A French Superstition
The French are a superstitious lot. They have many traditions that predict whether good or bad luck will follow a certain action.
One such superstition states that you should never lay bread on the table upside down. It’s widely known that this action invites bad luck – maybe even the devil, himself. But why? How could upside down bread invite misfortune? What could be the reason behind this belief?
It seems that to find the answer, we have to look back to the Middle Ages when public executions were widely held. They would normally be scheduled at times when lots of people were out and about – on the morning of market days, for example. The idea was to show everyone what happened to people who broke the law, so the more people to see it, the better.
The morning the example was being made, the executioner was a busy man. He would have to sharpen his axe, and make all the preparations. He wouldn’t have time to stop by the bakery to pick up his daily baguette: that would have to wait until later.
The baker certainly didn’t want the man with the axe to arrive and be turned away because he had sold all the bread, so he would turn a baguette – probably his best baguette – upside down. That meant that it wasn’t for sale. It was reserved for the executioner and no one would touch it.
The “man of death” was someone that no one wanted to have a chat with, so he would just walk into the bakery, take his upside down loaf of bread, and be on his way. In fact, the executioner had the right to go into any shop and take whatever he could hold in one hand. And no one ever argued with him.
So, to get back to our superstition, laying bread upside down on your table was seen as inviting the executioner into your home, or by association, inviting in some kind of evil, or even the devil.
So, be careful with that bread!
* More about France – You can read more stories like this in my book Berets, Baguettes, and Beyond.
More about bread:
- History of the French baguette: Legends, Laws, and Lengthy Loaves
- Bread delivery: Les Porteuses de Pain
- History of the French Croissant
- Cocteau, Picasso, and a Tale of two Breads
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How interesting. I’d never heard that before. Certainly nobody would want to argue with a man holding an axe. 🙂
Definitely not! The profession was passed from father to son, and I don’t think the family had many dinner invitations…
Fascinating!
Thanks! 🙂
That was interesting, both the timing of the execution and the benefits of the job. Thanks! Brick
Thanks, Brick!
I’m fascinated how these tales continue through the centuries. I’ll be watching my baguette more carefully from now on!
You’re right, there are so many actions and expressions that are part of our culture and often the meaning behind them is long forgotten. But now we know about the bread, anyway. 🙂
Fascinating. A friend’s mother (French) gets really cross if her bread is upside-down, though she couldn’t tell me why it was bad luck. So it’s good to know where the superstition comes from. I think this little story will be coming out during meals with French friends. Thanks, Margo.
Glad to provide a bit of trivia or conversation starters. I’m sure all superstitions have stories behind them, they are just long-forgotten.
Thanks for the explanation. I had heard of the custom before but hadn’t found a full explanation of it. Superstitions like this persist in France, especially in the rural area where we live. #AllAboutFrance
I think superstitions and habitual ways of doing things are common everywhere. It’s just fun to look into their origins. Thanks for commenting. 🙂
I can remember the first time I came across this – in a restaurant where we knew the owner and she raced to our table as soon as she spotted the bread upside down. We were all a bit surprised until she explained it was bad luck – I’ve never done it since!
Well, it’s a good thing she ran over to save you… you wouldn’t want the executioner to show up at your door. Yikes!
Now I just wish that meant having my bread right side up brought me good luck… Interesting post, as always!
Maybe it does. Avoiding the executioner sounds like pretty good luck to me. 🙂
PS – My bread always has a large pat of butter on it, so I would never think of leaving it upside down!
Haha! 🙂 🙂 🙂
Great to learn the reason behind this French superstition! Very informative. Thanks for sharing.
You’re welcome. Thanks for reading. 🙂
I love this & will make sure I never put my bread upside down again!! Thanks for the heads up – #AllAboutFrance
It’s always good to know these things. Even if you’re not superstitious, there’s no need to take chances… 🙂
Couldn’t agree more -why tempt fate 😉
I must admit to not having heard of this superstition so who knows how may times I’ve risked execution. Perhaps I better pay more attention as my luck may well be running out! Thanks for linking up to #AllAboutFrance
If you accidentally placed the bread upside down, maybe your bad luck was cancelled out by stepping in dog poo with the left foot (which brings good luck). 🙂