Russian traditions and superstitions

Russian traditions, superstitions and beliefs include superstitions and customs of Russians. Many of them are now inseparable parts of everyday life, or simply common social etiquette, though they often have their origins in superstition. The awareness of them, and their perceived importance, depends on various factors including region and age. Some are extremely common and practiced by the vast majority of the population, while some are extremely obscure.

Russia lacks some of the superstitions Westerners find commonplace. Most Russians are not particularly concerned with the number 13, opening umbrellas indoors or walking under ladders.

Communion or hold conversations with demons. Sorcerers primarily use black magic to summon devils. The goals of summoning devils include attaining wealth, fame, approval of superiors, sex, or harming another person. Those that rejected Christianity and sought the Devil felt that the Devil was as strong as God and impious spells were more powerful than prayer.

Romance was connected with magic and sorcery even until the 18th century when it became a prevalent literary theme. Neighbors suspected magic to be the cause of people so passionate they lost their senses. Christianity supported marriage and child-bearing, but it did not support the pursuit of pleasures of the flesh. This ban did not stop people from employing the Devil to get their share of pleasure. For men the usual aim was sex, but for women it could have been to get married, exact revenge, or regain a husband’s affection.

There are many interpretations of death in Russian folk tradition. It can be reversible, and it sometimes resides outside of the body. It is also closely related to sleep. It is believed that when one sleeps one can traverse the “other world” and come back alive. There are two kinds of deaths. A person who dies in his or her old age surrounded by family died a “good” death, a death that was “their own.” They depart when God says they should. A person who dies a “bad” death, or a death “not their own,” died too soon before the time God assigned them. These persons might have been murdered, committed suicide, died of illness, or in war. Because of the nature of these deaths the earth cannot accept them until their time comes which means they do not receive a proper burial and are sometimes not buried at all but covered with rocks or sticks. Russians associate “good” deaths with bringing good harvests while attributing storms, droughts and other forms of destruction to “bad” deaths.

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Wikipedia