SUPERSTITIONS !!

Bad luck to bring Snowdrops into the house.

 

Lilac too, so I'm told although I had never personally beleived in superstitions of any kind.

 

Halloween superstitions...

Girls who carry a lamp to a spring of water on this night can see their future husband in the reflection.


Girls who carry a broken egg in a glass to a spring of water (during the day) can not only see their future husband by mixing some of the spring water into the glass, but she can also see a glimpse of her future children.


An old tradition was that girls should go into a field and there scatter the seed of hemp. While they did so they chanted ââ?¬Å?Hempseed I sow thee Come after me and show meââ?¬Â. Upon suddenly turning round, it was declared that each girl would see a vision of the man who would be her husband.


Bobbing for Apples - Each member of the party is given an apple, from which a small piece has been cut, and into which a fortune written on a slip of paper has been inserted. The apples are thrown into a large tub of water and the company invited to duck their heads and retrieve an apple with their mouths. Upon doing so they draw out the slip of paper and read their fortune.


To find out of your lover is true. select one of the letters which you have received from your sweetheart, especially one which contains a particularly passionate and important declaration; lay it wide open upon a table and then fold it nine times. Pin the folds together, place the letter in your left-hand glove, and slip it under your pillow. If on that night you dream of silver, gems, glass, castles or clear water, your lover is true and his declarations are genuine; if you dream of linen, storms, fire, wood, flowers, or he is saluting you, he is false and has been deceiving you.


Mashed potatoes offer a method of divining who will be the first to wed. Into the heap of mashed potatoes a ring, a three penny-bit, a button, a heart-shaped charm, a shell and a key are inserted. Then all the lights in the room are turned out, and each guest, armed with a spoon or fork, endeavors to find the hidden charms. The one who finds the ring win marry first; the three penny-bit signifies wealth; the button, bachelorhood or spinsterhood; the heart, passionate love; the shell, long journeys; the key, great success and power.





Halloween derives its name from the fact that in the Christian calendar it occurs the day before 'All Saints' or All Hallows' Day. It was the last night of the old year according to the ancient calendar of the Celts. On that night it was said that the witches, hobgoblins, warlocks, and other evil spirits walked abroad and devoted themselves to wicked revels. But the good fairies, too, according to some folklore, made their appearance at this time, but only from the hour of dusk until midnight.


If a bat flies into a house it is a sign that ghosts are about and maybe the ghost let the bat in


If bats come out early and fly around playfully, then it is a sign of good weather to come.


If a bat flies around a house 3 times, it is a death omen.


Peel an apple from top to bottom. The person with the longest unbroken peel would be assured the longest life. If you threw the apple peel over your shoulder, the initial it forms upon landing is the initial of your future mate.


When bobbing for apples, it is believed that the first person to bite an apple would be the first to marry.


If you go to a crossroads at Halloween and listen to the wind, you will learn all the most important things that will befall you during the next twelve months.


A person born on Halloween can see and talk to spirits


To prevent ghosts coming into the house at Halloween, bury animal bones or a picture of an animal near the doorway.


If a girl puts a sprig of rosemary herb and a silver sixpence under her pillow on Halloween night, she will see her future husband in a dream.


In Britain, people believed that the Devil was a nut-gatherer. At Halloween, nuts were used as magic charms.


Many people used to believe that owls swooped down to to eat the souls of the dying. If they heard an owl hooting, they would become frightened. A common remedy was thought to be, turning your pockets inside out and you would be safe


Some believe if you catch a snail on Halloween night and lock it into a flat dish, in the morning you will see the first letter of your sweetheart written in the snail's slime


You should walk around your home three times backwards and counterclockwise before sunset on Halloween to ward off evil spirits


Knocking on wood keeps bad luck away


If you see a spider on Halloween, it could be the spirit of a dead loved one who is watching you


If you ring a bell on Halloween, it will scare evil spirits away


In North America, it's bad luck if a black cat crosses your path and good luck if a white cat crosses your path. In Britain and Ireland, it's the opposite.


If a candle flame suddenly turns blue, there's a ghost nearby

 

Never ever pick anything up in a cemetary and take it home with you!

I picked a snippet of a wild rockery plant growing in a wall between the cementary and an allotment. About 3 days later I skidded with my bike, flew off and broke my right elbow, plus collecting some bruises and a badly sprained wrist.

It was some time after this that I heard about never taking anything from a cemetary.

 

That will teach you !! :D

 

If your left ear itches someone is talking about you.

 

Scatter Solomon's seal on the floor to banish serpents and venomous creatures from the room.
To protect your house from lightning, gather hazel tree branches on Palm Sunday and keep them in water.

Add caraway seeds to chicken feed to keep poultry from wandering. Feed the seeds to homing pigeons to help them find their way back.

Stuff fennel in your keyhole or hang it over your door to protect against witches.

Never carry a hoe into the house. If you do so by mistake, carry it out again, walking backward to avoid bad luck.

Never walk under a ladder, which is Satan's territory. If you must do it, cross your fingers or make the sign of the fig (closed fist, with thumb between index and middle fingers).

If you give a steel blade to a friend, make the recipient pay you a penny to avoid cutting the friendship.

Never give a knife as a housewarming present, or your new neighbor will become an enemy.

Never pound a nail after sundown, or you will wake the tree gods.

Nail an evergreen branch to new rafters to bring good luck. An empty hornets' nest, hung high, also will bring good luck to any age house.

When you move to a new house, always enter first with a loaf of bread and a new broom. Never bring an old broom into the house.

 

Wow! Great stuff WF
Never heard a lot of these before, fascinating!!

 

iff you get an itchy nose your going to get in a bad temper