Very Superstitious

One thing that is most interesting about living in another country is that we can clearly see superstitions everywhere. There are a few superstitions that Americans have in common with Romania (such as a black cat crossing your path and spilling salt), which I find to be very intriguing. I wonder where these belief systems come from and how they live on. Another strange thing we have noticed is that Romanians from different parts of the country do not necessarily agree on these superstitions, even to the point where they are completely opposite.

• The most prominent one is curent - basically everyone we have met believes that this is science. It's a breeze that can cause everything from fevers to toothaches. Here's a great article from The Telegraph that explains it much better than I can: Where Draughts Are Truly Dangerous. The  article fails to mention that you can prevent the dangers of curent by putting cotton in your ears.
• Depending on the part of the country, a woman can't leave the house after her baby is born until:
• the baby is baptized
• for 7 days
• for 7 weeks!
• If you break a drinking glass or break a dish, it is good luck
• If you step in dog poop, it is good luck
• If you leave something at home and go back for it, it is bad luck
• If you see a priest on the street, it can either be good or bad luck depending on where you live
• You should put red on a baby after baptism
• Breaking a window is bad luck
• Spilling pepper is bad luck
• Instead of crossing your fingers for luck, you hold your fists tightly
• If your right palm itches, you will give money away. If your left itches, you will receive money (or opposite depending on the part of the country)
• If your right eye twitches, someone is saying good things about you; if your left eye twitches,  they are saying bad things
• If your nose itches on the outside, you are in conflict with someone; if it itches on the inside, you've got good luck
• If you hiccup, someone is talking about you
• Breaking the heel of your shoe is bad luck
• Putting your clothing on inside-out is bad luck
• If you put your bag or purse on the floor, you will lose money
• Women who sit at the corner of a table will not get married
• You should have money in your pocket on New Year's Eve to have a prosperous year
• You have to wear red underwear on New Year's Eve
• On New Year's, you should eat garlic, fish, lentils and grapes
• Finding a horseshoe is good luck, and so is hanging one over the door of your house, but you have to hang it like a "U" so that the luck doesn't fall out
• Giving an even number of flowers is bad luck, because you give an even number at a funeral
• If you give a wallet as a gift, you should put a small amount of money in it so that the recipient is prosperous
• If you have a headache, someone may be speaking ill of you. You should light a match and use it to make the sign of the cross. Then put the match out in a glass of water. Do this three times. Then throw the water out. If the matches are thrown out with the water, the person wasn't actually speaking ill of you. If they stay in the glass, you have cursed the person speaking ill of you
• Many horses have red baubles hanging near their faces to bring good luck
• If you sweep under a girl's feet, she won't get married
• If the bride steps on the grooms foot on their wedding day, then she will wear the pants in the family
• If a boy wears a necklace, he'll marry an old woman
• If you refill a woman's glass of alcohol before she is finished, her children will stutter
• For a funeral procession in the country, you put drinking glasses and buckets in the wells for children to throw coins into
• If your bucket comes up empty from the well, you will have bad luck
• If a woman walks barefoot or sits on something cold, she can freeze her ovaries and won't be able to have children