friday the 13th

10 Timeless Filipino Superstitions

Superstitions are irrational belief that future events are influenced by specific behaviors, without having a causal relationship. Like in any other countries, Filipinos have a fair share of superstitions. Superstitions play a major role in Filipino culture, they either stern beliefs or subject of delight among the younger ones. Filipino superstitions are passed down from ancestors down to the current generations that cover various aspects of life.

May it be about love, marriage, health, romance, fortune, good/bad luck, birth, death, moving in to a new house or building a new one, name it and Filipinos have a superstition for that.  Some are quite ridiculous and totally unreasonable but nonetheless, there is no warm about superstitions as long as they will not hamper your daily life.

friday the 13th
Photo source: Wikipedia

The choice is yours whether to believe in them or not.  Here are 10 of those epic and timeless Filipino superstitions:

  1. Don’t sweep during the night. It means that you’re sweeping away the fortune.
  2. When you drop some utensils it means that someone is coming, if it is a spoon it will be a woman and if it is a fork then it is a man coming.
  3. Pregnant women eating twin bananas will cause her to give birth to twins.
  4. Cutting your fingernails at night is so unlucky. So as the number 13 is an unlucky number,  it is never used as a house number or a number in a story building.
  5. Opening an umbrella inside the house brings bad luck.
  6. Black cat is related to death as well as a dog barking or howling at night. Including a picture falling from a wall on its own is an omen of the death of the person in the photo.
  7. New Year’s Eve rituals to attract prosperity and shoo away bad luck throughout the entire year such as wearing polka dots, opening all windows and doors of the house to let good luck in, making a loud noise to drive away bad spirits, having 12 fruits means for fortune/wealth which signify each month of the year and of course, though it’s not related to money, it is a well-known Filipino superstition that when you jump as the clock strikes midnight on New Year, it will make you taller.
  8. While eating and suddenly get choked, means that someone is talking about you.
  9. Reciting a chant while crossing a river/creek or in a remote area will prevent you from harm against the “underground creatures”.
  10. Moles in different parts of the body have different meaning.  Some examples are, mole in the head signifies intelligence, in the shoulder means a person will carry a great burden in life, and at the back means the person is lazy.

Did you enjoy reading these superstitions? Then, make sure to subscribe to my mailing list to read my latest blog straight from your inbox. Or. follow me on Facebook or Instagram to get the latest scoop from The Mixed Culture. Feel free to email for any questions you may have or comment below.

Con mucho amor,

Imelda❤

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