Gifts to avoid at slava and house blessings

With the season of slava and house blessings approaching, many people refresh a familiar list of gift taboos — items traditionally thought to bring bad luck or invite trouble into the recipient's home.

Commonly avoided gifts and the beliefs behind them

Cultural customs vary, but a number of specific objects recur in the advice people exchange before visiting a household for its celebration. Below are nine gift types often singled out and the reasons traditionally given for avoiding them.

• Sharp objects: Knives, scissors and other blades are commonly considered to attract negative energy; they are usually seen as acceptable to buy for oneself but not as presents for others.
• Mirrors: Mirrors are said to trap harmful forces, and giving one as a gift is believed to invite misfortune into the recipient's life.
• Medical devices: Blood-pressure monitors, massagers and similar health aids are often avoided as gifts out of the belief that they symbolize or worsen illness.
• Kitchenware: Pots, pans and glassware can be gifted, but tradition commonly advises placing a coin inside each empty vessel; empty dishes are thought to attract poverty.
• Clocks: In some traditions attributed to Chinese sages, accepting a clock as a gift is taken to mark the start of a countdown toward death; clocks are also associated with relationship breakups or separation.
• Wallets: Like cookware, wallets should not be given empty — presenting an empty wallet is believed to invite financial loss or theft.
• Pearls: Pearls are traditionally linked to illness and loss; they are said to symbolize the tears of orphans and widows, which is why gifting them has been viewed as unlucky.
• Scarves or shawls: These are sometimes thought to bring troubles or bad people into the recipient's life and are therefore avoided by some givers.
• Books: Books are generally fine to give to friends or relatives, but a widespread belief warns against giving them to a spouse, claiming such a present can attract infidelity.

Whether or not you subscribe to these superstitions, many people find that the intention behind a gift matters more than the object itself. Most customs emphasise thoughtfulness: a present given from the heart is not supposed to carry misfortune.

Photo: Ilustracija (AI)