🇹🇷 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
🇱🇹 LithuaniaSaint Jonas's FestivalJoninės
A Lithuanian midsummer night of bonfires, wreaths, song and morning dewSeasonal
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanAoi Matsuri葵祭
A classical Kyoto festival with an imperial procession and ancient shrine ritualsFestival
🇯🇵 Tokyo, JapanKoinobori鯉のぼり
Carp-shaped windsocks flown across Japan for Children's Day in springFestival
🇮🇪 Ireland and 1 moreSamhain
A Gaelic festival marking the start of winter with bonfires and ancestor feastsSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals
🇧🇪 Brussels, BelgiumMeyboomMaâbuum
An annual Brussels parade and ceremonial tree planting held every AugustFestival
🇲🇽 Mexico City, MexicoPassion Play of Iztapalapa
A community passion play staged across Iztapalapa during Holy WeekSpiritual
🇮🇳 Pune, India and 5 moreTurbanدولبند (dolband)
Cloth wound around the head, worn for faith, rank, shade and identityDress
🇮🇳 IndiaSheetala Ashtami
A day for the goddess Shitala, kept eight days after Holi with food cooked in advanceSpiritual
🇬🇭 GhanaPanafest
A biennial Ghanaian festival uniting Africans and the diaspora through arts and healingFestival
🇨🇳 ChinaTorch Festival火把节
A summer fire holiday celebrated by Yi and neighbouring communities in southwest ChinaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇯🇵 Kyoto, JapanGion Matsuri祇園祭
A month-long Kyoto festival of grand floats, evening markets and purifying ritualsFestival
🇱🇺 Echternach, LuxembourgDancing procession of EchternachIechternacher Sprangprëssioun
A Roman Catholic hopping pilgrimage honouring Saint Willibrord in eastern LuxembourgSpiritual
🇹🇭 Chiang Mai, Thailand and 1 moreYi Pengยี่เป็ง
A northern Thai Buddhist festival of sky lanterns, clay lamps and temple sermonsSpiritual
🇵🇱 Kraków, PolandLajkonikLajkoniki
An annual hobby-horse pageant through the streets of Kraków each JuneFestival
🇧🇪 Binche, BelgiumGillesGille
Costumed carnival figures of Binche and surrounding Belgian townsFestival
🇷🇸 Serbia and 5 moreSerbian ChristmasБожић
A three-day midwinter observance focused on oak logs, floor straw and family gatheringsSpiritual · Dinner
🇧🇪 Mons, BelgiumDucasse de Mons
An eight-day festival in Mons featuring a golden carriage and a dragon combatFestival
🇦🇹 Salzburg, Austria and 5 morePerchta
A midwinter Alpine figure who checks spinning and tests good behaviourFolklore
🇧🇩 Dhaka, Bangladesh and 1 moreBaul traditionবাউল
A Bengali devotional minstrel path uniting mystic poetry, music and dancePerformance
🇮🇳 IndiaGanga Dussehra
A ten-day Hindu river festival celebrating the descent of the Ganges to earthSpiritual
🇮🇳 Hyderabad, India and 3 moreBonalu
An annual festival of thanksgiving to Goddess Mahakali across Telangana, IndiaFestival · Feasts and festival meals
🇩🇪 Germany and 5 moreMaypole
A tall wooden pole, garlanded and danced around, raised at May Day, Whitsun or MidsummerFestival
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 5 moreMartenitsaмартеница
Red and white yarn dolls worn from 1 March until spring shows itselfFestival
🇦🇲 Armenia and 1 moreTrndezտրնդեզ
An Armenian fire feast forty days after Christmas, kept with bonfires and shared sweetsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals
🇨🇳 Beijing, China and 1 moreLaba congee腊八粥
A ceremonial Chinese porridge of rice, beans and dried fruit, eaten at the Laba FestivalTable custom · Feasts and festival meals
🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreKoulourakiaΚουλουράκια
Sweet butter pastries baked for Greek Easter and shaped into rings and braidsTable custom · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreTorah readingקריאת התורה
The public reading of the Torah scroll in synagogue, chanted to a special tuneSpiritual
🇯🇵 JapanTango no sekku端午の節句
A Japanese seasonal festival for children marked with carp streamers and iris leaves.Festival · Sweets given and shared
🇮🇪 Dublin, IrelandShamrockseamróg
A small three-leaved clover, worn in Ireland on St Patrick's Day as a national emblemFolklore
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreHenna ceremonyليلة الحناء
A night of henna patterns on a bride's hands and feet, kept before the weddingRite of passage
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 4 moreKukeriкукери (kukeri)
Masked and belled figures who tour Bulgarian villages at New Year to drive off harmSpiritual
🇭🇰 Cheung Chau, Hong KongCheung Chau Bun Festival包山節
A week of vegetarian days, bun towers and a midnight scramble on a Hong Kong islandFestival
🇵🇱 Poland and 5 moreZaduszkiZaduszki, Dzień Zaduszny
A Polish day of prayer for the dead on 2 November, kept with candles at the gravesSpiritual
🇮🇳 IndiaAhoi Ashtami
A day of fasting by Hindu mothers before Diwali, for their children's wellbeingFestival · Fasting and breaking the fast
🇮🇩 Uluwatu, IndonesiaKecakᬓᬾᬘᬓ᭄ (Balinese), Tari Kecak (Indonesian)
A circle of men chanting chak as they dance the Ramayana epic in BaliPerformance
🇨🇳 Shanghai, ChinaTangzhuang唐裝 (traditional), 唐装 (simplified)
A Chinese jacket with a Mandarin collar, worn for formal occasions and holidaysDress
🇪🇸 Madrid, Spain and 5 moreTwelve GrapesLas doce uvas de la suerte
A grape for every chime at midnight on 31 December, welcoming the new yearFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs
🇷🇺 Russia and 5 moreBread and saltхлеб-соль
Bread and salt offered to a guest: a welcome kept from Russia to AlbaniaEtiquette
🇧🇬 Bulgaria and 1 moreBaba MartaБаба Марта
A Bulgarian day on 1 March, when red and white martenitsi are given and wornFestival
🇨🇳 ChinaChinese paper cutting剪紙 / 剪纸 (jiǎnzhǐ)
Chinese cut paper pictures, pasted on windows and doors for luck at New YearCraft
🇨🇳 China and 5 moreMoon rabbit月兔
A hare seen in the Moon's dark patches, pounding rice cakes or the elixir of lifeFolklore
🇬🇹 GuatemalaWorry dollMuñecas quitapenas
Hand-made dolls from highland Guatemala that children tell their worries to at nightFolklore
🇰🇷 South Korea and 1 moreDoljanchi돌 (dol); 돌잔치 (doljanchi)
A Korean first-birthday rite where a baby picks an object that hints at the years aheadRite of passage
🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreKallikantzarosκαλικάντζαρος
A malevolent goblin of Greek and Balkan folklore, active in the Christmas season.Folklore
🇺🇦 Chernivtsi, Ukraine and 1 moreVyshyvankaвишиванка (Ukrainian), вышыванка (Belarusian)
An embroidered shirt of Ukraine and Belarus, its patterns marking region and familyDress
🇰🇬 Kyrgyzstan and 1 moreShyrdakшырдак (Kyrgyz); сырмақ (Kazakh)
A hand-stitched felt rug of contrasting colour, made by Kyrgyz and Kazakh familiesCraft
🇺🇸 United StatesGreen Corn CeremonyPuskita
A Southeastern harvest and new year ceremony of fasting, dancing and renewalSeasonal
🇬🇭 Bonwire, Ghana and 1 moreKente clothNwentoma
Hand-woven Ghanaian cloth of silk and cotton strips, worn for ceremonies and graduationsDress
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Saint Jonas's Festival: Unknown author, CC0, source
- Aoi Matsuri: Japanexperterna, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Koinobori: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, source
- Samhain: Daniel Maclise, Public domain, source
- Meyboom: Henxter, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Passion Play of Iztapalapa: Eneas De Troya, CC BY 2.0, source
- Turban: pxhere, CC0, source
- Carnival of Binche: Marie-Claire, CC BY 3.0, source
- Torch Festival: Zhangmoon618, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gion Matsuri: 江戸村のとくぞう, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Dancing procession of Echternach: David Edgar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Yi Peng: Takeaway, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Lajkonik: Igor123121, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Serbian Christmas: Petar Milošević, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ducasse de Mons: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Perchta: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Baul tradition: Biswarup Ganguly, CC BY 3.0, source
- Ganga Dussehra: Barry Silver, CC BY 2.0, source
- Bonalu: Randhirreddy at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Feng shui: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Maypole: Uploaded by Mikael Häggström, CC0, source
- Martenitsa: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Trndez: Armineaghayan, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Laba congee: N509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Koulourakia: foodistablog, CC BY 2.0, source
- Torah reading: Sagie Maoz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tango no sekku: tiseb, CC BY 2.0, source
- Omamori: Leongboy1, Public domain, source
- Korovai: Olli Niemitalo, CC0, source
- Shamrock: Kenraiz, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Henna ceremony: No author provided, CC0, source
- Kukeri: Nenko Lazarov, CC BY 2.5, source
- Cheung Chau Bun Festival: ．怪貓．, CC BY 2.0, source
- Zaduszki: Ivan Mrkvička, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ahoi Ashtami: आशीष भटनागर, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kecak: Rollan Budi, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Tangzhuang: Gobierno de Chile, CC BY 2.0, source
- Twelve Grapes: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, source
- Chinese paper cutting: Lanneixi, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Moon rabbit: An artist, Public domain, source
- Worry doll: Leena, CC BY 3.0, source
- Doljanchi: en:User:Jamsong, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kallikantzaros: Katolophyromai, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Vyshyvanka: Vasily Andreevich Tropinin, Public domain, source
- Shyrdak: Firespeaker, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Green Corn Ceremony: George Catlin, Public domain, source
- Kente cloth: ZSM, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source