13 Weird Things People Believe In Different Countries

[Music] well hi there get ready for 13 weird things people believe in different countries hmm fear of the number four being happy after stepping in dog poo never wearing wet during a storm no these aren't some strange tics but just a few examples of superstitions that different nations believe in want to find out about even more fascinating and bizarre ones then keep watching but before we set out on this odd journey around the world go ahead and hit that subscribe button and ring the bell icon to join us on the bright side number one Chinese people avoid the number four now according to Chinese traditions there are two groups of numbers those that bring prosperity and those that signal misfortune the number four is part of the unlucky group the reason why it's considered a bad number is because in Chinese it sounds really similar to the word death and they take this superstition very seriously some buildings in East Asia don't have a fourth floor and drivers there try to stay as far away from license plates with four in them as they can so if you ever go to China you probably won't find any trace of this number in the whole country and by the way fear and avoidance of the number four is called tetra phobia there will be a quiz at the end of the video number two Swedish people don't put their keys on the table so where do you put your keys when you come home usually on the table right well Swedish people go to great lengths to make sure they don't do so and that's because in their culture setting keys on the table is considered well really bad luck so even today if you unknowingly put your keys on the table your Swedish friend will most likely hand them back to you or put them someplace else number three British people always say rabbit rabbit on the first day of the month really have you heard this every nation has its own little rich Waltz for good luck cross your fingers knock on wood put your finger up your nose and spin around three times while reciting the Declaration of Independence no hmm just me anyway four people in the UK apparently it's the phrase rabbit rabbit the origin of this superstition is unknown but the first mention of it dates back to 1922 according to it you have to say the word rabbit three times in a row first thing in the morning on the first day of the month if you do exactly so you'll get a present before the end of the month this ritual changed over time and now people believe that saying rabbit just two times is enough to attract good luck in your life so who knows maybe we should all try this trick out next month you first [Music] number four oops except for you Chinese people Italians try not to spill olive oil forget about spilling salt it's your olive oil that you have to be careful with in Italy Italians believe that accidentally spilling olive oil will bring bad luck and misery the explanation for this seemingly weird superstition is pretty logical years ago olive oil was a really expensive and hard to get luxury item that only a few Italians could afford so the idea of wasting even a drop of this pricey possession scared people with time this fear turned into a superstition that's still pretty common among the population number five Koreans never give their partners shoes though you can still give Dobby a sock if you have a Korean boyfriend or girlfriend one thing is certain they'll never buy you a new pair of shoes and it's not because they don't love you it's just that they're afraid of losing you this popular superstition states that giving your significant other shoes as a gift will make them run away from you in those very shoes the same thing goes for clocks and watches they're believed to bring bad luck to whoever you give them to since the pronunciation of the phrase give a clock in Korea is almost the same as sending someone off at a Funeral so if this is true you should never buy someone the farm either [Music] number six Icelanders believe that knitting outside prolongs winter Iceland is a magnificent country that rarely treats its citizens to warm weather so it's only natural that Icelanders would want the cold to go away sooner than later and that's exactly why Icelandic superstition forbids knitting on your doorstep during winter otherwise you'll prolong the cold season so if you're ever visiting Iceland in the winter you better keep your knitting indoors number seven Japanese people never sleep facing north no matter how tired they are a Japanese person will never fall asleep with their head facing north as for the explanation is pretty grim at funerals in Japan the casket is always positioned with the deceased head to the north that's why Japanese people are extremely careful when setting up beds in their homes since sleeping in this direction is believed to bring bad luck and constant misfortunes number eight Germans often knock on the table in a pub if you ever meet up with your German buddy in a pub don't be surprised if you see them knocking on the table two times before sitting down this is an ancient German tradition that some people still hold on to you see some time ago all pub tables were made of oak which was believed to be a holy tree that no evil can touch from that moment on German started to knock on this holy wood to assure their friends that they're actually themselves and not some evil spirit who's taken over their soul and body of course these days this superstition isn't as strong as it was before but you can still see some Germans knocking on the table as a greeting and of course that means the other people not knocking on wood are in fact possessed number nine French people consider stepping in dog poop lucky now you heard right lucky not unlucky well there's a catch with this French superstition because it can go either way for you simply speaking people in France believe that stepping in dog poop with your left foot means that good luck awaits you after you clean the poo off your shoes of course but if you step in it with your right foot your future may not be so bright the French are sure that this signifies a life full of despair so yeah be careful where you're putting that right foot of yours [Music] number ten Filipinos never wear red during storms the Philippines faces its fair share of tropical storms and even has certain superstitions connected to it the most popular one states that you should avoid wearing red during a storm given that it's believed to attract lightning which can easily strike one to death in any other situation though filipinos enjoy this bold color just as much as the next person so I can hear the weather caster now 75 percent chance of storms tomorrow zero percent chance of red number 11 Norwegians never whistle towards the Sun well that makes sense in most cultures around the world whistling is connected with either joy or financial loss in Norway though it's all about nature and the weather Norwegians believe that when you whistle in the direction of the Sun you basically tempt fate and call the rain and who wants a perfectly sunny day to turn into a rainy storm so when in Norway don't test the patience of people who genuinely believe in this superstition and avoid whistling towards the Sun number 12 Russians never give yellow flowers to their loved ones how would you feel if someone gave you yellow flowers they're so bright and uplifting right well people from Russia couldn't disagree with you more they believed that yellow flowers signify separation and divorce this superstition comes from an ancient legend about a sheikh who returned home from a military campaign just to find out that one of his wives one of his wives had been unfaithful during his absence forget the double standard here and just play along so he placed a red rose in her bed and the next morning it had turned yellow and to this day yellow flowers are a symbol of cheating and breakups for people in Russia [Music] number thirteen Spanish people eat 12 grapes on New Year's Eve if you're looking for a cool New Year tradition why not celebrate like they do in Spain the Spanish eat one grape with each bell strike at midnight on New Year's Eve going into New Year's Day they do this to ensure that the following year will bring them prosperity and happiness the practice dates back to 1895 but became fully established only in 1909 you really should give it a try since it's not easy to gulp down a grape on each chime it always leads to fun family competitions and genuine laughs what a great way to start the new year right just don't choke on your lucky grapes and finally here's the quiz I mentioned what is the fear and avoidance of the number 4 called [Music] that's right tetracycline or something like that hey do you know any other weird superstitions from around the world like in the US with a missing 13th floor in buildings tell us in the comment section below don't forget to give this video a like share it with your friends and click subscribe to stay on the bright side of life or something like that you

Channel: BRIGHT SIDE

Views: 1,114,188

Rating: 4.718102 out of 5

Keywords: traditions, superstitions, beliefs, Russia, Spain, Norway, Philippines, France, German, Japan, China, Iceland, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, Korea, rules in different countries, weird traditions

Id: srpj4wOU2X0

Length: 12min 25sec (745 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 21 2018