An empty bottle left on the surface brings a lot of trouble – this is what our ancestors believed, and many contemporaries believe in it. There are various explanations for this sign. 
The ancient Slavs did not have a rule to remove empty bottles from the table.
Why not put empty bottles on the table?
There is no place for an empty bottle on the table, if only for those considerations that a tall vessel becomes unstable, it is easy to touch it (especially in a drunk company).
If a fragile object falls to the floor and breaks, it will lead to unpleasant consequences.
Dark entities living in broken glass will scatter throughout the space, and will affect the people who are in the room. People will become aggressive and negative, which will provoke conflict. Often the bottles break at the moment when the evil spirits 'asks for freedom'.
The ancient Slavs did not have a rule to remove empty bottles from the table, since the containers for liquids were of a different shape (rectangular stable vessels never fell). In those days, on the contrary, empty containers were left on the table:
- as a symbol of abundance to show, 'This is how much we can drink, how much we can treat!';
- as a symbol of longevity;
- as a sign that among those taking part in the feast, no one will die in the near future. After all, so much has been drunk 'for health'.
The tradition of removing bottles dates back to the 1812 war. When the Cossacks visited the Parisian taverns, they thought of hiding bottles under the table in order to pay less.
In France, waiters billed the number of empty containers on the table. Over time, the French began to count alcohol at the time of serving, and the tradition of removing empty containers from the table remained. A sign has taken root in the minds of people: “an empty bottle left on the table is an extra expense.”
Folk omens about an empty bottle on the table
If an empty container lingers on the table, then in the near future there will be nothing to cover the table with. Here's what folk wisdom says:
- Empty containers of any kind, and bottles in particular, left on furniture, predicts losses, ruin, poverty, hunger to the owners of the house.
- Any empty dirty dishes are considered a haven for evil spirits. To avoid trouble, superstitious people turn empty tableware and kitchen utensils upside down at night. And some still leave crossed wooden sticks on top.
- Evil spirits dwell in narrow-necked vessels. This belief is associated with the sounds that a bottle makes when you blow into it or say something. For the same reason, superstitious people endowed the well with mystical properties. There was an opinion: if a person blows into an empty bottle or breaks it, then evil spirits will be free and scatter throughout the house.
- A nulliparous young lady is forbidden to sit next to the furniture on which there is an empty bottle, because it is believed that this girl will not have children.
- An emptied container draws out vital energy and strength (it is not said, however, from a person or from a house). But the container needs to be removed and closed. Previously, people were so afraid that bottles without liquid were immediately taken out into the street.
- Hussar belief: if the emptied container remains on the table, at the next gathering of the company one of the comrades will be missing – he will die in the next battle.
- An empty bottle on the table during a feast is a hint that it's time for guests to leave. A good owner swiftly replaces an empty vessel with a full one. So a person not only demonstrates his material well-being, but also shows respect for friends. And the number of prepared drinking stocks indicates how much the owner values his guests.
Our people are distinguished by ingenuity and optimism, therefore, modern traditions are mostly positive in nature. Almost everyone knows that you cannot put an empty bottle on the table. But few are aware of the possibility of making a wish in an empty container.
If a company sits at the table and drinks wine, then the one who got the last portion of the drink from the bottle can tell the empty vessel his cherished desire. After that, the container must be sealed (at least with a folded napkin).
It is difficult to judge the veracity of such a sign (desires put on a drunken head quickly fade from memory). But why not experience the effect of belief during the next feast?
The observations of our ancestors help contemporaries to act correctly. To make the lives of relatives and finances more whole, people follow signs, for example, remove empty containers from the table.
