La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
An old Spanish superstition is that you should never put your bag or purse on the floor or your money will walk away. It makes practical sense, but I don’t know if that was the origin of the superstition. In many restaurants, if you can’t hang your bag from your chair or place it on an empty chair next to you, the floor or your lap are the only options. San Geraldo has placed a bag on the floor only to have it picked up every time by restaurant staff. “Bad luck,” they say. And, honestly, our money always seems to be running away.
La Fabbrica addresses the problem head on. Thursday night, when Lucia saw SG about to place his bag on the floor because we were at a small table for two, she came running over with a basket for the purpose. Other restaurants should follow their lead. I just hate when he puts his bag on the floor because dirty shoe bottoms have been there.
Although I do knock on (touch) wood, I don’t have any real superstitions. If I spill salt, I don’t throw it over my shoulder and make more of a mess.
I don’t walk under ladders simply because it’s not a very smart thing to do.
I don’t think it’s lucky to find a four-leaf clover because I found one when I was a kid and lost it a moment later. What kind of good luck is that?
Bad luck comes in threes? Ridiculous! Sometimes it comes in sevens.
Lucia is from Venezuela. She told us her mother said to never leave a broom standing with its bristles up or no one will visit you. Funnily, the Spanish version of that is that you should put a broom upside down behind a door so you won’t have unwanted visitors or bad energy. Our kitchen broom stands with its bristles up because Dudo chews on them.
Do you have any superstitions you can’t let go of? Do you have many?
Una vieja superstición española dice que nunca se debe dejar la bolsa o el bolso en el suelo o se perderá el dinero. Tiene sentido práctico, pero no sé si ese fue el origen de la superstición. En muchos restaurantes, si no se puede colgar la bolsa de la silla o colocarla en una silla vacía junto a uno, las únicas opciones son el suelo o el regazo. San Geraldo ha dejado una bolsa en el suelo solo para que el personal del restaurante la recoja. “Mala suerte”, dicen. Y, sinceramente, parece que siempre se nos va el dinero.
La Fabbrica aborda el problema directamente. El jueves por la noche, cuando Lucía vio a SG a punto de dejar su bolsa en el suelo porque estábamos en una mesa pequeña para dos, vino corriendo con una cesta. Otros restaurantes deberían seguir su ejemplo. Detesto cuando deja su bolsa en el suelo porque siempre ha habido suelas de zapatos sucias.
Aunque toco madera, no tengo ninguna superstición. Si derramo sal, no la tiro por encima del hombro y ensucio más.
No paso por debajo de escaleras simplemente porque no es muy inteligente.
No creo que sea de buena suerte encontrar un trébol de cuatro hojas, porque encontré uno de niño y lo perdí al instante. ¿Qué clase de buena suerte es esa?
¿La mala suerte viene de tres en tres? ¡Ridículo! A veces viene de siete en siete.
Lucía es de Venezuela. Nos contó que su madre decía que nunca dejáramos una escoba con las cerdas hacia arriba o nadie nos visitaría. Curiosamente, la versión en España dice que hay que poner la escoba boca abajo detrás de la puerta para evitar visitas indeseadas o malas energías. Nuestra escoba de la cocina está con las cerdas hacia arriba porque Dudo las mastica.
¿Tienes alguna superstición que no puedas dejar atrás? Tienes muchos?
• Los pequeños super nachos de San Geraldo.
• Mi ensalada Asiática con papaya.
• Facultad de Veterinaria de la Universidad de Córdoba. A la vuelta de la esquina de La Fábbrica.
• Más cerca de casa. Zinnias a la entrada sur del Jardin de la Agrícultura.
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Haz clic en las miniaturas para ampliar.
That’s fascinating – I never heard of that particular superstition!
I’m not generally a superstitious person (touch wood, fingers crossed), but I used to have a habit of saluting a solitary magpie for good luck – until we lived in our first flat in London, when dozens of the noisy fuckers used to congregate in the tree just outside our window. Bizarre where these things come from… Jx
PS The Veterinary School is a magnificent building!
Jon:
The superstition was a new one for us when we arrived in Spain.
I don’t put shoes or hats on the table or the bed. Mainly hygiene with a bit of superstition thrown in. Boud
Boud:
I’m with you about the shoes (hygiene) although I do remember my mother saying it was bad luck. She said the only time shoes would be at the level would be when a person was dead.
I live by that “superstition”. There have been times in life, especially the years I had children to raise, when money was low but it never ran out because I kept my purse elevated at all times so the money could not completely run out. I use a fanny pack now and, when I take off, to ensure money keeps flowing, I not only don’t place it on the floor or in a low area, I place it in the highest place in the unit … high up on a shelf in the closet. As for other superstitions, I am not one to tempt fate, so I would never walk under a ladder, I do toss salt over my left shoulder when any is spilled, and I turn around when I see a black cat coming to avoid it crossing my path.
Shirley:
I remember your beliefs. I stopped worrying about black cats when we had two. And they couldn’t help but cross our paths. I wonder…
And in the UK, a black cat crossing your path is good, rather than bad luck… Jx
Jon:
Yeah, that surprised me.
I think Carlos and I should each put a bag on the floor and watch the money run back and forth …
I knock on wood but I expect nothing from it and our broom hangs on the wall bristles down. I, howeverm, have been known to sleep in the closet, hanging upside down ….
Bob:
Well, hanging upside down has always worked for other bats.
But if you throw salt over your shoulder which one? My mother had lots of superstitions, I remember them, but nowadays I don’t really pay attention to them anymore.
Left shoulder to catch the devil. Not your right shoulder, that’s your guardian angel’s side. I don’t write this stuff, I just believe it..
larrymuffin:
Yes, left shoulder to chase the devil away.
larrymuffin:
I had always heard left shoulder. The only superstition my mother ever shared with me was to not put shoes on a table.
Well there I agree 100% with her. Same for men wearing hats inside the house.
I have always been fascinated by and loved superstitions! Whether I believe in them literally or not is irrelevant. I often perform the little “magical thinking” rituals just because I regard them as spiritual culture and heritage which subverts established religious authority. Plus it’s fun! Some of my faves are: never cross knives (brings conflict); throw spilled salt over left shoulder (because the devil sits at your left shoulder); never open an umbrella inside (bad luck); no shoes on tables/countertops (bad luck); itchy palms = left for love, right for money; and many, many more!
Debra:
I enjoy the stories. My mother wasn’t superstitious but she did like to quote them at times. If your nose itches, you’re going to get in a fight. My university girlfriend said an itchy nose meant you were about to kiss a fool and then she’d kiss me. A superstition here is to never toast with water. That somehow matters to me, simply out of respect for local culture I think.
I know plenty of superstitions (and some may just be regional), but I don’t really take any to heart other than the occasional knock on wood. When I was a teenager, if a traffic light turned yellow as we were passing through it we always reached up and scratched the roof of the car. Then there’s the viaduct in town that you had to hold your breath while crossing it or you’d get murdered in your sleep.
Kelly:
Well, I’d be holding my breath on the viaduct. Never heard of scratching the roof of the car at a yellow light. Obviously, not s superstition passed down druids.
The viaduct one is truly bizarre, but also simply brilliant. Viaduct, hold your breath, murdered in you sleep – the incongruity is simply genius!
Putting one’s purse or bag on the floor is asking for grime on it and an increased chance someone will trip over it or steal it, LOL!
I’m not very superstitious, though I have been known to knock on wood or cross my fingers for luck (especially during Oilers’ play off games, LOL). I’ve heard that a red wallet brings wealth, a hat on the bed brings bad luck, tripping while going upstairs is good luck and a bird in the house means death. As for cutlery, my favourite is that a knife, fork or spoon dropped on the floor means you’ll soon get a visitor from the direction the utensil is pointing!
So have you liberated the Egyptian-styled bronze plaque yet, Scoot?
Tundra Bunny:
The bronze is in the house. I can’t share photos because I don’t want to get arrested. I learned in Italy that if a moth flies into the house you want it to circle your head because that will bring you money.
I am sure I must have ONE superstition………guess not!
Both those meals/lunches look good. Nachos for me tomorrow……..somewhere.
What a beautiful city!
Jim:
SG loves his nachos!
Only not to look forward to anything too much, because fate (or chance) is just waiting to disappoint you.
Kirk:
My parents always said that because they said they didn’t want me to be disappointed. It was a sad way of approaching life. They shot down any anticipatory excitement I had.
I was the opposite, often telling my mother that if I expect the worst I’ll never be disappointed. She frequently called me a crepe-hanger.
I wonder where you got that from. I somehow never listened to my parents when it came to hope.
Never open an umbrella in the house, or it will rain in your home.
David:
Even worse, bad luck will come your way for offending the sun god Ra.
Wow, those Zinnias are holding up well, considering the intense heat!
Yes, I’ve heard that superstition about the bag on the floor, too… actually, not the part about your money running away, just that it’s bad luck. I never heard it until sometime in the last 20 years… heard it from students. It was mostly only African American students who said it, so maybe it’s more part of the culture in their families? Or from the south? Who knows! I just know that it’s annoying trying to deal with a bag in a small restaurant.
Judy C:
The zinnias surprised us. Two lush beds of them. They do thrive in heat and sun, but they must be getting good watering.
The zinnias bring back a fond memory from childhood. They used to sell rolls of cotton padding with zinnia seeds embedded in them; you’d unroll the cotton onto soil, cover it with some dirt, water it, and voilà, flowers. I’ve had a soft spot for zinnias ever since, but I don’t see them as much anymore. Likely they’re all in suburban back yards… with cotton on their roots.
wickedhamster:
I’d never seen seeded cotton batting. What a great idea. And a sweet memory.
I do knock wood. Mostly. Also, if salt spills (and I am always spilling salt for one reason or another), I toss a token grain or two over my left shoulder. I think those are my only two and of COURSE I don’t really believe in them.
Now see? Those zinnias? That is how I wanted mine to look. They do not.
Thank you for the food porn. I mean, really. Dear god.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
I knock wood, too, but it’s simply a habit now. I haven’t seen the zinnias in daylight. The colors must be amazing. I haven’t tired of that salad at La Fábbrica.
I am fascinated with superstition, especially how they differ from place to place and why they are there. With that said, I am generally not a superstitious fellow, having come to the conclusion there is no cosmic force out there doing anything good or bad regardless what we do. Someone is superstitious that I am not allowed to say things in the car along the line ‘well traffic seems to be fine and moving along’.
Urspo:
Yes, statements like that about traffic are supposed to be followed by “touch wood” or “knock on wood” and most cars don’t have any.
This post turned me into Chatty Cathy for some odd reason. My grandmother had some superstitions, e.g., never eat chicken on New Year’s Day or your money will fly out the window in the new year. That one actually became a custom that most of my mother’s side of the family followed. There were also quasi-religious superstitions: in a lightening storm, grandma would always take a bit of palm frond from Palm Sunday, light it in a dish and then blow it out so it smoked, and go to each room in the house with the smoke so that the house would not be struck by lightening.
Seeing your comment about the New Year reminds me that I DO have to eat Black Eyed Peas that day for good luck.
Kelly:
I still say poo poo poo when a baby or a cat yawns!
wickedhamster:
Ooh, grandma had some serious superstitions. The most dramatic my family got was saying poo poo poo to scare away evil spirits when a child yawned. Everything else was of the “don’t do that, don’t say that; it’s bad luck.”
Oh yes, saying that always brings down a curse, especially when approaching a ramp for the capital beltway…
OK, this made me laugh. I’ve never heard of some of these superstitions. I always set my bag on the floor. Or the one about standing a broom with the bristles up and no one will visit — like that’s a bad thing?! LOL
I don’t really have any superstitions that I can think of, but Dave might beg to differ. I do insist on locking the deadbolts every night, which he thinks is superstitious but I think is just smart.
Steve:
Deadbolts are not superstitious. Locking and unlocking three times and then spitting on your palms and rubbing them together, that’s superstitious. It IS funny that in Venezuela, Lucia was taught standing the broom bristles up was a bad thing while in Spain it’s just the opposite. I wonder if she simply misunderstood.