A widely held stereotype in the Chinese-speaking world is that Westerners believe in science, value logic, and demand evidence for everything. Unlike the Chinese, they supposedly have little interest in praying to Heaven, consulting divination, studying feng shui, or calculating birth charts. The Chinese, on the other hand, are often portrayed as the ones who turn superstition into a full-blown art form. However, reality tells a very different story.
High-profile figures regularly practice rituals to ensure good luck and avoid bad juju
In October 2024, on the eve of the U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump walked into a McDonald’s, stepped behind the fryer, rolled up his sleeves, and began making French fries. At one point, he accidentally spilled some salt. Without hesitation, the former president grabbed a pinch and tossed it over his left shoulder. Then he turned to the camera and said: “I’m very superstitious. Now that I’ve thrown the salt, I’m all right.” The crowd froze for a second, then burst into laughter. But here is the thing: Trump was completely serious.
In the West, when people spill salt, they quickly grab a pinch and throw it over their left shoulder. According to an old belief, the devil likes to lurk behind a person’s left shoulder, so tossing salt in that direction blinds him. Salt was precious in ancient times, so spilling it meant wasting good fortune. In Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper, the overturned salt cellar beside Judas symbolizes precisely that.
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