🇹🇷 Turkey
The nazar boncugu, a blue glass bead with an eye, hangs in houses, on cars and on babies' clothes to turn aside envy. It is also given as a gift to new neighbours.
Read: NazarHealing, luck and protection
People everywhere have made charms, rites and habits to keep harm away and bring good fortune.
Presented by ClearTrust Free for the curious, the homesick and the hosts.
People everywhere have made charms, rites and habits to keep harm away and bring good fortune. A red thread round the wrist, an evil-eye bead, a horseshoe over the door, a lucky coin, a herb bundle burned for blessing, a prayer said when a child sneezes: these are small, everyday customs, handed down in families. Many are tied to the care of the sick in traditional healing, and are described here as traditions that people keep, not as medical advice. They show how communities have always sought comfort, protection and hope, and how a symbol can steady the mind in uncertain times.
What it is for
Luck and protection customs speak to the fears and hopes that everyone has: health, safe journeys, good harvests, a baby born well and a house free of trouble. A charm gives a sense of control over what cannot be controlled. Traditional healing, which includes herbs, prayers, massage and ritual, is part of the wider heritage of a community and is often practised alongside modern medicine. This page describes such customs as tradition and does not offer medical advice. For any health concern, please see a qualified doctor.
Common elements across cultures
Common protective objects include beads and amulets, knots and threads, horseshoes, mirrors, bells and iron. Colours matter: red and blue ward off harm in many places, and white is for purity. Plants such as garlic, rue, neem, sage and mistletoe are hung, burned or worn. Words also protect, in prayers, verses, spells, blessings and the habit of saying "touch wood" or "bless you". Many rites are done at the turn of the year, at births, at weddings and at times of illness, and special people, such as healers, shamans or priests, may be called on.
Food, dress and music
Foods linked to luck are widespread: noodles for long life, lentils and grapes at the new year, round fruits, fish, sweet rice and red eggs. Some are medicinal in tradition, such as ginger tea, turmeric milk, chicken soup and herbal broths. Protective dress includes amulet bracelets, tattoos, talismans sewn into clothes and white or red cloth. Music and rhythm are used in healing ceremonies from Africa to the Americas, where drums, songs and dance are believed to help a person recover and make a community whole.
How it is changing
Some protective customs have become fashion, with evil-eye jewellery and crystals popular worldwide. Traditional medicine is studied by researchers, and ministries in many countries support the training of practitioners. Health authorities warn that some remedies are not safe and that serious illness should be treated by trained doctors. Many families hold both views at once, keeping a charm on the baby's wrist and taking the baby to the clinic. Respect for the tradition and for modern medicine is the sensible meeting point.
Healing, luck and protection around the world
🇬🇷 Greece
The mati, or evil eye, is guarded against by a blue bead, a clove of garlic and the habit of spitting lightly three times, ftou ftou ftou, after a compliment. Many Greeks also make the sign of the cross three times and say a prayer when someone is thought to have been touched by the eye.
Read: Evil eye🇮🇳 India
A black dot, kajal, is put on a baby's cheek to turn away the evil eye, and lemons and chillies are hung on a string above shop doors. Ayurveda, an old system of care, is widely used as a tradition.
Read: Nazar battu🇨🇳 China
Red is the colour of luck and protection, and red envelopes, red knots and red underwear in a zodiac year are common customs. Feng shui arranges the home, and traditional Chinese medicine remains a living practice.
Read: Feng shui🇯🇵 Japan
Omamori are small amulets from shrines, sold for safe travel, success in exams and health. Maneki-neko, the beckoning cat, brings luck to shops, and a daruma doll is painted with one eye when a goal is set.
Read: Omamori🇹🇭 Thailand
Monks give sacred white threads, sai sin, tied round the wrist for blessing, and people wear Buddhist amulets, phra khruang, believed to protect them. Spirit houses stand in gardens.
Read: Spirit houseTraditions to start with
Evil eyeA widespread protective belief.
OmamoriJapanese amulets from shrines.
Feng shuiThe art of placing things for harmony.Also part of it, and being written: Hamsa (The hand of Fatima.), Smudging (Native American cleansing with herbs.), Curandero (Latin American traditional healers.), Rongoā (Maori traditional healing.), Superstition (Everyday customs of luck.).
Questions people ask
Is this medical advice?
No. These are customs and traditions, described as the people who keep them describe them. For any health problem, please consult a qualified doctor.
Why is the evil eye so widespread?
Envy and its fear seem to appear in all societies, and a simple charm gives a way to answer them. The belief is documented from ancient Greece and Mesopotamia and now appears across Europe, Asia and Africa.
Why are some colours protective?
Red is the colour of blood and life in many cultures, and blue is linked to the sky and water. The meanings differ, and a colour that is lucky in one place may be mournful in another.
Do people use charms alongside modern medicine?
Very often. Many families keep a traditional protection and also use doctors, and see the two as serving different needs.
What is smudging?
A sacred practice among many First Nations and Native American peoples of burning herbs such as sage, cedar and sweetgrass for cleansing and prayer. It is a living ceremony, and visitors are asked to respect it.
About this page
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Healing, luck and protection on EveryParampara
The traditions written up so far, best known first.
RegionSouth AsiaSoutheast AsiaEast AsiaCentral Asia and the CaucasusMiddle EastNorth AfricaSub-Saharan AfricaEuropeNorth AmericaLatin America and the CaribbeanOceania
🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 1 moreUkrainian embroideryвишивка (vyshyvka)
A stitched folk art of Ukraine, worked into shirts, cloths and church furnishingsCraft
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye
A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore
🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandBarmbrackbairín breac
A sweet Irish fruit loaf with charms baked in, eaten at Halloween and on New Year's EveTable custom · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreSaint George's Day
A saint's feast on 23 April, kept by churches and patron nations from England to GeorgiaSpiritual
🇬🇧 St Andrews, United Kingdom and 7 moreSaint Andrew's DayLà Naomh Anndrais
The feast of Andrew the Apostle, kept on 30 November and Scotland's national daySpiritual
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 2 moreIntercession of the TheotokosПокровъ
An Eastern Christian autumn feast honoring the protective veil of the Virgin MarySpiritual
🇦🇱 Albania and 3 moreXhubleta
A rippling bell-shaped skirt made by Albanian women of the northern highlandsDress
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreAnastenariaΑναστενάρια
A barefoot firewalking and dance rite honouring Saint Constantine and Saint HelenSpiritual
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 2 moreShoe throwing
The act of hurling footwear for sport, wedding luck, protest or overhead display.Folklore
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreRogation days
Springtime Christian days of prayer, fasting, and parish boundary walks.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreLustratio
An ancient Greek and Roman cleansing rite using processions and animal sacrifice.Spiritual
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreKoledariколядники
A Slavic winter caroling custom of visiting homes with songs, masks and blessingsFestival
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreIncubationἐγκοίμησις
The sacred practice of sleeping in holy shrines to seek divine healing and dreamsSpiritual
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreNeed-fire
A ritual fire kindled by friction to ward off cattle plague, disease and harmFolklore
🇺🇦 Ukraine and 7 moreEgg decorating
Decorating eggs with dye, wax and carving, kept at Easter, Nowruz and springCraft
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreSaint Sylvester's Day
A Christian feast day and year-end celebration marked across Europe and beyondSeasonal · Dinner
🇬🇧 United KingdomWorld Osteoporosis Day
A global observance on 20 October promoting bone health and fracture preventionCeremony
🇳🇴 NorwayEsbat
A Wiccan coven gathering held each month, most often when the moon is fullSpiritual
🇵🇱 Poland and 6 morePolaznik
The first visitor to cross the threshold at Christmas, read as a sign of the year to comeFolklore
🇵🇱 Poland and 3 morePodłaźniczka
A decorated evergreen branch hung over the Christmas Eve table in Poland and SlovakiaFestival
🇨🇭 Bern, Switzerland and 4 moreTatzelwurm
A cat-faced dragon of Alpine lore, said to hiss, poison the air and guard old tunnelsFolklore
🇪🇸 SpainThe Water of LifeL'aigua de vida
A Catalan folk tale of a quest for magic water, a fragrant branch and a talking birdPerformance
🇮🇹 Palermo, ItalyFeast of Saint RosaliaFestino di Santa Rosalia
An annual July festival in Palermo honouring the patron saint who ended the plague.Festival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 2 moreZapisзапис
A consecrated village tree marked with a cross, venerated in Serbian folk traditionSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇮🇹 Benevento, ItalyWitches of Benevento
A southern Italian tradition of walnut-tree gatherings and protective folk charmsFolklore
🇩🇪 Weingarten, Germany and 1 moreBlutritt
An equestrian pilgrimage across southern Germany honoring a relic of the Holy BloodSpiritual
🇧🇪 BelgiumMarches of Entre-Sambre-et-MeuseMarches de l'Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse
Folk processions with armed escorts in Belgian villages, kept from May to OctoberSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies
🇬🇧 Torry, United KingdomUnspoken Water
A Scottish healing custom in which water was fetched in silence and given to the sickFolklore
🇷🇺 RussiaBlack wedding
A traditional Jewish crisis wedding held in a cemetery to ward off diseaseSpiritual
🇮🇹 Lake Nemi, ItalyNemoralia
A three-day Roman festival of torches and garlands for the goddess DianaSpiritual
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreĐurđevdanЂурђевдан
A spring festival and feast of Saint George kept across the Balkans and Eastern EuropeFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇧 Orkney, United KingdomNuckelaveeknoggelvi
A horse-like sea demon of Orkney folklore, blamed for drought, plague and sick livestock.Folklore
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreRussian superstitions
Everyday omens, etiquette rules, and household rituals observed across RussiaFolklore
🇬🇧 United KingdomBaobhan sithBaobh-shìth
A beautiful fairy of Highland tales who dances with hunters and kills themFolklore
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- The Water of Life: Internet Archive Book Images, CC0, source
- Russian superstitions: Сергей Чеботарёв, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Đurđevdan: Anonymous Russian icon painter (before 1917) Public domain image (acco, Public domain, source
- Feng shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Tatzelwurm: Abrasax, CC BY-SA 3.0 de, source
- Marches of Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse: Hoebele, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Rushnyk: Pavlo Boyko, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Nuckelavee: Colin Park, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Barmbrack: Solo Beckett, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Saint George's Day: Raphael, Public domain, source
- Saint Andrew's Day: Henryk Siemiradzki, Public domain, source
- Nemoralia: Frederic Leighton, Public domain, source
- Xhubleta: Albinfo, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Egg decorating: L.Kenzel, CC BY 3.0, source
- Polaznik: Carlton Alfred Smith, Public domain, source
- Podłaźniczka: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Intercession of the Theotokos: SNCH, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anastenaria: Artkostov, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Shoe throwing: Zarateman, CC0, source
- Rogation days: Ray Trevena, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Koledari: Mikhail Germashev, Public domain, source
- Lustratio: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saint Sylvester's Day: Unknown medieval artist in Rome, Public domain, source
- Need-fire: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Blutritt: Joseph Bayer, Public domain, source
- Witches of Benevento: Guglielmo della Porta, CC0, source
- Zapis: Zblagojevic, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Feast of Saint Rosalia: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Black wedding: American Colony Photo Department, Public domain, source