Weird Superstitions Your Asian Parents Probably Told You Growing Up
By Jin Hyun
Asian parents know how to strike fear and guilt into their children’s hearts unlike any other parents, we really don’t give them enough credit for all of those creative threats and superstitions they’ve raised us on.
Somehow they seem to have a weird saying for every situation: don’t shake your leg, don’t keep the fan on, don’t whistle at night. Let’s be real, all of these superstitions were essentially manipulative ways to get us to stop a habit they didn’t like. Even as adults, many Asians will never fully get these words out of their minds.
But seriously, why are all of these superstitions related to dying or marrying an ugly spouse? Are any of these actually backed by science? Where did they even come from?
Julia 22, Filipino
“Don’t sweep the house at night. You’re ‘removing’ the luck of the house.”
Lintang 24, Javanese/Indonesian
“If a girl is sitting in front of a door, it will make it difficult for her to get married because she is blocking an entrance (the door is seen as an entrance to a marriage/happy life).”
Huda 19, Malay
“Don’t play with your umbrella in the house or else you will be struck by lightening.”
Li-Ann 24, Malaysian
“Don’t leave anything on your plate or your husband will be ugly!”
Leyna 23, Vietnamese
“Don’t wear all white or put any white hats, headbands, etc. on your head because it represents the dead.”
Laz 20, Burmese
“Don’t step on rice or else you get nightmares.”
Mechi 22, Taiwanese
“If you hold your chopsticks far, you’ll marry far. Too close and you’ll marry your neighbor.”
Grace 15, Chinese
“Eating cold things during your period makes you sick.”
Ralph 27, Filipino
“Don’t kill insects, they’re our past relatives visiting us.”
Amie 28, Filipino
“Don’t sleep with your hair wet or you’ll go blind.”
Ellis 13, Korean
“If you make ugly mandu (Korean dumplings), you will have ugly kids.”
Tee 29, Chinese
“Don’t clip your nails at night! The ghosts will hear you.”
Linda 25, Vietnamese
“Don’t whistle at night, the snakes will come.”
Whitney 29, Vietnamese/Chinese
“Don’t blow bubbles in the house because it will make mommy and daddy turn old.”
Esther 22, Taiwanese
“Stepping on shadows give you nightmares.”
Ben 29, Korean
“If you sleep with the fan on you’ll die.”
Renaldi 25, Indonesian
“If your room is messy your future wife/husband is ugly.”
Liyan 22, Chinese
“The further up you hold your chopsticks, the further away from your parents you will live/grow to be.”
Tina 16, Vietnamese
“Don’t take a shower right after you eat, you’re going to die.”
Lydia 27, Chinese
“Don’t sleep with your hair wet or you’ll get a migraine.”
Cyndi Le 44, Vietnamese
“If you’re pregnant don’t eat snails because when you give birth your baby will stick out their tongue and salivate continuously.”
Fatima 15, Bengali
“If you don’t stop crying, you’ll turn into a doll.”
Leonard 28, Singapore
“If you don’t finish all the rice on you plate, your wife will have pimples.”
Kevin 27, Korean
“Don’t shake your legs all the luck will run out of the house.”
Serena 18, Vietnamese
“Don’t take pictures in groups of 3, the middle person will have bad luck.”
Upasana 23, Indian
“Do not enter the house with the left foot first, it’s a sign of bad omen.”
Jessica 17, Taiwanese
“Anytime I pointed at the moon, my mom would say that the moon didn’t like it and would cut off my ears and I had to say sorry to the moon and pull on my ears and say this Taiwanese saying.”
Andriana 16, Indonesian
“Don’t clean the house at night or you will get a bearded man as a husband.”
Aaron 18, Vietnamese
“Spit the watermelon seeds out or you’ll grow one in your stomach.”
Carol 16, Chinese
“You can’t shower on the first day of the year because you’re washing your luck away.”
Alice 17, Chinese
“No mirrors facing the bed, monsters or nightmares will come so cover it up or don’t have the bed in sight.”
Yang Ying 21, Chinese
“Eat every grain of rice or you’ll get a pimple for every rich that’s still in your bowl.”
Yuri 17, Kazakh
“Don’t whistle inside your house or else all your money will be gone.”
Jessica 16, Laotian
“Don’t eat while laying down, you’ll turn into a snake.”
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