Lucky Charms, Superstitions and Rituals: The Traditions We Still Swear By
Short answer: the lucky traditions most of us still follow are small and surprisingly personal. A red lipstick or a "lucky" perfume on a big day, a coin hidden in the Christmas pudding, crossing your fingers, touching wood, and a sweepstake on the Grand National or Eurovision. In Scandinavia you'll find the same urges with a different accent, from the hidden almond in the Christmas rice pudding to Norway's Saturday horse-racing coupon. None of it changes the odds, but all of it changes the mood, and that's rather the point. |
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I've always been a bit of a magpie for rituals. I have a lipstick I only wear for job interviews, and I still salute single magpies on the school run. So with the festive season (and its advent calendars, lucky bags and New Year resolutions) creeping up on us, I wanted to gather the traditions we keep and where they come from. You'll also get a simple guide to building a "lucky" routine that actually helps.
Why We Hold On to Lucky Rituals
Most of us know a horseshoe over the door won't stop the boiler breaking. We keep these habits anyway because they give us a feeling of control on days that matter: an exam, a first date, a wedding, a night out. A familiar ritual calms the nerves, and calm people tend to perform better. Your lucky lipstick isn't magic, but the two minutes you take to put it on are a little moment of focus.
Rituals also bring people together. A family that always hides a coin in the pudding or draws countries out of a hat for Eurovision isn't really chasing luck. It's making a memory that comes round every year, which is why so many of these traditions cluster around Christmas and New Year.
Lucky Beauty Rituals: Red Lipstick, New Knickers and a Sixpence in Your Shoe
Beauty and luck have always gone hand in hand. A few of the rituals I hear about most:
- Red lipstick for confidence. Plenty of women keep one bold red for interviews, presentations and first dates. It's the beauty version of a lucky charm.
- Red underwear on New Year's Eve. In Italy and Spain, red knickers on 31 December are said to bring love and luck for the coming year. In Spain it comes with twelve grapes eaten on the twelve chimes of midnight.
- Something old, new, borrowed and blue. The British wedding rhyme ends with "a silver sixpence in her shoe", and many brides still tuck a coin in.
- A signature scent for big days. Not a tradition as such, but scent is tied so closely to memory that a "lucky" perfume can put you straight back into a good headspace.
- A fresh manicure before something important. Half luck, half practicality: chipped polish is one less thing to worry about.
If you like the idea of starting the year with a ritual rather than a resolution, my post on new year, new beauty rituals is a nice place to begin.
Lucky and Unlucky Numbers Around the World
Numbers carry more superstition than almost anything else. Hotels skip a 13th floor, brides avoid certain dates, and some people only buy raffle tickets ending in their birthday. Here's a quick guide to the most common ones:
| Number | Where | Why it's lucky or unlucky |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | UK, Europe, US | Seen as lucky: seven days of the week, seven wonders, "lucky seven" on a die |
| 8 | China | Lucky, because the word sounds like the word for prosperity |
| 4 | China, Japan, Korea | Unlucky, because it sounds like the word for death |
| 13 | UK, Europe, US | Unlucky, especially when the 13th falls on a Friday |
| 17 | Italy | Unlucky, as the Roman numeral XVII can be rearranged to VIXI, "I have lived" |
Friday the 13th is the big one in Britain:
"Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky day in Western superstition" – Wikipedia, Friday the 13th
It turns up at least once every year and up to three times, so there's no escaping it.
Lucky numbers really come out to play on a glamorous holiday. Anyone who has visited Monte Carlo will know the temptation to put a chip on your birthday at the roulette table "just for fun". It helps to know that a European wheel has 37 pockets, 1 to 36 plus a single green zero, and the wheel has no memory of what came before. If you're curious (and don't mind a translate button), here's a clear Norwegian guide to how a roulette wheel and its 37 pockets actually work, with the differences between the European, French and American tables. The most famous lesson in "lucky streaks" came from Monte Carlo itself, in August 1913:
"when the ball fell in black 26 times in a row" – Wikipedia, Gambler's fallacy
Guests reportedly kept betting on red, convinced it was "due". It never was. Each spin was as random as the one before. That's the lovely irony of luck: we feel it in patterns, but chance doesn't keep score.
Sweepstakes and Saturday Rituals: Grand National, Eurovision and Norway's V75
Some lucky rituals are about the gathering more than the result. In the UK, the office Grand National sweepstake is practically a national holiday. Names go in a hat, someone ends up with the horse nobody has heard of, and everybody has a favourite by the off.
Eurovision does the same thing for a different crowd. A Eurovision party sweepstake, with countries drawn from a bowl and a scorecard for every outfit, is one of my favourite nights of the year. Half the fun is the predictions, and the Scandinavians take that very seriously. If you've ever wondered how the "experts" rank the countries, this Norwegian page explains how Eurovision odds markets are set up, from the outright winner and top-ten finish to country-against-country. It also covers how the semi-finals work, and why the Big Five (the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain) and the host country go straight to the final. Perfect reading for the sweepstake bore in your group chat, and I say that with love.
In Norway, the weekly ritual is horse racing. Trotting is huge there, and filling in the Saturday V75 coupon is a family habit in many homes, much like the pools coupon used to be here. You pick horses in seven selected races, and people have their own rituals for it. Some use family birthdays, some always back a grey, and some stick with the same horse number every week. It's run by the state-licensed operator Norsk Rikstoto, and if you're curious about the mechanics, there's a Norwegian explainer on how the V75 coupon works, including what a row costs and why one extra horse multiplies the number of rows.
Festive Luck: Coins in the Pudding and Almonds in the Rice
Christmas is when luck gets baked into the food. In Britain, the tradition was to stir a small silver coin into the Christmas pudding on Stir-up Sunday, and whoever found it in their serving got to keep it. Wikipedia sums up why:
"The coin was believed to bring wealth in the coming year" – Wikipedia, Christmas pudding
Scandinavia has its own version. In Denmark and Norway, a single whole almond is hidden in the Christmas rice pudding, and whoever finds it wins a prize, traditionally a pink marzipan pig. The trick, as any Scandi family will tell you, is to keep the almond hidden in your mouth until the bowl is empty so everyone else has to keep eating. If you love the cosy, spiced side of a Nordic Christmas, I fell for the Copenhagen Company Scandi Christmas candle a couple of winters ago, and it still smells like rice pudding season to me.
Japan, meanwhile, turns luck into shopping. Fukubukuro, or "lucky bags", are mystery bags sold in the New Year, and beauty brands have joined in. I covered the Tatcha lucky bag event back in January, and it's one of my favourite ways to start the year with a little surprise.
How to Build Your Own Lucky Ritual (That Actually Helps)
You can't change chance, but you can change how you show up. Here's my simple formula for a "lucky" pre-event routine:
- Pick one anchor product. A lipstick, a scent or a hand cream you only use for big days. The repetition makes it a cue to relax.
- Prep the night before. Nails done, outfit hung up, bag packed. Less rushing means fewer mishaps, which is what most "bad luck" really is.
- Add a two-minute skincare moment. A sheet mask or a facial mist while you breathe slowly is a calming ritual in itself.
- Carry a token. A coin from Granny's purse, a charm on your bracelet, a sixpence in your shoe. It's small, sentimental and costs nothing.
- Keep games playful. Sweepstakes, raffles and a flutter on holiday are fun when the stake is pocket money. Set the amount before the evening starts and treat it like the price of a cinema ticket.
- Celebrate either way. The best rituals end with something nice whatever happens, like a bubble bath, a hot chocolate or a phone call to a friend.
FAQ
What is the luckiest colour to wear?
It depends on where you are. Red is linked to luck and celebration in China and is the go-to New Year's Eve underwear colour in Italy and Spain. In Britain, many people simply have a "lucky" outfit or lipstick that has served them well before.
Why is a coin put in the Christmas pudding?
Traditionally a silver threepence or sixpence was stirred into the mixture, and whoever found it in their portion kept it. The coin was believed to bring wealth in the coming year.
What is the almond tradition at a Scandinavian Christmas?
In Denmark and Norway, one whole almond is hidden in the Christmas rice pudding. Whoever finds it wins a prize, usually a pink marzipan pig.
Is Friday the 13th really unlucky?
Only in superstition. It's considered unlucky in Western tradition and happens at least once a year, sometimes up to three times. Plenty of people now treat it as a lucky day out of pure contrariness.
What does "knock on wood" mean in Norway?
Norwegians say "bank i bordet", which means "knock on the table". It's said for the same reason we say "touch wood": to avoid jinxing something good.
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