. Don’t put new shoes on the table
According to superstition in the UK, you should never put new shoes on a table as it is symbolises death of a family member. Many years ago, when a miner passed away, his shoes would be placed on a table and this is often how his family would find out about his death. Due to this, people started to believe that putting shoes on a table was tempting fate (doing something risky or dangerous and relying on luck).
It is not clear why people specifically don’t put NEW shoes on a table, but one reason could be that when people used to buy new shoes, there were nails holding the shoes together. If they were put on a table, the nails would scratch it.
So now you know where some of the most common British superstitions originated from and you can choose whether or not to believe and follow them. I, on the other hand, have been brought up believing that if I open an umbrella indoors, walk under a ladder or put new shoes on a table, I will have a stream of bad luck so whether or not I really believe them, these are things that I will never do!