Spilling salt is bad luck. In fact, it has been said that every grain of salt you spill is a tear you’ll shed later! And, if you do spill salt, you’ll want to quickly toss it over your left shoulder, to ward off bad luck, and more importantly, the devil.

Romans believed that spilling salt was an omen of impending disaster. This belief stemmed from an incident in which Judas Iscariot, the biblical figure who betrayed Jesus, was said to have spilled salt during the Last Supper. Thus, making the act of spilling salt synonymous with treachery and betrayal.

The word for ‘salary’ is derived from the word ‘salt’. As well as being thriftless, any guest spilling salt was considered rude and seen as refusing hospitality, as featured in the German proverb ‘whoever spills salt arouses enmity’. Spilled salt is also an omen for broken friendships, as ‘every grain of salt will turn into a tear’.