Food Superstitions: Does Placing Bread Upside Down on the Table Give Bad Luck?

We must not put elbows on the table, cut the salad or toast with wine ... At the table, the rules of good manners and superstitions are many, sometimes misunderstood and often related to historical contexts. This is the case of upside-down bread on the table.

According to legend, an upside-down loaf can bring bad luck and draw the evil eye on the guests present at the table...But why?

Can Upside-Down Bread Bring Bad Luck?

This superstition dates from the Medieval era. At the time, bandits received public capital punishment according to the gravity of their crime.

To execute them, an executioner was called in. On the day of the execution, the executioner did not have time to swing by the bakery to pick up his daily loaf of bread. Thus, the baker would reserve a loaf for the executioner. In order to distinguish this bread from the rest the baker would turn one loaf upside down. Customers, aware of this distinction, avoided touching the bread in question for fear of catching the evil eye.

This is how upside-down bread was associated with misfortune. And if a Christian accidentally touched the bread, he had to mark it with a cross with a knife before eating it. Nowadays, putting the baguette facing right-side up is enough!