100% Greek Superstitions
By Dimi Deliyiannis © 2005

Bread
Not only are Greeks huge bread eaters, but they consider bread to be a gift from God, much like the bible story. You will never find bread being thrown away, if its not eaten, the good ol' family dog will enjoy the leftovers.

Crows
These birds are considered to be bearers of bad news, bringing with them death and misfortune. When a Greek spots a crow or hears it, its common for them to say "Sto kalo...sto kala..kala nea na mou feries" which basically means Go well (sto kalo) bring me good news (kala nea na mou feries).

Garlic
Often times when you go into Greek homes, you'll find strings of garlic dangling somewhere on the walls. The Greeks believe that garlic can be used to chase away evil spirits. Apparently, demons and evil spirits are scared of garlic. Some are so superstitions that they even carry a single clove of garlic in their handbag or pocket.

Handing knifes
Handing someone a knife is believed to cause a fight with that person. Whenever you want to give someone else a knife, set it down on the table and don't directly pass it to them - much like the Salt superstition of the Western world.

Hit wood (Gtipa Ksilo)
Much like the westernized superstition of hitting wood, you'll often hear Greeks saying "Gtipa Ksilo" which basically means "Hit Wood". This is done when you say something without meaning it, for instance "If I get sick...gtipa ksilo" which means that you do not want to jinx yourself into becoming sick.

Itchy hands
Greeks believe that if your right hand is itchy, it signifies that you are going to receive or possibly win money. However, if your left hand is itchy, its exactly the opposite, it means you are going to give or lose money.

When you receive money, accept it with your right hand and when giving it, give from the left.

Kissing a priests hand
A Greek Orthodox priest is considered to be very high and mighty. It is customary for Greeks, to bow down and kiss the priest on his hand. This is done when seeing the priest at a church service as well as when interacting with him outside of the church.

Money
Why is it that Greeks always have money on them, even if its a couple of cents, you'll hardly ever see a Greek who's completely penny less. They believe that you need money to attract money, and if your pocket or wallet or bank account is completely empty, you wont get any more money.

Also, when giving the gift of a wallet, you must ensure that you put at least some money in it, even if its one silver coin, as long as the wallet is not empty, their person receiving the gift will not be poor.

Onions
Not only do Greeks love to cook with onions, the older Greek community still believes that onions are great healers and can can cure colds and swelling.

Salt
Salt has two purposes in Greek culture. The first is of course to cook up delicious Greek meals, while the second is chase away either unwanted guests or evil.

When occupying a new home, it is customary to sprinkle salt before you move in. This will drive away any evil that might be in the home. You can also use salt to chase away unwanted guests in your home. Sprinkle salt behind them and the powers of the salt will chase away that person.

Sneezing
Greeks believe, that if you sneeze it generally means that someone, somewhere it talking about you. You can determine roughly who it is using this method: Ask someone that is around you to give you a three digit number. Then, add up the digits (eg 895 = 8+9+5=22). Match up the number to letter it represents in the alphabet, for instance, in this case it will be "V" as V is the twenty second number in the alphabet. This is the starting letter, of the first name of the person who is talking about you.

Soles facing upwards
Shoes, where the soles are left turned upside down are considered to be symbols of extreme bad luck. It has religious routes, and basically means that you are condemning"moutdzonis" the man upstairs to hell. If you see shoes laying upside down, soles facing upwards, turn them over immediately and say "skorda" (garlic).

Spitting
It is customary for Greeks to "spit" as a way to ward off evil, and particularly the evil eye (mati). Its not your typical sports man spitting, its very subtle and hardly any spit comes out. You'll often see Greeks going "ptousou" when they feel that the Evil eye could dawn upon something.

For instance, when you attend a Greek wedding, the focus is usually on the Bride. Everyone is looking at her, some with envy which could possibly provoke the "evil eye". Greeks usually "spit" and say "na me se matiasou" which basically means that you will not cause the evil eye to dawn on the bride. This is also common when buying a new car or house. Greeks "spit" to take off the evil eye that could be caused by jealousy (evil).

Stavro (crosses)
Greeks are extremely religious people, and you'll often see them doing their"stavro" or "cross" when walking past or even driving past an orthodox church. A cross is done by joining the index and middle finger as well as the thumb of your right hand to form a trio that symbolises:
(1) The Father, (2) The Son and (3) The Holy Sprit. The cross is then done in a sequence of three patterns that start at the forehead, then move to the ribs, then to the right shoulder and finally to the left shoulder.

Thirteen
Unlike the many millions of people who believe that the number 13 is bad luck, the Greeks believe that the number thirteen is a lucky number. Like the westernised world who believe that Friday the 13th is unlucky, the Greeks on the other hand believe that Tuesday the 13th is unlucky.

Touching Red (Piase Kokkino)
This is a superstition that is carried out when two people have the same thought, at the same time or saying the same thing at the same time. This usually means that they will argue or end up fighting, and to prevent this both people have to touch something that's red and say"piase kokino" which translates to "touch red".

Walking over people
Greeks believe that if someone is lying on the floor you should never walk over them, but rather around them. Apparently walking over them stops them from growing.