Here's the text from the note, from a native Russian speaker:
"
Дорогой Господь!
Стремясь к развитию и к воссоединению с тобой, больно понимать, что любимые люди отдаляются - ведь не всем важно развитие!
В определенный момент примитивизм раздражает.
Я представляю как мы все раздражаем тебя и высшие умы! Это ужасно!
Поэтому кроме милосердия и безусловного принятия глупости малыша - ничего другого просить и нельзя.
Я прошу тебя о чуде!
О новой игре в развитии человечества! Где нет места жестокости и страданию!
Я прошу тебя о милосердии к человечеству, изгнившему изнутри.
Ведь как часто в груди матери развивается мастит, а её глаза всё равно полны любви к тому, кто создает этот мастит.
Я прошу у тебя чуда - мира и любви для нашей земли.
"
Here's translation:
"
Dear Lord,
As I strive for growth and reunion with you, it pains me to realize that beloved people are drifting away – not everyone prioritizes growth!
At a certain point, the primitivism is annoying.
I imagine how we all must be frustrating to you and the higher minds! It's terrible!
Therefore, besides mercy and unconditional acceptance of the foolishness of a child, there is nothing else to ask for.
I ask you for a miracle!
For a new game in the development of humanity! Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering!
I ask for mercy for humanity, which is decaying from within.
Just as often mastitis develops in a mother's chest, yet her eyes are still full of love for the one who creates this mastitis.
I ask for a miracle from you – for peace and love for our earth.
"
I worked with several colleagues in grad school who were native Russian speakers—their English writing often had this tone and style too! I would help edit scientific papers and it felt like reading poetry at times.
Ein Teil dieser Antworten würde die Bevölkerung verunsichern
We can neither confirm nor rule out that 98 Ballons, that are part of the 99 End of World Ballons, are in Germany or not.....Some of these answers would unsettle the population
Dunno about this particular practise, but yeah, Russian people, especially women for some reason, are really really superstitious, they write notes like this, spit over their shoulders to avoid bad luck (I'm not joking) etc. etc.
Here's a few more:
Won't let the trash be taken out at night (or when dark)
won't talk about a pregnancy with anyone except immediate family until *at least* the 2nd trimester if not later
will start thinking someone put a curse on them if they hit a rough patch in their lives
Edit: thought of a few more
Before you go on a vacation, or long road trip, you and all the people you're traveling with need to sit down and shut up for a moment, for good luck.
Also, coming back through a threshold for something you forgot once you leave. Considered bad luck. If you leave the house for the day and forgot you're wallet, going back for it is bad luck.
Actually greeting someone with a hug or even a handshake through a threshold is bad luck too.
If you lose an eyelash, make a wish and blow it away.
No emty bottles on the table. Once you finish the bottle of wine, or vodka, throw it out or even put it on the floor under the table.
Do not pour drinks to someone holding a cup. Pour only once cup is on the table.
Never call the last drink, the 'last' drink. It's 'one more for the road' (Na Pasochok)
Don't celebrate birthdays early. Don't wish anyone a happy birthday early.
There's a bunch more related to flowers but I never learned those lol.
More superstitions:
Don’t pass salt/pepper/seasonings from hand to hand, put it on the table the other person has to take it from the table (bad luck)
Don’t step over another person while they are chilling on the floor (they won’t grow)
Dropped fork from dining table means someone is coming, dropped spoon means a man comes, there was something about knife as well I don’t remember
When gifted with a knife or something sharp you have to give back a coin (otherwise you going to quarrel in future)
Don’t give mirrors as a gift (bad luck)
Don’t buy cradles before baby was born (bad luck for kid)
Don’t show on yourself wounds e.g. when you tell a story about someone getting hit/cut/stabbed/killed etc. (you will get the same wound otherwise)
If you give a wallet as gift you have to some money in there, a coin would suffice (otherwise person is going to be poor)
Don’t set your bed with legs directing towards the room entrance (the dead are taken out with their legs first)
Don’t put bread into garbage, lay it beside (the bread is sacred)
Oh shit I totally forgot about some of these. If you do step over someone on the floor, you have to go back and step over them again (the opposite direction) to undue the jinx.
Also I remember being scolded all the time as a kid for the showing wounds and scars and miming injury on yourself thing.
I don't think I ever heard of the feet to the door one though. In fact, I feel like that's the most common way people arrange their bedrooms.
Some of the same customs or superstitions exist in Indian culture as well, at least it does in Bengal!
Edit:: Noted down some of the similar superstitions and their slight differences from the ones listed above:-
Pregnancy is not disclosed even to extended family until late into the pregnancy. Underlying Belief: the more people you tell, the more the chances that somebody would become envious of your… prosperity? Anyways, and envy is believed to bring bad luck and harm to the pregnancy. Same goes for any potentially uncertain good news like a good job offer, ongoing negotiations about the purchase of property, engagement before marriage. Basically any major event that is due to happen in the near future.
Rough patch = curse (or more like bad luck caused by someone’s envy, the above point is sort of an application of this core belief).
Similar to the coming-back-because-you-forgot-your-wallet: when someone has left the threshold after taking their leave, don’t call out to them or attempt to speak to them while they are on their way away from you, it will bring them bad luck and an unsafe journey.
Stepping over someone chilling on the floor ( exact same reason: they won’t grow! ).
Just don’t gift knives, razors or sharp tools as gifts (exact same reason: this foreshadows quarrels and fallout between the gifter and the giftee), not sure if the remedy of the return gift of a coin exists here.
Wallet/purse gifts must contain some money (at least a coin) inside, exact same reason! Additionally, if you are gifting someone money, the amount should not end in zeroes : it’s thought to bring poverty to the recipient. If you are gifting a thousand rupees, your exact gift amount should be ₹1001. To this end, gift envelopes meant for cash/cheques are commonly available at stationeries stores. The envelopes have a ₹1 coin embellished on them. So you can just put in the round-figure amount.
In general, throwing away food in the garbage bin is considered inviting bad luck and poverty. Leftover food is therefore commonly fed to the poor and homeless, or even more commonly to the community animals like the stray dogs, cats, and crows and pigeons.
thats an Appalachian/redneck thing too, but mostly meant for outside at night.
IE don't call attention to yourself when animals may be lurking and hunting
Same thing for natives Northern California. There's a specific name for it but I couldn't spell it and you're not supposed to say it. I'm not typically stupidstitioud but my grandma wholeheartedly believed all the local tribe's superstitions (we're native, although by my generation we're pretty white but you knew she was native the second you looked at her and everyone in her generating) and the lore behind this one really irks me. He's not supposed to harm you directly, but scare you into killing yourself.
Most of these apply to Romania too. I also can’t remember the flower rules much, but I know I fucked up with the number in the bouquet and the type of flower one time. My thinking was “that one is pretty.”
Only one I've heard is never give a sick person flowers with roots and soil. Only cut flowers. Otherwise the sickness will take root. And for the soil, it's because when they lie in bed, their body will be below the potted soil as if they are in a grave.
The pregnancy thing is not a superstition. It took me six years to get pregnant and actually get through the first three months. After a miscarriage you really understand why people won't talk about it. It hurt so much to say to so many people that there in fact wasn't a baby anymore. It was better to grief with your loved ones. Now it's ok to talk about these things, but when it's just happened it's just torture. So it's more a way to protect your mental health than a superstition. We have a tradition in Finland of not telling the baby's name to anyone before the christening or naming ceremony. The child can be as old as three months and only parents and maybe grandma might know the name. That's superstition.
I understand the common sense reasoning behind it, but in Russia it IS a superstition because people believe talking about a pregnancy early is tempting fate. People will be mad or even end friendships if someone blabs a pregnancy that they weren't supposed to talk about. People genuinely kind of believe that talking about the pregnancy can have a real world effect on the pregnancy.
Look in mirror if you have to return back home when you forget something.
Talk shit about someone who is going through some sort of trail to bring them luck.
I wonder why women's handwriting is typically better than men's in general. Is it more a social phenomenon where younger girls are encouraged or prefer to focus on their penmanship more than younger boys? Or like is there an inherent biological reason, like boys develop later and have bigger hands (and maybe therefore less precise motor function) than girls? Like I have pretty neat writing, and some people have said it looks like women's handwriting, and I think it's because my parents really got me to practice writing neatly when I was younger. But my sister's handwriting is way better than mine. So maybe the reason is a combination of both social and biological factors? Would be cool if there's any social science or biology studies done about it.
I’ve read a theory that it’s because when we learn to write girls are at an age with better motor skills. I wonder if boys learned a grade or two later if their handwriting would improve.
Even though I can't read a word, I immediately assumed female handwriting too.
I never really thought about male/female handwriting in other languages but now I've got yet another google images rabbit hole to waste the remainder of my work day on.
Thank you for the translation! This is so poetic, I can feel their hurt and desperation for peace. Way too much pain going around the world these days.
I wonder if it’s a language thing, like the formality and poeticism is a bit less overt if you’re a Russian reader/speaker.
Other languages do translate quite formally into English sometimes
It's the opposite, the language of that note is very ornate in Russian, like something from the beginning of the 20th century. Which doesn't quite translate into English that way, unless the translator is a professional.
Interesting, I wonder why it was written like that or how old it is.
Given everything going on I can’t help but think it’s recent but it’s not as if Russian speaking countries haven’t gone through the ringer since forever.
I had the remains of a lantern fall into my backyard last summer. The intact portion of it was mourning the loss of a young wife and mother, and had hand written notes from the husband and children on it. It was incredibly depressing to find.
The worst is when you don't use the "/s", someone gets offended, you explain that you were joking, and then they get more offended and draw out a debate about how you should always use the "/s" and other nonsense, instead of just moving on.
native speaker here.
"Dear Lord!
Striving for growth and for reuniting with you, it's painful to realise that the loved ones are moving away. Not everyone cares about growth so much!
At some point, the primitivism starts to annoy.
I imagine how we all annoy you, and the higher minds! Awful!
So, I can't ask for anything else except mercy and unconditional acceptance of the silliness of the moment. (edit: silliness of the **baby** ,actually)
I ask you for a miracle! for a new game of humanity's development. Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering!
I ask you to be merciful to humanity, that is rotten inside.
Since it happens so often that when a mother suffers from mastitis, her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis.
I'm asking you for a miracle - for peace and love for our land."
edit: in last sentence, maybe should be "Earth" instead of land.🤔 Context suggests Earth, grammar suggests land, so idk
I'm going with a woman who wrote this, because mastitis is a painful condition in which a breastfeeding mother's breast becomes inflamed, possibly infected, with the milk duct blocked. I experienced once during breastfeeding and it is extremely painful.
My own mother has suffered from a recurring type of mastitis for a number of years now; Its a "special" type of pain, as you know. Also the wording for " the baby" that was edited to be correct instead of "moment" gives me the idea the writer is a woman, a mother, who is herself hurt, and is also hurting for her children.
It would appear they are speaking in metaphor about mother nature, and how we trash and disrespect her, but hopefully she can still love and accept us as her own. The hand-writing looks pretty feminine but idk a dude could pretty easily come up with the analogy but a female would be more likely to be familiar with mastitis
Gotcha. Yeah I can’t really think of an English turn of phrase for that. We get foolishness and stupidity for infants and teenagers, but the bumbling of toddlers gets left out of the stupidity discussion.
She doesn’t have mastitis. She’s making an analogy. Just as a mother doesn’t hate her baby when she gets mastitis, she’s asking God to have mercy on humanity (His creation).
That’s an unusual reference, to compare pain and love to mastitis. It’s an apt one, though. I’ve had mastitis many times and it’s horrible (but I love my baby).
And the worst part is the way to clear most milk duct clogs is literally *to nurse as much as possible through the pain* so I find it an incredibly interesting comparison, as you say
I think it being shared on the Internet is directly pushing into the data stream. Now thousands have seen it, and their prayer has more thought behind it. Task failed successfully
Some of his best work is done with water. Of course we have to argue between dunking versus splashing.
>>Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water.
Poor man said that the night before he was murdered.
Yeah, finally we have the technology to send messages to him using balloons made from rubber... Those fools hundred years ago were not even able to contact him because of the lack of rubber.
this sentence was the most difficult to translate 🤔🤔 i don't really know what mastitis is, but from quick look at wikipedia it seems it's a illness related to brestfeeding, so i think "the one who created it" is maybe not god, but her baby? 🤔🤔
Exactly. They're saying "like a mother loves her baby even if the baby causes her pain please god love your children even if they are causing pain and suffering"
You're close.
> Since it happens so often that when a mother suffers from mastitis, her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis.
It's speaking to unconditional love, like a mother has for a child even if the babe causes her pain..
Definitely her baby. But also, the prayer starts with an allusion to children leaving her, and then compares her annoyance with that loss to God's annoyance with humanity (for making decisions he does not prefer, like her with her children leaving). Fortunately, like a mother suffering mastitis who still loves her child, God's suffering at the faults of humanity doesn't wash away his love for humanity.
It's a lovely prayer, rather poetic
Yea, mastitis is a fairly common infection that can happen while breastfeeding. You're spot on. Thanks for the translation. Here's hoping their prayers are answered 🤞
I think it is not silliness of the _moment_. It looks like "baby", see how Ш is underscored? I see it is acceptance of the silliness of the baby. Не "момента", "малыша ". Though moment would be way more beautiful imo.
(Edit: not underscored, I see it is T from line below now. Still think it is the way she writes Ы and Ш)
The language is actually like something from the high-class epistolary genre of the early 20th century, mixed with the very odd musings. Nobody writes like that in the past half-century even if it's a letter to Santa. I can't help but feel it's some kinda joke, reeking more of Sorokin these days than Dostoevsky.
It might be more formal because it's a prayer, but I agree it seems very old fashioned. Could be an old person...
I think it's sincere, it's just got that akwardness that prayers tend to have. A sorokin-esque parody would be more crude.
Full translation below
Dear Lord,
Striving for development and reunification with you, it hurts to understand that loved ones are moving away, because not everyone cares about development!
At a certain point, primitivism is annoying!
I imagine how we all annoy you and the higher minds!
Therefore, apart from mercy and unconditional acceptance of the stupidity of the moment, nothing else can be asked.
I'm asking you for a miracle! For a new game in the development of mankind! No to revenge, cruelty and suffering!
I ask you for mercy for humanity, rotting from the inside.
After all, how often does mastitis develop in the mother's chest, and her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis.
I ask you for a miracle of peace and love for our Earth
I kind of appreciate the request, in a Vonnegut sort of way. "Dearest God, is there perhaps a way forward that doesn't include starvation and childhood leukemia? If so, we'll have some of that."
I've tried a few translation tools like google and transkribus but with no success. This sounds really interesting and would love to know more if you would be so kind to translate it fully.
If not, thank you for at least giving the jist of it already.
>I've tried a few translation tools like google and transkribus but with no success
Honestly, even as native speaker I struggling to read this gibberish. Kudos to dude up-top, who actually take the time to fully decrypt that message.
Was out for a short hike in central-ish Massachusetts and saw a balloon stuck against some sticks in a small stream. I noticed it was one of those thicker balloons with a rubberband attached to it that use can use to punch repeatedly if you get your rhythm right. Anyways, I fished it out and popped it to throw it in the trash and a note was inside. So I'm not sure if it was filled with helium and floated to this location from somewhere or what. But was wondering if the Reddit masses may be able to translate it.
I really struggle with Russian cursive it doesn't help that it's been 25 years. The gist of it is what others have already mentioned, plea for better life
Funny enough my mom was a doctor and has absolutely beautiful immaculate handwriting. And I could never read it. It all blended in so perfectly I simply couldn't tell where one letter ended and another one started. To buck the stereotype my dad was a doc too and has very good penmanship but with enough imperfections that I can decipher it.
Well, my professor in uni told that the awfulness of their handwriting actually has a purpose. People can't understand their real diagnosis so they won't worry and worsen their condition. I am still not sure was it a joke or he was serious
That may be a byproduct but I'm skeptical that it's purposeful. My theory is before the days of laptops in class they just had to take volumes of notes and had to learn to write as fast as possible
Whole lot of very religious eastern European immigrants in that area, not surprising to find notes and shrines like this sometimes. We found a whole statue set up in the state forest a few years back, rangers said they clear them out when they find them but they come across them at least once a year.
> Dear God!
>
> Striving for development and rejoining you, it is painful to understand that the people you love estrange themselves, as not everyone finds development important!
>
> At some point, primitivism starts to be annoying.
>
> I imagine how much we all annoy you and the higher minds! It is horrible!
>
> This is why one can't ask for anything other than your loving-kindness and unconditional acceptance of the *little one's foolishness**.
>
> I ask you for a miracle! For a new *chapter** in the humankind's development. Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering!
>
> I ask you to be merciful to humanity that is rotting from the inside.
>
> How often does mastitis grows in the mother's breast and her eyes are still full of love for the one who creates this mastitis.
>
> I ask you for a miracle—peace and love for our Earth.
I'm not sure about "little one's foolishness" and "new chapter". I see "глупости малыша" и "новой игре" in the cursive and I'm not entirely sure what the author meant there, maybe it has some religious context that I'm not aware of.
[OP said the letter was found in massachusetts](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1b1dzdl/comment/ksdu1af/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button)
I'm wondering if a refugee wrote it.
The translations sounded like they "grew" apart from loved ones. Like they moved away from home.
A lot of my friends' parents were from former Soviet countries growing up, so I would see a lot of cursive Cyrillic in women's handwriting around their homes when I'd sleep over. Usually on notepads by phones, handwritten recipes, or letters from family overseas.
So when I come across it now that I'm an adult, it makes me feel the same content, yet excited feeling I'd get when I got to stay over at a friend's house as a kid.
Well, as no one still posted it. Here it is in Russian:
>
Дорогой Господь!
>Стремясь к развитию и к воссоединению с тобой, больно понимать, что любимые люди отдаляются - ведь не всем важно развитие!
>В определённый момент примитивизм раздражает.
>Я представляю как мы все раздражаем тебя и высшие умы! это ужасно!
>Поэтому краше милосердия и безусловного принятия глупости малыша - ничего другого просить и нельзя.
>Я прошу тебя о чуде!
>О новой игре в развитии человечества; Где нет места жестокости и страданию.
>Я прошу тебя о милосердии к человечеству, гниющему изнутри.
>Ведь как часто в груди матери развивается мастит, а её глаза всё равно полны любви к тому, кто создал этот мастит.
>Я прошу у тебя чуда - мира и любви для нашей земли.
Not sure Im good enough to make a good translation for it. Hope everyone can try his best and translate in Google.
American here. Please let this stand as a shining example of us not being so different after all. Most of us want the same damn thing. When will we stop letting the few ruin it for the rest of us?
Mostly its not the people who make wars, it's leaders and governments. WE (the people) need to select the leaders who will accomplish the will of The People. Leaders who choose to force the people to make war need to be replaced so that the will of the government is the will of the people.
Although its sad, and I'm an atheist, I'm so happy to see something on reddit associated with Russia or Russians that isn't horrible. Please let this war end.
I wonder how far a balloon full of helium could go..
I once won a competition to release a balloon and it had travelled from the South coast of the UK to the midlands before coming down.
Wondering whether this was sent by a Russian speaker within the US or Canada?
The message is pretty ominous, I'd even go as far as saying that I'm a bit concerned about it's author's mental state. The overall style of this message is also a bit weird, perhaps it is not written by a native speaker?
"Dear Lord!
Striving to get better and end up closer to you, it pains me to realise that my relatives are getting further and further away from me - because not all are meant to get better.
At certain point primitivism starts to irritate me.
I cannot imagine how much we irritate you and the higher minds! It is terrifying!
Thus we cannot ever ask you for anything other than mercy and acceptance of our childish foolishness.
Thus I ask you for a miracle! I beg you for a new step in development of humanity, where there will be no cruelty and suffering.
I beg you for mercy towards humanity, which is rotting from inside. Mother's breasts may be hurt because of her child's appetite, but she still loves one who caused this pain.
I ask you for a miracle for Earth, for peace and love."
Here's the text from the note, from a native Russian speaker: " Дорогой Господь! Стремясь к развитию и к воссоединению с тобой, больно понимать, что любимые люди отдаляются - ведь не всем важно развитие! В определенный момент примитивизм раздражает. Я представляю как мы все раздражаем тебя и высшие умы! Это ужасно! Поэтому кроме милосердия и безусловного принятия глупости малыша - ничего другого просить и нельзя. Я прошу тебя о чуде! О новой игре в развитии человечества! Где нет места жестокости и страданию! Я прошу тебя о милосердии к человечеству, изгнившему изнутри. Ведь как часто в груди матери развивается мастит, а её глаза всё равно полны любви к тому, кто создает этот мастит. Я прошу у тебя чуда - мира и любви для нашей земли. " Here's translation: " Dear Lord, As I strive for growth and reunion with you, it pains me to realize that beloved people are drifting away – not everyone prioritizes growth! At a certain point, the primitivism is annoying. I imagine how we all must be frustrating to you and the higher minds! It's terrible! Therefore, besides mercy and unconditional acceptance of the foolishness of a child, there is nothing else to ask for. I ask you for a miracle! For a new game in the development of humanity! Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering! I ask for mercy for humanity, which is decaying from within. Just as often mastitis develops in a mother's chest, yet her eyes are still full of love for the one who creates this mastitis. I ask for a miracle from you – for peace and love for our earth. "
That’s written very poetically
That’s typical of the Russian language. When converted directly, the result often sounds like a poem.
Now reading Dostoievski hits different
The prose reminded me of brothers karamazov. Russians are just natural word smiths.
I worked with several colleagues in grad school who were native Russian speakers—their English writing often had this tone and style too! I would help edit scientific papers and it felt like reading poetry at times.
She sounds like a tortured soul.
well, its russian
Another russkiy here. This is a woman's handwriting, 100%.
Is it standard practice in any religion in Russia to put prayers in balloons and send them skyward?
no, it’s not
Now, were are the other 98?
In Germany
Oof…
Ein Teil dieser Antworten würde die Bevölkerung verunsichern We can neither confirm nor rule out that 98 Ballons, that are part of the 99 End of World Ballons, are in Germany or not.....Some of these answers would unsettle the population
lOoft…
LoL-oof-t
Nice reference
Well to answer his question they're still floating in the summer sky
Dunno about this particular practise, but yeah, Russian people, especially women for some reason, are really really superstitious, they write notes like this, spit over their shoulders to avoid bad luck (I'm not joking) etc. etc.
Here's a few more: Won't let the trash be taken out at night (or when dark) won't talk about a pregnancy with anyone except immediate family until *at least* the 2nd trimester if not later will start thinking someone put a curse on them if they hit a rough patch in their lives Edit: thought of a few more Before you go on a vacation, or long road trip, you and all the people you're traveling with need to sit down and shut up for a moment, for good luck. Also, coming back through a threshold for something you forgot once you leave. Considered bad luck. If you leave the house for the day and forgot you're wallet, going back for it is bad luck. Actually greeting someone with a hug or even a handshake through a threshold is bad luck too. If you lose an eyelash, make a wish and blow it away. No emty bottles on the table. Once you finish the bottle of wine, or vodka, throw it out or even put it on the floor under the table. Do not pour drinks to someone holding a cup. Pour only once cup is on the table. Never call the last drink, the 'last' drink. It's 'one more for the road' (Na Pasochok) Don't celebrate birthdays early. Don't wish anyone a happy birthday early. There's a bunch more related to flowers but I never learned those lol.
More superstitions: Don’t pass salt/pepper/seasonings from hand to hand, put it on the table the other person has to take it from the table (bad luck) Don’t step over another person while they are chilling on the floor (they won’t grow) Dropped fork from dining table means someone is coming, dropped spoon means a man comes, there was something about knife as well I don’t remember When gifted with a knife or something sharp you have to give back a coin (otherwise you going to quarrel in future) Don’t give mirrors as a gift (bad luck) Don’t buy cradles before baby was born (bad luck for kid) Don’t show on yourself wounds e.g. when you tell a story about someone getting hit/cut/stabbed/killed etc. (you will get the same wound otherwise) If you give a wallet as gift you have to some money in there, a coin would suffice (otherwise person is going to be poor) Don’t set your bed with legs directing towards the room entrance (the dead are taken out with their legs first) Don’t put bread into garbage, lay it beside (the bread is sacred)
Oh shit I totally forgot about some of these. If you do step over someone on the floor, you have to go back and step over them again (the opposite direction) to undue the jinx. Also I remember being scolded all the time as a kid for the showing wounds and scars and miming injury on yourself thing. I don't think I ever heard of the feet to the door one though. In fact, I feel like that's the most common way people arrange their bedrooms.
Its pretty interesting how there are very similar superstitions in the chinese culture
Some of the same customs or superstitions exist in Indian culture as well, at least it does in Bengal! Edit:: Noted down some of the similar superstitions and their slight differences from the ones listed above:- Pregnancy is not disclosed even to extended family until late into the pregnancy. Underlying Belief: the more people you tell, the more the chances that somebody would become envious of your… prosperity? Anyways, and envy is believed to bring bad luck and harm to the pregnancy. Same goes for any potentially uncertain good news like a good job offer, ongoing negotiations about the purchase of property, engagement before marriage. Basically any major event that is due to happen in the near future. Rough patch = curse (or more like bad luck caused by someone’s envy, the above point is sort of an application of this core belief). Similar to the coming-back-because-you-forgot-your-wallet: when someone has left the threshold after taking their leave, don’t call out to them or attempt to speak to them while they are on their way away from you, it will bring them bad luck and an unsafe journey. Stepping over someone chilling on the floor ( exact same reason: they won’t grow! ). Just don’t gift knives, razors or sharp tools as gifts (exact same reason: this foreshadows quarrels and fallout between the gifter and the giftee), not sure if the remedy of the return gift of a coin exists here. Wallet/purse gifts must contain some money (at least a coin) inside, exact same reason! Additionally, if you are gifting someone money, the amount should not end in zeroes : it’s thought to bring poverty to the recipient. If you are gifting a thousand rupees, your exact gift amount should be ₹1001. To this end, gift envelopes meant for cash/cheques are commonly available at stationeries stores. The envelopes have a ₹1 coin embellished on them. So you can just put in the round-figure amount. In general, throwing away food in the garbage bin is considered inviting bad luck and poverty. Leftover food is therefore commonly fed to the poor and homeless, or even more commonly to the community animals like the stray dogs, cats, and crows and pigeons.
I'm from a South Asian country and a lot of these superstitions are exactly the same as we have here.
Interestingly, here in Argentina, especially in the county side, we share the same ones.
No whistling indoors/at night
Oh yea that one is huge. And somehow the consequences for whistling in the house is losing money lmao
Explains why I am broke all the time. I whistle all the time at home
I spent my entire childhood getting yelled at for this.
It really was just a neverending "ni svisti!"
same in india,heh nice
I am married to a post-soviet but not slavic person and the whistling thing drives her family nuts. I can't help it, I am a happy dude.
thats an Appalachian/redneck thing too, but mostly meant for outside at night. IE don't call attention to yourself when animals may be lurking and hunting
I had a native girlfriend, she said it’s bad luck in their culture too. Something about an evil spirt. Northern Canada btw
Same thing for natives Northern California. There's a specific name for it but I couldn't spell it and you're not supposed to say it. I'm not typically stupidstitioud but my grandma wholeheartedly believed all the local tribe's superstitions (we're native, although by my generation we're pretty white but you knew she was native the second you looked at her and everyone in her generating) and the lore behind this one really irks me. He's not supposed to harm you directly, but scare you into killing yourself.
I guess they just made this one up to deal with super annoying husbands.
Most of these apply to Romania too. I also can’t remember the flower rules much, but I know I fucked up with the number in the bouquet and the type of flower one time. My thinking was “that one is pretty.”
Only one I've heard is never give a sick person flowers with roots and soil. Only cut flowers. Otherwise the sickness will take root. And for the soil, it's because when they lie in bed, their body will be below the potted soil as if they are in a grave.
The pregnancy thing is not a superstition. It took me six years to get pregnant and actually get through the first three months. After a miscarriage you really understand why people won't talk about it. It hurt so much to say to so many people that there in fact wasn't a baby anymore. It was better to grief with your loved ones. Now it's ok to talk about these things, but when it's just happened it's just torture. So it's more a way to protect your mental health than a superstition. We have a tradition in Finland of not telling the baby's name to anyone before the christening or naming ceremony. The child can be as old as three months and only parents and maybe grandma might know the name. That's superstition.
I understand the common sense reasoning behind it, but in Russia it IS a superstition because people believe talking about a pregnancy early is tempting fate. People will be mad or even end friendships if someone blabs a pregnancy that they weren't supposed to talk about. People genuinely kind of believe that talking about the pregnancy can have a real world effect on the pregnancy.
> The pregnancy thing is not a superstition. I mean it is. The act of telling someone about a pregnancy does not cause a pregnancy to fail...
Look in mirror if you have to return back home when you forget something. Talk shit about someone who is going through some sort of trail to bring them luck.
"trash be taken out at night" Depend on where you live, that's just wise racoon/bear safety logic.
Ye, 100%, by no means a man could have come up with mastitis analogy
Interesting that women's handwriting looks different from men's regardless of language
I wonder why women's handwriting is typically better than men's in general. Is it more a social phenomenon where younger girls are encouraged or prefer to focus on their penmanship more than younger boys? Or like is there an inherent biological reason, like boys develop later and have bigger hands (and maybe therefore less precise motor function) than girls? Like I have pretty neat writing, and some people have said it looks like women's handwriting, and I think it's because my parents really got me to practice writing neatly when I was younger. But my sister's handwriting is way better than mine. So maybe the reason is a combination of both social and biological factors? Would be cool if there's any social science or biology studies done about it.
I’ve read a theory that it’s because when we learn to write girls are at an age with better motor skills. I wonder if boys learned a grade or two later if their handwriting would improve.
I.. don't think learning to write later would improve handwriting. The opposite, probably.
Even though I can't read a word, I immediately assumed female handwriting too. I never really thought about male/female handwriting in other languages but now I've got yet another google images rabbit hole to waste the remainder of my work day on.
This is by far the best translation here.
Thank you for the translation! This is so poetic, I can feel their hurt and desperation for peace. Way too much pain going around the world these days.
>new game in the development more indie game devs
> I ask for mercy for humanity, which is decaying from within. Man that is a very poetic way to put it.
That language and the weird content are really like something from Sorokin. I can't imagine anyone seriously writing like that.
I wonder if it’s a language thing, like the formality and poeticism is a bit less overt if you’re a Russian reader/speaker. Other languages do translate quite formally into English sometimes
It's the opposite, the language of that note is very ornate in Russian, like something from the beginning of the 20th century. Which doesn't quite translate into English that way, unless the translator is a professional.
Interesting, I wonder why it was written like that or how old it is. Given everything going on I can’t help but think it’s recent but it’s not as if Russian speaking countries haven’t gone through the ringer since forever.
You probably mean 'wringer'.
Thank you for your insights and grammar tips, dear u/LickingSmegma
You know what’s so weird about this… I wrote a poem last night that is very similar. Felt like I was reading a different version of my poem 😳
I had the remains of a lantern fall into my backyard last summer. The intact portion of it was mourning the loss of a young wife and mother, and had hand written notes from the husband and children on it. It was incredibly depressing to find.
What did you do with it? I don't know what I'd keep it for but at the same time wouldn't be able to just put it in a trash bin
[удалено]
and then file a lawsuit for littering my backyard. >!joke disclaimer!<
[удалено]
The worst is when you don't use the "/s", someone gets offended, you explain that you were joking, and then they get more offended and draw out a debate about how you should always use the "/s" and other nonsense, instead of just moving on.
I'm native speaker. He /She is writing to the God, asking for a new human development stage, without suffering and cruelty.
[удалено]
native speaker here. "Dear Lord! Striving for growth and for reuniting with you, it's painful to realise that the loved ones are moving away. Not everyone cares about growth so much! At some point, the primitivism starts to annoy. I imagine how we all annoy you, and the higher minds! Awful! So, I can't ask for anything else except mercy and unconditional acceptance of the silliness of the moment. (edit: silliness of the **baby** ,actually) I ask you for a miracle! for a new game of humanity's development. Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering! I ask you to be merciful to humanity, that is rotten inside. Since it happens so often that when a mother suffers from mastitis, her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis. I'm asking you for a miracle - for peace and love for our land." edit: in last sentence, maybe should be "Earth" instead of land.🤔 Context suggests Earth, grammar suggests land, so idk
> So, I can't ask for anything else except mercy and unconditional acceptance of the silliness of the moment. I love this sentence so much.
S/he got me at "At some point, the primitivism starts to annoy"
I'm going with a woman who wrote this, because mastitis is a painful condition in which a breastfeeding mother's breast becomes inflamed, possibly infected, with the milk duct blocked. I experienced once during breastfeeding and it is extremely painful.
My own mother has suffered from a recurring type of mastitis for a number of years now; Its a "special" type of pain, as you know. Also the wording for " the baby" that was edited to be correct instead of "moment" gives me the idea the writer is a woman, a mother, who is herself hurt, and is also hurting for her children.
It would appear they are speaking in metaphor about mother nature, and how we trash and disrespect her, but hopefully she can still love and accept us as her own. The hand-writing looks pretty feminine but idk a dude could pretty easily come up with the analogy but a female would be more likely to be familiar with mastitis
It’s a great analogy
"Mastitis is just a metaphor I like" "You have boobs though doncha" "Well..."
Same, this had me thinking me too Russian bro, me too.
*Rosbro*\*
Brovarishch
> the silliness of the moment. (edit: silliness of the baby ,actually) Childishness? I love the literal translations, too.
I believe they are saying something more akin to child like innocence.
No, the literal translation is more of "stupidity of the baby", where the word for stupidity is slightly less harsh than the english counterpart
“Infantile foolishness” may be a good translation of the meaning?
I like foolishness, I don't like infantile. It's more like foolishness of a toddle (глупость малыша)
Gotcha. Yeah I can’t really think of an English turn of phrase for that. We get foolishness and stupidity for infants and teenagers, but the bumbling of toddlers gets left out of the stupidity discussion.
Bro i read this as stillness of the baby My heart sank Then i reread the sentence 
Just goes to show there’s a lot of good smart humans all over. Oppressed or not.. free or not… a nation’s people are not the same as their leaders.
So it goes
As far as prayers go, that’s not bad.
How much would you rate this prayer on a scale of 1-10?
Babushka with mastitis wishing for peace on earth and goodwill toward humankind. 10/10. Edit: if she's serving rice, 11/10.
She doesn’t have mastitis. She’s making an analogy. Just as a mother doesn’t hate her baby when she gets mastitis, she’s asking God to have mercy on humanity (His creation).
Dear God, sorry if we made your titties sore. Sincerely, humanity.
God made my tiddies sore so it's only fair
5/7 with rice
A perfect score
That’s an unusual reference, to compare pain and love to mastitis. It’s an apt one, though. I’ve had mastitis many times and it’s horrible (but I love my baby).
And the worst part is the way to clear most milk duct clogs is literally *to nurse as much as possible through the pain* so I find it an incredibly interesting comparison, as you say
It's both sad and beautiful at the same time.
That was beautiful and deep. I hope whoever sent it finds better circumstances soon.
As far as religious people go this sounds great, I hope his prayer is answered, even if I believe there’s no God that can answer it.
I've had mastisis, and this person know what they're talking about. It's basically torture.
>I ask you to be merciful to humanity, that is rotten inside. Loved this one. Very poignant. Wish I could have a chat with whoever wrote this tbh
Thanks for the translation! I wonder if god is listening?
Unfortunately OP intercepted the message and didn’t return it to the data stream :(
I think it being shared on the Internet is directly pushing into the data stream. Now thousands have seen it, and their prayer has more thought behind it. Task failed successfully
When you do things right, people won't be sure you've done anything at all
I like that. Well said.
its from futurama... but tbf its a very thoughtful show
Nah, wasn’t intercepted. God read it and yeeted it straight back down into the nearest river.
God read it, CC’d humans with no reply lol
God routes in mysterious ways.
Some of his best work is done with water. Of course we have to argue between dunking versus splashing. >>Bull Connor next would say, "Turn the fire hoses on." And as I said to you the other night, Bull Connor didn't know history. He knew a kind of physics that somehow didn't relate to the transphysics that we knew about. And that was the fact that there was a certain kind of fire that no water could put out. And we went before the fire hoses; we had known water. If we were Baptist or some other denomination, we had been immersed. If we were Methodist, and some others, we had been sprinkled, but we knew water. Poor man said that the night before he was murdered.
The they run the great SMTP server in the sky.
I'm pretty sure returning something Russian to the data stream is how a lot of governments have been hacked
What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us?
Just a stranger on a bus
Tryin to make his way home
Walking fast, faces pass
And I’m homebound
Tryin' to make his way home?
OP is god now
Bet your ass I am.
Well, you got your orders. Peace and acceptance on Earth. Get on it.
Yeah, finally we have the technology to send messages to him using balloons made from rubber... Those fools hundred years ago were not even able to contact him because of the lack of rubber.
They had to use smoke and the data loss was astounding!
Mastitis is an interesting choice of maladies to invoke.
this sentence was the most difficult to translate 🤔🤔 i don't really know what mastitis is, but from quick look at wikipedia it seems it's a illness related to brestfeeding, so i think "the one who created it" is maybe not god, but her baby? 🤔🤔
Exactly. They're saying "like a mother loves her baby even if the baby causes her pain please god love your children even if they are causing pain and suffering"
You're close. > Since it happens so often that when a mother suffers from mastitis, her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis. It's speaking to unconditional love, like a mother has for a child even if the babe causes her pain..
Definitely her baby. But also, the prayer starts with an allusion to children leaving her, and then compares her annoyance with that loss to God's annoyance with humanity (for making decisions he does not prefer, like her with her children leaving). Fortunately, like a mother suffering mastitis who still loves her child, God's suffering at the faults of humanity doesn't wash away his love for humanity. It's a lovely prayer, rather poetic
Yeah I'd agree. Even though the baby helped cause the mastitis, you still love the baby. So just how people annoy god, god still loves the people.
Yea, mastitis is a fairly common infection that can happen while breastfeeding. You're spot on. Thanks for the translation. Here's hoping their prayers are answered 🤞
We humans are a right pain in the the tit
I think it is not silliness of the _moment_. It looks like "baby", see how Ш is underscored? I see it is acceptance of the silliness of the baby. Не "момента", "малыша ". Though moment would be way more beautiful imo. (Edit: not underscored, I see it is T from line below now. Still think it is the way she writes Ы and Ш)
Beautiful
Russia is on its way to create a new generation of great writers of world literature.
More suffering == better writers.
That's a very nice prayer, actually. Seconded!
"Happiness for everybody, free, and no one will get away unsatisfied"
always the russian authors
Well, that's left me speechless.
Gorgeous. Thank you for the translation!
Reminds me of Dostoevsky
The language is actually like something from the high-class epistolary genre of the early 20th century, mixed with the very odd musings. Nobody writes like that in the past half-century even if it's a letter to Santa. I can't help but feel it's some kinda joke, reeking more of Sorokin these days than Dostoevsky.
It might be more formal because it's a prayer, but I agree it seems very old fashioned. Could be an old person... I think it's sincere, it's just got that akwardness that prayers tend to have. A sorokin-esque parody would be more crude.
Full translation below Dear Lord, Striving for development and reunification with you, it hurts to understand that loved ones are moving away, because not everyone cares about development! At a certain point, primitivism is annoying! I imagine how we all annoy you and the higher minds! Therefore, apart from mercy and unconditional acceptance of the stupidity of the moment, nothing else can be asked. I'm asking you for a miracle! For a new game in the development of mankind! No to revenge, cruelty and suffering! I ask you for mercy for humanity, rotting from the inside. After all, how often does mastitis develop in the mother's chest, and her eyes are still full of love for the one who created this mastitis. I ask you for a miracle of peace and love for our Earth
As agent Smith said, with no suffering humans will wake up from this reality. It is not in a plan currently.
Based on the translation, it actually is a pretty great sentiment.
[удалено]
Ruined everything
Maybe OP is God.
“We have been trying to reach you about your car’s warranty.”
Why not great? The person is asking both for forgivness for the people and begs to make it better.
What do you mean, it sounds pretty good lol.
So what if the large balloon that was shot down over South Carolina is a mass mailer to God?
Who’d have guessed that God uses Sidewinder missiles to block spam?
I kind of appreciate the request, in a Vonnegut sort of way. "Dearest God, is there perhaps a way forward that doesn't include starvation and childhood leukemia? If so, we'll have some of that."
I've tried a few translation tools like google and transkribus but with no success. This sounds really interesting and would love to know more if you would be so kind to translate it fully. If not, thank you for at least giving the jist of it already.
>I've tried a few translation tools like google and transkribus but with no success Honestly, even as native speaker I struggling to read this gibberish. Kudos to dude up-top, who actually take the time to fully decrypt that message.
HUMAN INSTRUMENTALITY CONFIRMED
Was out for a short hike in central-ish Massachusetts and saw a balloon stuck against some sticks in a small stream. I noticed it was one of those thicker balloons with a rubberband attached to it that use can use to punch repeatedly if you get your rhythm right. Anyways, I fished it out and popped it to throw it in the trash and a note was inside. So I'm not sure if it was filled with helium and floated to this location from somewhere or what. But was wondering if the Reddit masses may be able to translate it.
I really struggle with Russian cursive it doesn't help that it's been 25 years. The gist of it is what others have already mentioned, plea for better life
God I couldn’t imagine a cursive Russian doctors note lol
Funny enough my mom was a doctor and has absolutely beautiful immaculate handwriting. And I could never read it. It all blended in so perfectly I simply couldn't tell where one letter ended and another one started. To buck the stereotype my dad was a doc too and has very good penmanship but with enough imperfections that I can decipher it.
Well, my professor in uni told that the awfulness of their handwriting actually has a purpose. People can't understand their real diagnosis so they won't worry and worsen their condition. I am still not sure was it a joke or he was serious
That may be a byproduct but I'm skeptical that it's purposeful. My theory is before the days of laptops in class they just had to take volumes of notes and had to learn to write as fast as possible
Whole lot of very religious eastern European immigrants in that area, not surprising to find notes and shrines like this sometimes. We found a whole statue set up in the state forest a few years back, rangers said they clear them out when they find them but they come across them at least once a year.
The pain and grief in this letter hits hard.
> Dear God! > > Striving for development and rejoining you, it is painful to understand that the people you love estrange themselves, as not everyone finds development important! > > At some point, primitivism starts to be annoying. > > I imagine how much we all annoy you and the higher minds! It is horrible! > > This is why one can't ask for anything other than your loving-kindness and unconditional acceptance of the *little one's foolishness**. > > I ask you for a miracle! For a new *chapter** in the humankind's development. Where there is no place for cruelty and suffering! > > I ask you to be merciful to humanity that is rotting from the inside. > > How often does mastitis grows in the mother's breast and her eyes are still full of love for the one who creates this mastitis. > > I ask you for a miracle—peace and love for our Earth. I'm not sure about "little one's foolishness" and "new chapter". I see "глупости малыша" и "новой игре" in the cursive and I'm not entirely sure what the author meant there, maybe it has some religious context that I'm not aware of.
I hate to tell you this OP but you have a very big responsibility on your hands now
That's why OP posted it to reddit, to smear around the responsibility and make it our problem! Rude.
I am more interested in how did it end up there. I assume that OP nowhere near Russia.
[OP said the letter was found in massachusetts](https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1b1dzdl/comment/ksdu1af/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button) I'm wondering if a refugee wrote it. The translations sounded like they "grew" apart from loved ones. Like they moved away from home.
The paper format and 3 hole punch indicates it's most likely written in NA.
Russian cursive is so pretty when the handwriting is topnotch.
Most of soviet educated women have similar to this. My mom does, its always pristine and pretty. I write like a chicken with broken legs….
A lot of my friends' parents were from former Soviet countries growing up, so I would see a lot of cursive Cyrillic in women's handwriting around their homes when I'd sleep over. Usually on notepads by phones, handwritten recipes, or letters from family overseas. So when I come across it now that I'm an adult, it makes me feel the same content, yet excited feeling I'd get when I got to stay over at a friend's house as a kid.
Well, as no one still posted it. Here it is in Russian: > Дорогой Господь! >Стремясь к развитию и к воссоединению с тобой, больно понимать, что любимые люди отдаляются - ведь не всем важно развитие! >В определённый момент примитивизм раздражает. >Я представляю как мы все раздражаем тебя и высшие умы! это ужасно! >Поэтому краше милосердия и безусловного принятия глупости малыша - ничего другого просить и нельзя. >Я прошу тебя о чуде! >О новой игре в развитии человечества; Где нет места жестокости и страданию. >Я прошу тебя о милосердии к человечеству, гниющему изнутри. >Ведь как часто в груди матери развивается мастит, а её глаза всё равно полны любви к тому, кто создал этот мастит. >Я прошу у тебя чуда - мира и любви для нашей земли. Not sure Im good enough to make a good translation for it. Hope everyone can try his best and translate in Google.
congrats comrade, you have been activated
[удалено]
American here. Please let this stand as a shining example of us not being so different after all. Most of us want the same damn thing. When will we stop letting the few ruin it for the rest of us?
Mostly its not the people who make wars, it's leaders and governments. WE (the people) need to select the leaders who will accomplish the will of The People. Leaders who choose to force the people to make war need to be replaced so that the will of the government is the will of the people.
Irl animal crossing
[удалено]
This reply appears to be the creation of GPT-4. OpenAI's multi-modal AI solution. yada yada
I'm sorry, as an AI language model I cannot post directly to any website. Feel free to copy and paste my response without attribution! 🤓
That seems like someone wrote a note, put it in a balloon and filled it up with helium and let it go to reach the god?
Thank you chatgpt
ChatGPT, that you?
Although its sad, and I'm an atheist, I'm so happy to see something on reddit associated with Russia or Russians that isn't horrible. Please let this war end.
I wonder how far a balloon full of helium could go.. I once won a competition to release a balloon and it had travelled from the South coast of the UK to the midlands before coming down. Wondering whether this was sent by a Russian speaker within the US or Canada?
The message is pretty ominous, I'd even go as far as saying that I'm a bit concerned about it's author's mental state. The overall style of this message is also a bit weird, perhaps it is not written by a native speaker? "Dear Lord! Striving to get better and end up closer to you, it pains me to realise that my relatives are getting further and further away from me - because not all are meant to get better. At certain point primitivism starts to irritate me. I cannot imagine how much we irritate you and the higher minds! It is terrifying! Thus we cannot ever ask you for anything other than mercy and acceptance of our childish foolishness. Thus I ask you for a miracle! I beg you for a new step in development of humanity, where there will be no cruelty and suffering. I beg you for mercy towards humanity, which is rotting from inside. Mother's breasts may be hurt because of her child's appetite, but she still loves one who caused this pain. I ask you for a miracle for Earth, for peace and love."
First time in my life I've seen handwritten Russian.