There are many superstitions in the Russian mentality. They all come from history and somehow originate in our cultural traditions. In particular, table superstitions are very strong. There probably is not a single Russian who respects them. And yet, few people wonder what caused the birth of these beliefs.
Table superstitions
Among the main, the following signs can be distinguished:
- You can’t clink glasses twice. If you still get two, then you definitely need to clink glasses a third time, so that it’s not bad.
- When you go nuts, you must immediately drink. You can’t put the glass on the table without even sipping after the toast.
- You can’t pour alcohol on the weight (why - let's try to figure it out further).
- Do not place empty bottles on the table.
- If a girl wants to get married, she should not sit at a table on the corner.
- If a spoon falls from the table, then a woman will come to visit, if the fork is a man. And if the knife is a nuisance.
Believe today
Scientists say that signs are a relic of paganism. When people searched and found the supernatural in the ordinary, in order to thus explain the world around them. Make it more logical and, therefore, more controlled. To feel safe in him. They consider superstition to be atavism in modern society. However, this does not prevent a huge number of people from continuing to believe in them.
In other countries, for example, in the USA or Australia, they do not know why they should not be poured on weight, and they have not even heard of such a sign. Cultures that are averse to superstitions in principle cool about the feast traditions of other countries, sometimes even considering them backward for this.
We will understand why all the same it is impossible to pour on weight and where this sign came to us (or how it was born from).
Origin
There are several logical explanations for the origin of this superstition among the people.
According to one of them, three hundred years ago, when the main population of present-day Russia was peasants, on big holidays landowners and boyars treated their workers with alcohol. He was brought in barrels to the square or to the porch of the owner’s house, and everyone wanted to put their glass under the stream to pick up refreshments. The boyars always filled their glasses with the ones standing on the table. Or they were filled with glasses of servants, and also on the table, so that, God forbid, shed nothing on the master. Since the majority of the people were poor, and they remained so, the difference in the way the glass was filled became associated with the level of poverty / wealth of a person.
Another version explains why you can’t pour vodka on your weight - there will be no health, and they are waiting for adversity. It’s the same as slicing bread by weight. Both products are considered basic in Russian cuisine and therefore they cannot be neglected or treated without due respect. And if you are - do not pass the troubles on your head.
Another version of the explanation of why you can’t be poured on weight came to us from France. Five hundred years ago, in the era of the struggle for the throne, poisoning was in fashion between several genera and even blood relatives. Not always through food, but most often through it.
The most popular way to get rid of an opponent for power was poisoning during a feast. Then if you pour a glass on weight, you are sure to distract from it at least for a moment to put a bottle. And then poison can be added to you. Therefore, the weight is not poured. And it was from here that the tradition of clinking glasses before drinking alcohol at the table went. In a collision, wine spilled over the edges and mixed in different glasses. Thus, if someone poured poison, then he himself would have been poisoned.
Well, and the last and simplest explanation of why you can not pour on weight. The sign is that in a drunken state there is a considerable risk of pouring or pouring alcohol over the edges. While the vessel fixed on the table is easier to replenish with exactly the amount that is needed. Indeed, people often drink to the dregs at feasts, and in this way, each time pouring a full glass, neither a bottle nor a person will last long.
Counteract superstition
What if, intentionally or by mistake, you poured a glass on weight? There are two ways to get rid of the negative influence of belief on you:
- Oddly enough, it’s just not to believe superstitions.
- If you can’t believe it, and the feeling has crept in that something bad will happen, then you should not worry, you can also cope with it. It is enough to pour part of the drink from the glass, mentally seeing off the bad omen along with the pouring liquid. And you can safely continue to drink without fear for your well-being.
Undoubtedly, all superstitions are based on something. However, it has been proven many times that only what you yourself believe in comes true, and while you believe in it.