence with holy water, then that night the unclean one will torment the cattle “heavily” and tomorrow (on Epiphany morning) you will find it in soap and sweat. Along with the water, they also bring a candle from the church, which is dipped into the water while still in the church, and kept in the water all the time. This candle also has great protective power against unclean spirits.

Also on Epiphany Eve, people do their best to tell fortunes and try to predict the future.

On baptism, after the blessing of water, those who went to the Christmastide as mummers, bathe in the ice hole to wash away this sin, since mummering by old people is considered a great sin.

The holiday following Epiphany is Maslenitsa- farewell to winter, which is accompanied by the construction of a “coil” (ice mountain) for young people and horseback riding around the city in the last three weeks by more respectable people. People bake pancakes and burn an effigy of Maslenitsa. And on the “forgiveness” day (the last day of Maslenitsa) they go to “say goodbye” to their elders, as well as to the graves of relatives. After this ritual, Maslenitsa is considered over.

Lent is coming. Of all the days of fasting, the one that attracts the most attention is Maundy Thursday, which is accompanied by various rituals and signs that have an undoubted connection with evil spirits. For example, on Maundy Thursday, having gotten up early in the morning, after washing, etc., you should jump off three steps of the porch or jump over three thresholds “backward” (backwards): you will be a light person all year, that is, you will not be sick all year.

Annunciation(March 25) is considered a major holiday. According to beliefs, on this day “a bird does not build a nest, a maiden does not braid her hair”... In the same way, sleeping with your wife on the Annunciation is considered a great sin. There were cases when priests imposed penance on a husband if a child was born on Christmas, since in this case they think that such a child was conceived on the Annunciation.

First day Easter, According to legend, the sun “plays” at sunrise - it increases and decreases. Many people allegedly saw this phenomenon. If a girl sleeps through Christ's Matins, this is a sign that she will get a bad husband. From the first day of Easter until the Ascension, Christ walks under the windows and listens to what they say about him. Therefore, you cannot spit outside the window or pour anything there, even clean water: you can pour it on Christ.

In a day Ivana Kupala Medicinal herbs are collected, festivities and fortune telling are held.

b) Customs and rituals at birth and baptism and related superstitions and signs

Long before the onset of childbirth, women already take some precautions both to preserve their own lives during pregnancy and during childbirth, and, mainly, to keep their child safe. Pregnant women are forbidden to step over a shaft, golik or dog, as well as “kick” the dog with their feet - the child may develop a “coach,” that is, the child’s back will hurt and bend backwards. You should also not cross the legs of a pregnant woman; pregnant women should not sit on the threshold. You can't be pregnant with a dead man: the child will die in the womb, and you also can't be a matchmaker - for the same reason. A month or two before the birth, a grandmother is invited to “rule” the belly and monitor the normal course of pregnancy. When the time comes to give birth, first of all, the woman takes off the shirt she was wearing and puts on a clean one, then they comb her head and braid her hair, remove her earrings and rings, and take off her shoes. Then they light a candle in front of the icons, which burns all the time. As soon as the baby is born and the grandmother cleans up everything after the mother in labor, and the “place” (afterbirth) is wrapped in a rag with a piece of bread and buried in the ground underground, the grandmother goes to all her relatives and friends and invites them to the newborn “for a cup of tea.”

Until the child is baptized, the fire in the house cannot be extinguished, and the mother cannot turn away from the child to the other side. If a newborn child is worried, this is the work of an unclean spirit, which, according to people, often replaces children. In this case, it means that he replaced the calm one with the restless one.

When a child is baptized, they observe: if the child’s hair, cut by the priest and thrown into the font, sinks, the child will soon die, and if it floats to the top, it will live long. When the grandmother returns from church with the child after baptism, some relative of the newborn meets them at the threshold of the house and blesses the child with bread, after which she raises her hand with the bread up so that the grandmother and the child pass under it. The edge of this bread is cut off and placed in a cradle: the child will be calmer and, in addition, the bread will protect him from various misfortunes.

c) Wedding customs and rituals

Arranging marriages is considered a matter for elders. As soon as the guy decides to get married or his relatives find it necessary to marry him in one way or another, a council of elders gathers. At this council the bride is chosen. Then, at the same council of elders, they choose a matchmaker.

From this moment, wedding rituals begin, which open with “matchmaking”, continue with a “date”, or “translations”, and a “bachelorette party” and end with a “feast”.

Before leaving for the crown, the bride and groom are blessed with bread and salt and an icon. The groom stands in the middle of the room, and his parents, first the father, followed by the mother, take one by one the icon from the table and bless the groom with it in the shape of a cross. They do the same with bread. Together with the groom's parents, his godparents - father and mother, each with their own icon - bless the groom. At the same time, the groom bows at their feet and kisses them. Then the groom goes to the bride. She has the same procedure for blessing, but not just the bride, but together with the groom. Then everyone goes to church. Ahead of the wedding train the bride is carrying a blessed icon. When the wedding candles are lit in the church, they notice whose candle burns the most will die first.

d) Customs and rituals in everyday life

· As soon as the built house is finally ready, a special day is appointed for the transition and guests are invited. At the same time, in the new upper rooms the floor is covered with hay, and candles are lit near the icons. Guests gather in the new house before the owners and wait for them. For some time, those gathered silently and with a solemn air sit and wait. Then the owners appear, and the owner carries bread with salt and an icon, and the hostess carries a cat, chicken and sauerkraut.

· When traveling somewhere, it is considered necessary to sit down for a short time, and on the day when someone is going away, they do not leave the hut until he has left and an hour or two has passed after his departure.

· During a fire, an icon is surrounded around a burning house, and a “cock’s egg” is thrown into the fire, which, according to legend, is carried by a rooster before its death.

· If a dog is lost, then you need to call its name up to three times through the chimney at the time when the first smoke comes out of the newly flooded stove, and the dog will appear.

· At midnight on Midsummer's Day, you need to get a completely black cat, boil it in a cauldron. When the cat is boiled to the bones, they begin to sort through all its bones in front of the mirror: they take a bone, wipe it with a towel, look through it in the mirror and put it aside. After some time, you will certainly reach such a bone that when you look in the mirror, you will see nothing - neither yourself nor the bone. This bone is taken: it has the property of hiding a person, like an invisibility cap.

· During a thunderstorm, they light candles near all the icons and pray to God, while they certainly close the chimney and drive cats and dogs out of the house, and they put stones on the windows and in the vents, because they think that through the stone they cannot enter the house “ Thunder Arrow."

e) Funeral rites and superstitions about the dead

· When a patient dies, they light a candle near the front icon, and place a cup of clean water on the table near the dying person’s bed.

· When a person dies, those passing by the house where he lies can easily notice how in the front corner of this house there is someone in white standing as if he is guarding someone... This is death waiting for its victim. Many say that they saw it “with their own eyes.”

· People are very afraid of the dead and, in order not to experience this fear, they use this technique: they take the deceased by the legs and say: “It’s not I, fear, who am afraid of you, but you, fear, be afraid of me,” and then they walk backwards to the threshold. After this, the deceased will no longer inspire fear.

· The inexperienced dead hears everything that happens or is said near him, and only when the eternal memory is sung over him for the last time, lowering him into the grave, does he lose all consciousness.

· If the coffin made for the deceased accidentally turns out to be long or if the coverlet turns out to be longer than the coffin, this serves as a bad omen: someone from the same house will die.

· When the deceased is taken out of the house, a stone is placed in the front corner where he lay.

· From the cemetery, everyone who accompanied the body of the deceased is usually invited to a special funeral meal, and the beggars are also called, who are given three alms, for example, three loaves, three pies, etc.

· On the day of the wake, they order a memorial service or mass, go to the graves and lament, and then call guests and beggars in the usual manner.

· To avoid longing for the dead, they take a pinch of sand from their graves and place it on their chest in their bosom.

· Widows are not supposed to wear earrings. As soon as the husband dies, the wife immediately takes off her earrings and rings.

· Regarding suicides, they say that a person never “chokes on himself” of his own free will: he is attacked by devils. But this can only happen when the person does not have a cross on his neck.

· If a dead person does not rot for a long time, they think that this is either a relic or a person cursed by his mother or God.

SLAVIC SIGNS


Signs, beliefs and superstitions surround a person from birth to death. All peoples of the world have many signs and beliefs, some of which are common to many countries. Slavic peoples remain very superstitious. All occasions and phenomena in life have their own signs. Our ancestors attached great importance to the phenomena of the world (signs), noted all events, and on this basis signs and beliefs grew. Over the course of many centuries, our people have added new signs to their list and borrowed them from neighboring peoples. And by now the entire list of Slavic signs has become huge. But, unfortunately, many signs remained superstitions, some lost their meaning. And naturally I would like to figure out which sign carries meaning and which is superstition.

* They carry a baby to church to baptize him on a casing - so that he will be rich.

* A fern flower brings wealth if you find it on the night of Ivan Kupala.

* A pregnant woman should not borrow if she wants her child to be rich.

* You can sweep the floor with only one broom. There should not be two brooms in the house at the same time.

* You can’t whistle in the house - there will be no money.

* Finding a coin means wealth. But if in the morning and on an empty stomach - to poverty.

* Debts are not returned in the evening.

* On Monday there should be no payments - neither pay nor take.

* Chipped coins bring good luck; these should always be kept in your wallet.

* If you give a handkerchief, you have to pay a ransom, at least a penny.

* Do not keep an empty bottle on the table - there will be no money.

* If you borrowed dishes, you must return them full, otherwise your dishes will always be empty.

* Having sold the first thing, touch the rest of the things that are intended for sale with money - then they will be bought quickly.

* The old man is the first to enter the new house:
The belief primarily reflects respect for elders. But there is also a mystical meaning in it. It is connected with the fact that starting a new business, a new stage of life requires sacrifice. The role of the victim was taken on by the old man, since it was believed that the one who first crossed the threshold of the new house or spent the night in it would be the first to die.

* The cat is the first to be let into the new house:
In essence, this custom is based on the same thing as the previous one. But another interpretation is added to it: a cat is able to find the healthiest, most comfortable place in the home. They enter the house after the cat has settled down in this place. Usually a bed is placed there for the newlyweds, and after the birth of a child - a cradle.

* On the first night in a new house, you need to lock up the rooster:
It is clear that the reason for this belief is the same as the previous ones. The main thing is to make a sacrifice, and it is desirable that it be as “bloody” as possible, not human. In addition, in Slavic mythology the rooster was credited with the ability to disperse evil spirits (the rooster crowed three times, announcing the dawn, and the devils fled). A rooster is also allowed into the house for the reason that it was considered one of the symbols of fertility. Consequently, his stay in the new hut provided the new settlers with children and wealth.

* Don’t leave the copy out of public view for Fedora:
In every hut there is a “grandfather”, an “owner” - a brownie. He lives wherever he wants - behind the stove, or in the closet, or under the threshold. His favorite item in the house is a broom. On Fedorin's day, the brownie does not come out from under the broom, so the housewife must be careful not to throw out “grandfather” with the garbage, otherwise he will be offended and start doing dirty tricks.

* When moving to a new house, take an old broom with you:
This belief, like the previous one, is due to the fact that a brownie can live under a broom. But, in addition, people have developed a difficult attitude towards the broom due to its mystical duality. On the one hand, a broom and a broom are the favorite tools of witches, who fly on them, shake off dew with them, cause damage, and send diseases (throw the broom after them or throw it under the threshold - and you’re done!). On the other hand, since a broom is used to get rid of dirt, it is also credited with the ability to get rid of evil spirits (they sweep the path in front of newlyweds, etc.). If a broom was used to sweep away the straw on which the deceased was washed, such a broom must be thrown away. But when moving to a new house, they always took an old broom with them: firstly, to move the brownie; secondly, so that they don’t step on the discarded broom and thereby cause trouble for the owners.

* Don't whistle in the house - there will be no money. You can’t whistle in the house, otherwise it will be empty:
People generally have a negative attitude towards whistling. Whistling is a pastime for idle people. In addition, by whistling sharply, you can scare a child or a pregnant woman, so this fun is dangerous. And mystically, this is associated with the whistle of the wind, which can take money and property away from the house. But the closest thing in this case is an everyday explanation: how can everyone else in the household like it when one of them constantly whistles? So they let him know: if you whistle, you will bring misfortune on everyone, including yourself.

* Washing or sweeping the floor immediately after the departure of a loved one or guest is the same as washing it out of the house:
A belief, the essence of which is the mystical perception of a person and “traces from him.” The man left, but the atmosphere in the house where he stayed for some time still remained, as did a certain “spiritual trace” of the food on the dishes from which they had just eaten. There is no need to destroy these mystical traces immediately (unless, of course, we are talking about the “traces” of the enemy).

* Forgetting something in someone else’s house means returning there soon:
I think it’s clear here, even without any mysticism: if you’ve already forgotten something, then willy-nilly you’ll have to come back. And since they usually carry things necessary for every day with them (in our time - a telephone book, an umbrella, etc.), it is logical that they will need to return as soon as possible.

* A brick fell out of the oven - don’t expect anything good:
This is due to the attitude towards the stove as one of the most important symbols of the house (not to mention the everyday danger of such damage). In the minds of the people, the stove is not only warmth and hot food, but also a place through which the house is connected to the outside world (we remember stories about witches flying out of the chimney). Previously, people also slept on the stove, so dreams and the image of the stove were also combined. A fallen brick breaks the integrity of the stove as a boundary between the house and the open world. Through the resulting hole, evil spirits, the soul of the deceased, illness, damage, etc. can enter the house. Some beliefs connect the falling brick with the penetration of the mythical fiery serpent into the house. It seems that there is also a hidden everyday meaning in this, since we are talking about the increasing possibility of a fire.

* Saying hello and goodbye on the doorstep means a quarrel:
The meaning of this belief goes back to the special role of the threshold in the house (like the stove) - the mystical boundary between the outside world and the home (which we have already talked about). But the everyday meaning is also quite clear: it is inappropriate to start greetings before inviting the person to enter, or to continue the conversation when the guest has already left. That is, we are talking about the rules of decency and politeness.

* The broom should stand in the corner with the handle down: this saves you from the evil eye:
A broom is perceived not only as an object for cleaning the house, but also as one of the important mystical symbols. Garbage was associated with the restless souls of the dead, and a broom was in constant contact with garbage. The broom is also one of the brownie’s shelters. At the same time, witches fly on a broom (on a broom), evil spirits cover their tracks with them, and with the help of a broom left somewhere by a careless housewife, one can cause damage and send illness. Based on all this, the attitude towards the broom is ambivalent. Placing it with the handle down means using its protective function, namely, calling on the brownie for help and showing the enemies of the house that you are ready to sweep them out. In essence, thrifty housewives always hold the broom with the handle down for the simple reason that it lasts longer this way. And finally, only a clean broom can be placed with the handle down, which is what this custom implicitly suggests.

* Storing broken dishes is unlucky:
Broken dishes symbolize damage, lack of integrity (one can recall the custom of breaking dishes at a wedding, associated with the fact that the bride loses her virginity). Consequently, storing broken dishes in the house can lead to discord and disagreement. From a household point of view, broken dishes are simply dangerous - you can get hurt. And therefore it is better not to provoke misfortune by gluing together shards, but to get rid of them. It’s not for nothing that the old belief has been preserved: “Dishes breaking are good luck.” Everyone has forgotten that this has to do with the bride, and repeats it just so as not to darken their mood because of a broken cup.

* The doors began to creak - unfortunately:
This belief can be explained in the same way as the beliefs about the stove or threshold. A door is not only a real protection from strangers, but also a symbolic obstacle to evil spirits. Naturally, its creaking is perceived as a kind of warning. In reality, the creaking of the door escalates the situation more than any mystical interpretation of it. And the longer the door remains unlubricated, the greater the likelihood of mutual claims and a possible quarrel, which is one of the manifestations of “misfortune.”

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