66 Funny Romanian Superstitions

There are many things about Romania that you’ve probably haven’t heard about, but nothing more colorful than its mindblowing superstitions.

I’m not gonna lie to you, these tales from the past are so crazy and far-fetched, they’ll make you wonder who we really are and which era we belong to. Of course, most of us don’t believe in them, but there are people, especially in rural areas, who still live and guide their lives according to these irrational beliefs.

Watch out, supernatural fans, things could get really weird! And scary!

Curious cat

1. If you break a mirror you will be the happy beneficiary of 7 years of bad luck.

2. If you play with a knife, the angels will run away from you, and if you play with fire, you will pee in your bed.

3. A black cat crossing your path brings bad luck, and so does a priest you meet on the road.

4. If your palm is itching, you will either receive money or you will get beaten.

5. Never tell a fisherman “good luck!”, as this will mean “bad luck”.

6. If it rains at your wedding, it means you will have a happy marriage.

7. Never give the last cigarette from your pack because this means giving away your wife.

8. If you stay in the corner of the table, you will never get married.

9. A pregnant woman should never tie a scarf on her neck, or the baby will be born with the umbilical cord around his neck.

10. Never get out of a house on another door except for the one you entered, as it will bring bad luck.

11. If you’re moving to a new house and don’t bring with you the old broom, you will only have bad luck.

12. If you spill water on the floor, never wash it with your foot.

13. If a painting falls from a wall, it means a close friend or a relative will die very soon.

14. If you start arranging the bed, never stop before finishing because it brings bad luck.

15. Never wash your hair on a Tuesday or else you will have bad luck.

16. If you leave leftovers on your plate, you will marry an ugly wife/husband.

17. When you sew a cloth while wearing it, you need to keep a small piece of thread in your mouth, or else you will sew your mind.

18. If you spill coffee, you will receive money.

19. Once you get out of the house, never look back, or else your entire day will go wrong.

20. Never leave your purse on the floor, or else you will lose money.

21. Crying at your wedding brings good luck.

22. If a cat washes her face and paws in the hallway, it means guests are coming. If the cat is washing on the threshold, you will be visited by a priest.

23. Breaking a glass will banish bad luck.

24. On your wedding night, don’t change your slippers, or you will change your man.

25. Baby’s nails should never be cut until the age of one, or else he will become a thief.

26. Never beat animals during your pregnancy, or your baby will be born very hairy.

27. Never get married in May, or else your marriage will be blown away like the leaves of the trees.

28. If you have your mouth opened while conceiving your baby, you will give birth to a girl.

29. If 13 people sit at a table, one of them will surely die before the end of the year.

30. If you keep a dry frog in your bag and wear it with you all time, it will keep epilepsy away from you.

31. If you want to make a man fall in love with you, then make him eat a cake in which you’ve put a piece of your nail.

32. If you bite your tongue while eating, it’s because you’ve recently told a lie.

33. If guests at your wedding talk about marriage after the sunset, then the groom will cheat on his bride.

34. If you have an itchy right foot, you will leave on a journey.

35. If you drop an umbrella on the floor, then there will be a murder in that house.

36. When you hear the sound of a turtle-dove, stop, turn around three times, remove your left shoe, and inside you will find a hair just like the hair of your chosen one.

37. It will grow a green melon in your stomach if you eat one of its seeds.

38. When cows raise their tails, it’ll soon start to rain.

39. If you dream of killing a bear, it’s a sign that you’re free of all tangles in your life.

40. Wear something new for Easter, and you’ll have good luck for the rest of the year.

41. If you write an exam with the same pen with which you have prepared yourself for the exam, the pencil will remember the answers.

42. If you were a bridesmaid three times, you will remain unmarried.

43. If you drop the scissors, it means your boyfriend/girlfriend has cheated you.

44. A spoon dropped it is a sign that your lover will come over.

45. If you wear a foot rabbit in your pocket, it will protect from evil spirits.

45. After you give birth, do not go over water (bridges) because you will run out of milk.

46. If a bee gets inside your house, you will soon have a guest. If you kill the bee, then the visit will be an unpleasant one and bad luck will haunt you all day.

47. Seeing an ambulance brings bad luck unless you pinch your nose right away or hold your breath until you see a brown or a black dog.

48. During spring, if you go to a party, take a sip of water. Don’t spit it, go back home walking backwards, go to your bed, and there spit the water out of your mouth; at night you will dream your chosen one bringing you a glass of water.

49. Count 100 white horses and you will marry the first unmarried man you’ll meet.

50. A swan feather introduced in your husband’s pillow will ensure your his fidelity.

51. If three people are photographed together, the one in the middle will die first.

52. If you sing before 7 AM, you will cry before 11 PM.

53. If you catch a falling leaf on the first day of autumn, you will not be cold all winter.

54. At least one window should always be opened at a funeral to allow the spirit to leave.

55. If you dream of yourself wearing false teeth, you will have unexpected help for your problem.

56. Everyone with a dimpled chin was touched by Cupid.

57. If a raven is near a sick person, then there is no chance of recovery for that person.

58. If you hit the net of a spider, you will meet a new friend.

59. Do not change the bedding on a Friday, or you will have a bad dream that night.

60. A cat sitting on someone’s grave means that person’s soul has arrived in hell.

61. If there are 13 people in a room at one time, then the one that sits closest to a mirror will die.

62. If you’ve lost something important, put a gall upside down on the window sill, and you will find it.

63. It’s not good to give animals for free because you will carry them on your back on the other side.

64. If you’re dreaming mice, you are or you will be pregnant.

65. It’s a sign of bad luck if you throw the garbage after the sunset.

66. Never make payments on a Monday, or else you will give money all week.

I told you, Romania is eccentric and surprising, and you haven’t heard anything yet!

Let me know if you like them, hate them, or if you find them weird, scary, or stupid. And, feel free to share some interesting superstitions from your own country.

  1. Meeroona,

    Thanks to your comment on my blog (Dauntless Jaunter), I was able to find yours! Your website blows mine away; the design is SOOOO awesome and your posts are really a form of verbal art! I will be following from now on 🙂

    I loved these few superstitions from above:

    “18. If you spill your coffee you will receive money” – I live in New York City, and I spill my coffee almost every morning 😉 If I had 1USD for every time I spilled my coffee in the last few years, I think I would be able to retire at my current ripe old age of 25. I will mark this myth as DEBUNKED! 🙂

    “65. Is bad luck if you throw the garbage after the sunset” – Again, as a New Yorker, I am always throwing my trash outside after sunset, so it can be collected the next morning. Throwing it out any earlier would give me bad luck in the form of a fine 😉 However, maybe it’s true and offsets the money I was due to receive for perpetually spilling my coffee.

    “31. If you want to make a man fall in love with you then make him eat a cake in which you introduced a piece of your nail” – WTF?!?!? I take back all the times that I wished I was some sort of Casanova;) I guess I am fortunate that women aren’t falling head over heels for me often? And are we talking fingernail or toenail? What size?

    “4. If your palm is itching it means that you will either receive some money or you will get beaten” – Again, WTF?!?!? Which one is it? Should I be excited or nervous?

  2. Thank you very much, Christian. I really appreciate your comment!
    :)Romania is funny, isn’t it?

  3. Romania is quite funny, it appears! I need to make a trip over there soon; I was in Poland last month, but I am planning a trip to Hungary and Slovakia in August, maybe I’ll come by… 🙂

  4. Many of these were recited in my non-Romanian family….. If you give away knife you will have bad luck. OK to charge a penny.
    Bad luck to walk under a ladder.
    If you brag about a bad event not happening. Knock on wood.

  5. Guess you have never heard of Indian Superstitions 😉

  6. Anonymous Anonymous says:

    Multumesc for sharing that. I have a fellow Romanian who is very superstitious. La revedere!

  7. Hi Meeroona,

    I found this while researching Romanian culture. I am interested since my great-grandparents (whom I did not know) were from Romania. I love the one about keeping thread in your mouth while you sew. I did know my Hungarian great-grandmother, who did this all the time. 🙂

    DSM

  8. And there are plenty more Romanian superstitions. Like wearing something red so that the gypsies can’t put a spell on you. Or if your rheumatism kicks in, the weather is going to change. If you sing at the table, you will marry a drunk. Eating the burned parts of bread is good for your lungs and your eyes. I can’t think of anymore right now, but I’m sure there are more.

  9. This is quite funny! I was trying to learn more about Romania and I stumbled upon your thread. You really must love your country 🙂 and now I’m also slowing falling for it :p

    Thanks for these Meeroona.

    Btw, I have to ask! Are these ALL really believed by people there? Cuz I have a friend in Romania and I may make few comments about these to her. I don’t wanna look stupid then! 🙂

    1. Hello Anoop,
      No, of course not. I did a lot of research before writing this post. These superstitions are gathered from all over the country, so your friend might not be familiar with all of them. As for which of these we actually believe in, I think this is a matter of perspective. Romanians are generally superstitious, but not extreme.

  10. Brianna denis Brianna denis says:

    I find these very funny and kind of crazy because it seems like every little thing will go wrong! I guess we’re all a little screwed.

  11. I was told not to boil eggs at night or the devil will come or not shaving or getting haircuts on Mondays, don’t stir drinks with a knife and don’t go out with wet hair or a current of wind will make you sick. 🙂

  12. God bless you for sharing these! I just tried to look up a phrase in Romanian and stumbled on the superstitions! I am half Polish & grew up hearing some funny superstitions, too! Multamesc, gratulos, thank you so much! May God bless you all!

  13. I’m not Romanian, but I feel Romania is a part of my heart. No matter what others say about it, I will always love it. A few years ago, I met a Romanian man online and still am in love with him. He was very cute. Reading these superstitions just reminded me of him.

  14. I’m Romanian and I haven’t heard even half of this stuff. Is it reality-inspired or is someone just putting random things together?

    1. Hi Radu,

      I’m a Romanian too, and at first, I was only familiar with some of these crazy superstitions. However, I did a lot of research when I decided to put together this piece, and I can assure you that all of them are based on reality. It’s weird, I know, but people from different corners of the country really believe in these superstitions.

  15. Cheryl Wyatt Cheryl Wyatt says:

    I was in Romania for about 3 years….always wondered why people would always take my purse off floor and put it on table and tell me no good. lol I love Romania!

  16. Is there a superstition for a local plant that has white coin shaped leaves on it’s branches? I was traveling in Transylvania, Romania and stopped at a local village to see an ancient castle tourist site. There was an elderly woman walking around the site selling cuttings from this plant and nothing else. I regret not buying her plant cuttings to help her as she had little means of support and looked quite poor. I’ve since learned the plant is Lunaria. If I could do it over again I would have bought it! I’m sorry about it now.

  17. sandi paul sandi paul says:

    Dear Meeroona, First of all I want to say I loved reading all these superstitions. We came across this when my boyfriend who is a gypsy explained why he was fearful of knives. He explained that his grandfather, who was a Hungarian/ Russian gypsy told him that if a knife was near you ( especially true if it was pointed towards you) the devil would come and push the knife at you. Have you ever heard of this? I checked about 50 ways of asking this but was unable to find this superstition in gypsy folklore or any culture for that matter lol! Please let me know if you have.

    1. Hi Sandi,

      I’m really happy you enjoyed reading my article. Unfortunately, I’ve never heard of this superstition, yet it doesn’t surprise me at all. I’ve heard so many strange sayings in Romania, let alone the Gypsy folklore, which is extremely colorful and full of magic. My advice: don’t bother looking for written references.

  18. what about the (irrational) fear of getting a dog hair in your mouth if you own a dog? apparently, it results in something terrible!? (but I can’t figure out what)

    1. Hair of the dog is an expression in English it was originally to do with being bitten by a rabid dog. You were supposed to put a hair from the dog in the wound to cure it.
      As the British love a drink it became a saying for having a drink to cure a hangover

  19. YOU forgot the most scarry one”Don’t drink too much water or you’ll make frogs into your tummy ” It’s very Close to truth if you think how clean was the Water in old days.

  20. Hello!
    Thank you very much for this work, Meeroona. I find it very interesting.
    I’m from Mexico, currently, I’m learning the Romanian language. One of my greatest dreams is to visit Romania someday.
    Some of this superstitions are common in my country too (I remember old people saying to me not to play with fire before going to sleep because I could pee in bed)
    Have good day…La revedere!

  21. Haha, my grandma told me plenty of these growing up. There’s a lot of death based ones like sleeping with a fan on or whistling at night, yet playing with fire only causes wetting the bed??? Lol!

  22. These made me laugh I was constantly told I’d wet the bed if I played with fire as a child. Then there’s all the superstitions about drafts. (Vai da mor de curent) My parents would always say if you sneeze someone’s talking about you, if your left eye twitches you’ll receive money but if you’re right eye twitches you’ll lose money. These are all I can think of right now. Lol love my culture

  23. Doug Barton Doug Barton says:

    Hi Meeroona,
    These are fantastic! It must have taken a while to collect them all. I’ve just made myself a cup of tea which reminded me of something my Grandmother used to say: ‘If there are bubbles on your tea you will come into money.’ Unfortunately there are no bubbles on my tea.

  24. David Richard David Richard says:

    Eating chicken daily will turn you into a pecker,

    Not stopping at a stop sign will force the future into your present,

    Not saying thank-you will give you manners like a cave man,

    Wearing the same underwear for a year will save on laundry soap

  25. Hi Meeroona,
    Thank you for compiling this! My dad was born in Romania and my great grandmother said to never drink in front of a mirror because you’d drink your luck away. Have you heard of this one at all or have any likely origins from your research?
    Also, I’ve heard the one about cats licking themselves as bringing guests 🙂

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