We at The National did a story on this today … acknowledging that Friday the 13th is often considered to be an unlucky day in the Western world … noting that it doesn’t have the same meaning among Arabs and Muslims … but also noting that this culture, like apparently every culture on the planet, has its own superstitions.

For example: Seeing a hunchback or an owl upon leaving your house is bad luck here in the UAE. Leaving shoes upside down is bad luck.

And that’s just the start of it.

Other superstitions common in this region, at least according to our reporter:

–The best day to imbibe herbal medicines is Wednesday. (I did not make this up.)

–It is bad luck to pass salt from one hand to another. That is, from my hand to yours. The proper way to do it is to set down the salt, and let the next person pick it up.

–Light in the middle of the desert is bad luck. (Well, yeah; it’s probably someone you don’t know, in the middle of nowhere.)

–A meal with no salt? Bad luck.

–If you hurt a bird, you are sure to have bad luck.

Again, didn’t make these up.

Arabs in this region believe seven is a lucky number, which we in the West can relate to, and the demand for vanity car license plates with “7” in them is high.

Some believe that hearing the word “death” is bad luck — which reminds me of an old Johnny Carson character, “dear old Aunt Flabby” (Carson in drag), who inevitably would tell Ed McMahon “never say ‘dead’ to an old person!”

The concept of the “evil eye” is a popular one here. Popular in the sense of “common” not “something you want.”

In the U.S., we tend to associate the “evil eye” concept with Mediterranean cultures, but it’s here, too, and the author of the story notes that some people carry a turquoise rock to ward it off. That, and by saying “mashallah” all the time.

A curious one is this notion that slaughtering a goat near a new possession such as a car or home will “bless” it. Our story quotes a young woman who says she hasn’t yet bought a car, but when she does “I will slaughter a goat and then distribute the (meat) as charity for blessing.”

As many new cars as are on the road in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, the lifespan of goats here must be very short, indeed.