In the minds of the Russian people, there are many different beliefs and superstitions, the roots of which often refer to the culture of other countries. Currently, in Russia there is a belief that a person should not be given a watch. The Orthodox Church has its own view of this practice.
Many people believe that you should not give a person a watch. This applies not only to a wrist accessory, but also to a wall gift. It is considered by people to be a bad omen to give watches, because soon a person who has accepted such a souvenir as a gift may suffer or even die.
Such superstition took place in ancient China. It was there that a gift in the form of a clock was considered an invitation to a funeral. The Russian man “thought up” this practice to the point that after handing the clock on the birthday person, a “countdown” of time to death begins. However, at present, popular consciousness has come up with the following solution: when presenting a watch, it is necessary to pay money for the present in the amount of any amount (for example, one ruble or less).
The Orthodox Church negatively refers to this kind of superstition. For a believer, a watch is not a magical item capable of influencing a person’s being and his death. For Russia, which is the successor of the Byzantine Empire in its Orthodox cultural heritage, this practice is irrelevant. The believer should not be afraid to accept the gift of the clock and (or) strive to make a symbolic payment for them, because the Orthodox creed says that the very being of a person is in the will of God, and does not depend on the "magic" of the movement of hour, minute or second hands.
Therefore, from the point of view of Orthodoxy, there is nothing wrong with accepting a gift as a gift or presenting such a gift. On the contrary, such a present is considered very worthy. Especially in our time, when a good wristwatch can characterize a person’s status and is not just a luxury, but a very relevant accessory.
