Signs, omens and superstitions

The belief that some days bring luck and others the opposite, is prevalent the world over and has its origin in astrology. Few intelligent people are free from this superstition.

If a person has had luck on a certain day, three times in succession, it is safe to assume that it is his lucky day and any business undertaken on that day will prove successful. Conversely, if a day has shown itself unfortunate, business or travelling should be avoided on that day.

A day that is good for one person may be correspondingly unlucky for another. What is one man’s food is another man’s poison.

Religious persons believe that the last Monday in December is unlucky for serious matters, as Jesus was betrayed on that day.

Friday is generally considered unlucky for any new undertaking, because Jesus was crucified on that day.

If Friday falls on the thirteenth of any month, it is doubly unlucky for business or speculation.

John Gibbons, an eminent scientist considered Friday an unusually lucky day. He was born, christened and married on that day and was fortunate in all of his undertakings.

To move into a new home on Friday is unlucky. Monday and Wednesday are particularly fortunate.

To be born on the 29th of February, leap year, is considered lucky and the person will be successful as a speculator.

An old verse says:

“There are days of which the careful heed,
When enterprise will sure succeed.”

Books on astrology give the following as unlucky days:

Never undertake any important business on a day that has brought you any misfortune or calamity.

According to old astrologers, six days are perilous to sick persons, and it is not safe to let blood on these days. They are January 3, July 1, October 2, April 30, August 1, and December 31.

Thursday in May was never to be regarded as a holy day, according to an ancient church authority.

No vines are to be planted during leap year, as they will not thrive.

An old missal gives the following predictions regarding certain days of the year:

January—

Of this first month the opening day

And seventh like a sword will slay.

February—

The third day bringeth down to death,

The fourth will stop a strong man’s breath.

March—

The first the greedy glutton slays,

The fourth cuts short the drunkard’s days.

April—

The tenth day and the eleventh too,

Are ready death’s fell work to do.

May—

The third to slay poor men had power,

The seventh destroyeth in an hour.

June—

The tenth a pallid visage shows,

No faith nor truce the fifteenth knows.

July—

The thirteenth is a fatal day,

The tenth alike will mortals slay.

August—

The first kills strong men at a blow,

The second lays a cohort low.

September—

The third day of the month September

And tenth bring evil to each member.

October—

The third and tenth with poisoned breath

To men are foes as foul as death.

November—

The fifth bears scorpion stings of pain,

The third comes with distraction’s train.

December—

The seventh is bad for human life,

The tenth with serpent’s sting is rife.

“The lucky have whole days in which to choose,

The unlucky have but hours, and these they
lose.”

Sunday is a pun day, Monday’s a dun day, Tuesday’s a news day, Wednesday’s a friend’s day, Thursday’s a cursed day, Friday’s a dry day, Saturday’s the latter day.

Born on Monday, fair of face; born on Tuesday, full of grace; born on Wednesday, sour and sad; born on Thursday, merry and glad; born on Friday, worthily given; born on Saturday, work hard for your living. Born on Sunday, you’ll never know want.

The day of the week on which the 3rd of May falls is unlucky for taking an account of cattle on a farm. St. Stephen’s day is unlucky for bleeding horses.

The Spanish have a proverb which says: Don’t wed, don’t go aboard a ship and don’t leave your wife on Thursday.

According to a Spanish belief, Saturday always is sunny and therefore lucky. Wednesday in Passion Week is always rainy and therefore unlucky. On that day it is said that Peter went out and wept, hence heaven sends rain to commemorate his tears.

An Italian belief fixes Tuesday and Friday as unlucky days for a voyage and for a marriage.

The Japanese have designated five days of the year as unlucky, and in order to avert their bad influence have made them the days of great festivals. It is customary to wish one another happiness on those days in order to oppose their otherwise unhappy effects. They never begin a journey on an inauspicious day and there is a printed table in all their roadhouses and inns, showing what days of the month are unfavorable for travel.

The French regard Sunday as a very lucky day for all enterprises.

According to an old Hebraic tradition, the sun always shines on Wednesday, for according to the Bible, it was created on that day. Therefore, it is a good day for any enterprise.

The 14th of April, 1360, was called “Black Monday.” King Edward III with his army lay before Paris and the day was so dark, cold and unhealthy that many soldiers died from exposure and were frozen on the backs of their horses. This day was commemorated in England for many years.

The Turks consider the 13th, 14th and 15th of each month as lucky days to transact business and go on a voyage.

It is considered unlucky to take a trip immediately after hearing of the death of a friend.

In certain parts of England, Tuesday and Wednesday are lucky days. It is thought unlucky to turn a feather bed or mattress on Sunday.

A Scotchman rarely begins anything on the day of the week on which May 3rd falls. He calls it the “Dismal Day.”

Among the Hindoos, Monday is considered a lucky day for a trip. Sunday is lucky for sowing seed or beginning a building. Tuesday is lucky for soldiers in battle. Wednesday is a lucky day for merchants and good for collecting debts. Thursday is good for beginning a new business. Friday is lucky for the making of friends and the wearing of new garments. Saturday is unlucky, as it excites quarrels.

NEW YEAR’S SUPERSTITIONS

The first day of the year is naturally a day of importance as its events may have a tendency to affect all the days that are to follow. Many a strange belief, therefore, centres about this day in all lands, and the symbols of future good or bad luck are eagerly sought in everything that occurs.

In many parts of England it is believed that if a male person crosses the threshold first, it betokens good luck, whereas, if a female be the first to cross, bad luck is sure to follow. A man or boy, therefore, is often hired to enter a house before the occupants are up. Whole bands of males are employed for a small fee, for this purpose.

If a clergyman be the first to enter a home on New Year’s Day the significance is good.

Chimneys used to be cleaned on New Year’s Day in England, so that luck could descend and remain all the year.

It was considered luckier for a dark-haired man than for a fair-haired man to be the first to enter a home. A bachelor was luckier than a married man. A widower brought bad luck.

It is customary in some parts for the first visitor to bring a gift of a cake or loaf of bread, to indicate prosperity for the rest of the year.

It is considered unlucky to remove anything from a house on New Year’s Day, until something has been brought in from without. Each visitor therefore brings a slight gift.

Eating a cake is considered a sure bringer of luck on the first of the year. In rural districts, special New Year cakes are baked for this purpose.

To lend something to a friend is sure to bring a good return.

To put on new clothes on New Year is considered lucky, so also to bathe.

Money earned on New Year’s Day will bring a hundredfold in its train.

Resolutions made on New Year’s day should be carried out, if they are good, and will insure good luck.

It is good to give alms on the New Year. In many parts poor folks are invited to partake of the family’s cheer.

APRIL FOOL’S DAY

The first of April was celebrated among the ancients as the beginning of the vernal equinox amid general frolicking, and from that is derived our own April Fool’s Day. It is customary to send people upon foolish errands and make them appear ridiculous.

The celebration of this day is world wide. Even in pagan India the people join in the fun. In Mohammedan countries the highest castes vie with each other in playing practical jokes.

To be fooled by a pretty girl denotes that you will marry the girl if you are single, or befriend her if already married.

To lose your temper when sent on a fool’s errand, means bad luck.

To get married on April Fool’s Day means that the lady will wear the breeches and the man play second fiddle.

Children born on this day will be lucky in legitimate business but unlucky in speculation.

ASCENSION DAY

This day commemorates the ascension of the Savior into heaven and is the occasion of many superstitions.

To work on this day, especially in underground quarries or mines, is considered unlucky in Catholic countries, and even in England underground work is suspended from dawn to dusk.

Wells and reservoirs are decorated with flowers to insure pure water during the year.

To fall or stumble is particularly unlucky, and means a loss of health or money. An ancient way of preventing disaster if you have fallen is to lie flat on the ground and say:

“Raise me up and comfort me, Angel of Mercy.”

Alms given to a blind or lame man on this day will come back a hundredfold.

Begin the day by giving away a coin, however small. It will bring you an unexpected fortune within the year.

EASTER SUPERSTITIONS

Easter commemorates the resurrection of the Savior from the dead, and in all countries it is celebrated with peculiar rites and ceremonies.

“Lifting” is an old custom that is supposed to illustrate the rising from the grave. Men and women would visit each other, and go through the following practice. A person would lie flat upon his back. Four others would take hold of him, one at each leg and arm and lift him up three times. There is a belief that if the recumbent person holds his breath, he can be lifted by the little finger of each of the four lifters.

Girls were often put into a chair and lifted by boys who claimed a kiss for their trouble. This was also called “heaving.”

Easter eggs had their origin in the belief that the egg was a symbol of the Resurrection. Some attribute their origin to their symbolizing Spring. Dyeing eggs in lively colors was a token of joy or gayety. Red dye was taken as a symbol of Christ’s blood.

Eggs are often blessed on Easter before being eaten. They then keep away bodily ailments.

To win an egg by “picking” brings good luck. It is a popular game with boys.

To find two yokes in an Easter egg foretells a great gain in wealth.

To refuse to eat an Easter egg, if offered by a friend, signifies a loss of friendship.

Rabbits are supposed to lay eggs on Easter. This is an old Teutonic belief.

Among the more popular Easter pastimes are rolling eggs down hill and finding hidden eggs. Both are considered lucky ceremonies.

It is considered lucky to plant garden seed and potatoes on Good Friday.

Good Friday is the best day in the year for weaning babies.

It is a sign of luck to break pottery on Good Friday. It will save the house from damage during the rest of the year.

ST. JOHN’S EVE.

This is a popular day in England and Ireland and many a superstition is connected with it.

Bonfires are built in memory of the ancient druids, and children dance around them. To jump over a bonfire insures luck for the next harvest.

While looking into the fire, the men throw pieces of wheaten cake over their shoulders, saying:

“This I give thee to preserve my horses, or my sheep.” This is supposed to propitiate the Biblical idol, Baal.

When a Scotchman goes to bathe or drink at a fountain or well on this day, he always approaches by going around the spot from east to west on the south side, in imitation of the motion of the sun. This is called “going around the lucky way.”

Dancing around a fire propitiates the forces of evil. It is also a demonstration of joy and a plea for good luck.

Watch the flames and if you see a familiar face therein, beware of that person, as he will harm you.

CANDLEMAS DAY

This day is celebrated in Christian countries as the day of the “Purification of the Virgin.” It had its origin in Roman times in honor of the goddess Februa, after whom February was named.

Every pious Catholic goes to church on that day with a lighted candle in supplication to “Our Lady” for success in household affairs.

In many parts of England the day is connected with the collection of rents and leases are still made out beginning with Candlemas Day.

The agent of an estate comes at midnight and knocks at the door of his tenant. “I come,” he cries, “to demand my lord’s just dues: eight groats and a penny, a loaf of bread, a cheese, a collar of brawn and a jack of beer. God save the King and the Lord of the manor.”

To pay rent on Candlemas Day insures freedom from debt for the year.

To light a candle dedicated to one’s saint, brings good luck.

ST. VALENTINE’S DAY

St. Valentine was a Christian bishop who suffered martyrdom in 270 A. D. on February 14th. He was later ordained the patron saint of true love. Maids and youths were accustomed to become engaged on that day in his honor.

Sending verses and picture cards to one’s best beloved has become a popular pastime in England and America on Valentine’s Day. A girl who fails to receive a remembrance from some swain is doomed to die an old maid.

Says an old Valentine verse:
“When I go out, the first swain I see,
In spite of fortune shall my true love be.”

On the eve of Valentine’s Day it was the custom for a man to get five bay leaves, pin four of them to the corners of his pillow and the fifth in the centre, and then go to sleep. If he dreamed of a girl, he would marry her before the year was out.

Another custom was to write your friends’ names on pieces of paper, roll them in clay and throw them into a dish of water. The first paper that floated up indicated the one you would marry.

If you expect a visit from your true love on that day, keep your eyes shut till he comes. If you see another man first, it may mean a loss of the other’s love.

To be married on Valentine’s Day betokens happiness and success.

HALLOWE’EN CUSTOMS

Christian history has given us this day as sacred to all saints. In most countries there are curious rites and ceremonies connected with it.

In Catholic lands it is a day of prayer and the people visit the churchyards and pray to the saints and to the departed of their families for success and for forgiveness of sins. In Protestant countries the day is given over to merriment.

Hallowe’en was originally a day for remembering the dead. Ghosts and spirits are supposed to wander abroad at night.

Witches and demons make the night their own, and woe to the person they catch after dark.

Spectres made of pumpkins and sheets are used both to frighten men and to scare off evil spirits.

To see your shadow cast by the moon is distinctly unlucky.

It is a time full of portents, and there are various ways of divining the name of one’s future sweetheart.

Place two nuts in the fire side by side. If they burst and fly apart it betokens bad luck and a separation. If they burn up together, it is a good omen, and means a happy marriage.

Pare an apple so that the peel remains in one long piece. Swing this around your head three times and throw it on the floor. The letter it forms will be the initial of your sweetheart’s name.

Walk backwards, looking into a mirror. The first man or maid whose reflection you see, will marry you.

To find two kernels in an almond on Hallowe’en’s night is particularly lucky and means marriage within a month.

HARVEST SUPERSTITIONS

In ancient times, when the owners of land had gathered in their harvest, they feasted with their servants who helped till the ground. This idea has been perpetuated in our day in agricultural countries. Harvest Home is celebrated in most agricultural countries. In England it partakes of some of the aspects of Thanksgiving Day.

The “Kern Baby” is much in evidence in these festivities. It is an image dressed up and decorated with corn or wheat and carried before the reapers as a sign of luck.

In some places a big doll dressed up in tinsel with a sheaf of wheat under its arm is placed on a pole and the harvest hands dance around it, rejoicing.

Sometimes a real girl is dressed up in a robe of wheat and is paraded around the field for luck. A corn supper in which all partake winds up the festivities.

A special prayer to one’s favorite saint is usual before the harvest, to insure good weather till the wheat is all garnered.

In Catholic countries, the first wheat garnered is shaped into a cross which is hung in front of the granary for good luck.

A red ear of corn is considered a lucky find. It should be carefully preserved until the next harvest.

An ear of corn with seven or fourteen rows is especially lucky and betokens a good harvest.

CHRISTMAS

A festival corresponding to Christmas was held in Rome in honor of Bacchus, but with the advent of Christianity it changed its character and was solemnized to celebrate the birth of Christ. Many of the old pagan rites and superstitions still remain.

Mistletoe was held in high esteem by the druids and regarded with religious superstition. They used it in their incantations. It is used for decorating during Christmas, and is usually hung from the chandeliers.

A girl standing under a piece of mistletoe may be kissed by any man who finds her there. If she refuses to be kissed, she invites bad luck. If she be kissed seven times in one day, she will marry one of the lucky fellows within a year.

In olden days mistletoe was laid on the altars in churches as an emblem of the grace of the Savior, and betokened a prosperous year.

In York, England, mistletoe is laid upon the altar of the cathedral and the priest proclaims freedom to all wicked souls.

Evergreen leaves and boughs are also a relic of paganism, and are supposed to bring cheer and luck.

The Christmas tree is a survival of northern mythology and was first made popular in Scandinavian countries when they adopted Christianity. It symbolizes the ever green and abiding power of salvation.

Christmas candles probably had their origin in the Jewish festival of lights (Chanuca), which occurs at the same time. Lights are lit for seven days to commemorate the victories of the Maccabbees.

Yule logs are large logs of wood that are thrown into the grate to make the Christmas eve more festive. The flame is supposed to keep out evil influences. Christmas candles serve the same end.

To see a familiar face in the blaze of a yule log, betokens an early marriage with the person thus seen.

To become engaged on Christmas eve, is a sure sign of a happy married life.

A child born on Christmas day will be free from care and very lucky.

St. Nicholas, or Santa Claus is the patron saint of Christmas. He is supposed to come down the chimney with his pack on his back and distribute toys and gifts to old and young. The only way to secure his favor is to be good and obedient.

Kris Kringle is another name for Santa Claus. It is derived from the German “Krist Kindli” or Christ Child. He is represented as entering homes and making children happy on the “Holy Night.”