By Al Harris, Web Editor, SpareFoot.com
Moving to a new home is a new beginning. What better way to make sure your new beginning starts off right than with a little ritual?
Cultures around the world have developed unique rituals for bringing good luck to a move into a new house. While you may not be of the superstitious sort, practicing a move-in ritual is a great way to set intentions for how you will live in your new home.
So, let’s take a tour around the world to see what different cultures do when moving to a new home:
India
In India, it is important to pick certain auspicious days for moving. For example, the first day of the lunar calendar, a full moon, or a festival day are all common moving days in India. Families might even consult a Hindu priest to determine the best date that is suited to them based on various factors. Fridays, Saturdays and rainy days are considered unlucky for move-ins, but Thursdays are considered the best.
Another moving day superstition in India is that you must step through the threshold with your right foot first.
Russia
In Russia, it is considered good luck to let a cat into your new home first. This tradition is so widespread that one of Russia’s largest banks recently provided a “loaner cat” to any customer who obtained a new mortgage.
United Kingdom and Ireland
Many Irish believe it is bad luck to exit the home through a different door than you entered. But this only applies the first time you enter and exit the house.
Another tradition in the British Isles is to bring a new broom with you to your new home. That’s because old brooms carry all of your past troubles and bad energy, and you don’t want to bring that with you to your new place. A new broom ensures a fresh start. The broom superstition is actually common across many cultures around the world, not just the United Kingdom.
Mexico
In Mexico it is tradition to place an aloe plant outside your home to ward off negative energy. The succulent plant is said to absorb bad vibes like a sponge.
The Philippines
To guarantee financial prosperity when moving in the Philippines, it is common to place coins throughout every corner of the home. Along with the coins, rice and salt must also be the first things that you bring into your new house.
America
In America it isn’t uncommon to burn bundles of sage throughout a new house to purify the air and expel any negative forces. The practice, known as smudging, is adapted from Native American culture. Oddly enough, smudging has been embraced by practitioners of Feng Shui as means to clear any negative energies out of a house.
Another moving ritual in America is one you are most likely to find in the Deep South. It is tradition to paint the ceiling of your front porch a shade of light blue called “haint blue”. The color is said to repel haints, a regional term for ghostly spirits, from entering the house.
A World of Superstition
We’re not sure if any of these practices will actually bring you good luck, but it does go to show that every culture considers moving into a new home to be a momentous event. Whether you practice a moving ritual or not, be sure to take a moment to celebrate your move and recognize the major life event taking place before you.
Al Harris is the web editor at SpareFoot.com, the world’s largest marketplace for finding and reserving a self-storage unit.
