If there is any Balkan superstition or habit that I irrationally but steadfastly cling to, it’s this...
Don’t start anything new on a Tuesday!
It’s true! As much as I think it’s ridiculous, and trust me, I’ve forced myself into facing this fear on many occasions, my instinct otherwise is to avoid starting something big or embark on travel on a Tuesday.
It’s a very Balkan belief that I inherited from my father and grandparents, and defies all rationality.
In no way do I advocate anyone following this nonsensical practice, but it’s very important to be aware of this superstition when dealing with people in the Balkans.
Things never on a Tuesday in most of the Balkans include:
- Starting on new endeavours, trips or major undertakings as they will only end in major disaster
- Cleaning the house, particularly sweeping and throwing out dishwater, as doing so rids the home of luck
- Wearing new clothes for the first time
- Laying the foundations of a new home or building
- Cutting hair or nails
- Lending money as you’ll never see it again
- Receiving money as a loan as whatever you do with that money will end in failure
- Paying a loan back on a Tuesday is verboten!
- Even telling good news to someone, otherwise that good news will quickly turn to bad news
- A more modern one is that when making small purchases on a Tuesday, never do so with bank card – it must be with cash and at the exact amount as it’s bad luck to receive change
- Exchanging money to hard currency (luckily Bulgaria is switching to the euro on 1 January 2026 – a Thursday, phew!)
- Plus, any existing non-day-specific superstition intensifies on a Tuesday (such as black cats!)
And not even shouting out a “mashala” or spitting will cancel things.
Take for instance, my wedding. My other half is Jewish, so when a date was suggested for our big day, Tuesday, the luckiest day of the week for Jews (of course!), was first mooted.
My answer – don’t even think about it!!!
In the end, a compromise was made and we opted for Sunday, the traditional day for weddings in Orthodox Christian parts of the Balkans. That being, I’m hardly religious, but it’s what you’re used to in the end.
Or that I should be planning for my upcoming Balkan trip, but no, I’m leaving it for tomorrow (Wednesday) otherwise, to say it in my grandmother’s Macedonian dialect, “ќе ми си ја нарочи” (“I’ll be bringing bad luck upon me”).
So where did this adamant belief that Tuesdays are bad days come from?
Ask the Serbs and they’ll point out that their defeat at the Battle of Kosovo to the Ottoman Turks in 1389, the most dramatic blow to Serbian nationhood in history, was on a Tuesday. Likewise, the Greeks are quick to tell you that the fall of Constantinople to the Fourth Crusade occurred on 13 April 1204, and the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans happened on 29 May 1453 – both dates on Tuesdays. Then the sum of the cursed year the Greeks lost their Byzantine Empire is 1+4+5+3 = 13. So that makes Tuesday 13th the unluckiest of them all!
So if you have a business partner or colleague from southeast Europe who is hesitant to sign that big contract or embark on a long trip on a Tuesday, this is likely, though not necessarily, the reason why. Besides, there are another six days in the week for you to choose to go back to the gym or start that course in Balkan cooking or jet off into the sunset and start your new life in the tranquillity of the Balkan highlands.
You’ve been warned!
So what’s it today? A Tuesday?! Yipes! That’s it; this piece is doomed!
But there is a way to get you through the minefield that is Balkan superstitions and their sway over everyday life... and I can help you there! If you'd like to know how you can work more effectively with your Balkan partners, then best drop me a line at info@nicknasev.com and let's talk! Preferably not on a Tuesday! 🤞😊
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