Why you can't give towels: folk signs – Miscellaneous

A towel has long been a part of many rites, one of which is burial, there were even special funeral towels.

According to folk beliefs, towels cannot be given as gifts, because they have long been used for sacred events and rituals. In particular, it is about burial. Previously, in the villages, when someone died and the coffin was taken out of the house, the door was not closed, but tied with a towel. It was also hung on the window, because according to folk signs, the soul of the deceased resided in it. If the fabric began to move, it was a sign of the presence of the soul of the deceased. After 40 days, such a towel was shaken somewhere outside the village to send the soul to another world.

Towels were also given to men who left their homes – going to war or to distant lands. Textile products were also used to hang mirrors when there was mourning in the house.

Our ancestors believed that…