We all love our shoes, whether we buy and wear them for comfort or for fashion. Shoes are also weirdly steeped in numerous superstitions. A single shoe can decide our fate for the day, give us an abundance of luck, or shower us with poop.
Here is a list of common and uncommon shoe superstitions prevalent in the United States and Europe.
Shoes on the Table
A man should never put a pair of shoes on the kitchen table. If he does, he can expect a quarrel before the night is through. If a woman puts her shoes on the table, expect a pregnancy within the family.
Christmas Eve
If you want more shoes for the coming year, burn a pair of old shoes on Christmas Eve.
Prevent Nightmares
To prevent nightmares, put your shoes into the shape of a T at the foot of your bed at night before going to sleep. Another way to prevent nightmares is to place your shoes at your bedroom door: one shoe should be pointed in towards your room and the other shoe should be pointed out of your room. This confuses the demons that cause bad dreams.
One Shoe Walking
According to superstition, you must never walk around in just one shoe. Doing so will bring about the death of one of your parents.
Knot in Shoelaces
If you accidentally find a knot in your shoelaces (a knot not placed their intentionally), you are going to have an extremely lucky day. Keep the knot in the shoe lace for the rest of the day so as not to undo your luck.
Wrong Foot
Putting a shoe on the wrong foot is unlucky. You can get rid of the bad luck by spitting into the offending shoe before putting it on the correct foot.
Throwing Shoes
Throwing a shoe after something or someone brings luck. A shoe could be thrown after a ship as it leaves to bring the journey luck and safety. A shoe thrown after someone leaving on a long trip will bring that person good fortune. The next time someone leaves the house for an interview or a new job, throw a shoe after the person for good luck.
Old Shoe
The reason why you sometimes see an old shoe tied onto the back of the bride and groom’s car is because it brings luck to the newly weds.
Burning Shoes
To prevent the spread of germs and disease, an old shoe would be burned in the fire.
Left Shoe
For the longest time it was believed that putting your left shoe on first was unlucky. The reason for this is that the left is considered feminine and to place the feminine shoe on first would place women before men, the masculine right side. Another superstition says that if you want to prevent a toothache, put your left shoe on first.
