Latino Superstitions

Throughout our childhood, we always heard our parents telling us to be aware of owls and never put our purse on the ground, that eggs have more uses than just for cooking and to wear evil eye bracelets, but we had no idea why or what they meant. Some common superstitions are still being passed around today. Let’s unpack them. 

1. Getting sick is caused by the most random things  

Growing up, our moms always told us to wear shoes — or at least socks — in the house. They warned us if we walked around barefoot, we would catch a cold or worse. Another superstition surrounding getting sick is sleeping with wet hair or going out with wet hair. 

2. Babies and evil eye bracelets 

We have no idea why babies and evil eye bracelets are a big thing in Latinx culture, but parents always get one for their babies in order to ward off evil and prevent their children from getting the “bad eye” from others. This prevented the babies from getting sick. 

3. Purses on the floor

The amount of times you will hear a Latina mom yelling to never put your purse on the floor is astronomical. According to superstition, if you ignore that advice, you are preventing money from flowing and coming to you. 

4. Seeing an owl 

For some people, seeing an owl means that death is near, while some believe that if you see an owl, it means good luck. Seeing an owl goes to two different extremes, but we would try to stay clear of owls just in case. 

5. Eggs 

In order to get rid of any bad energy around you, people do egg cleanses. You get an egg and rub it all over yourself, and then in a glass of water, you crack the egg and it shows the type of negative energy around you. The higher the spikes of yolk in the water, the more negative energy you had surrounding you. 

6. New Year’s superstitions 

During New Years and New Years Eve, there are countless superstitious traditions that you can participate in to ensure your new year goes the way you want. This includes wearing a certain color of underwear, running outside with a suitcase to hopefully do a lot of traveling during the year, putting lentils in your pocket to attract money or sweeping on New Year’s Day to ward off bad luck. 

7. Your ears can sense more than you think

If your ear is ringing, this means that someone is probably talking about you. 

Growing up, we thought our parents were crazy for believing in these superstitions, but now we all partake in them and warn others too. Whether you believe in superstitions or not, these are some of our favorites.