Olde Wives Tails - Take Two

Here is the second installment of Old Wives Tales.  I know there are many, many more. But at some point you will get tired of read them.  At least my ADHD wouldn’t let me read more.  If you have any to add, let me know.

-If you are not getting married, never wear white to a wedding or you will bring bad luck to the bride.
-Wearing blue is bad luck for actors, though it’s okay if it’s worn with silver.
-In the theater, a yellow clarinet in an orchestra will bring disaster.
-Don’t walk over someone why they are laying on the ground because it will stop them from growing taller.
-You should spit on the new baseball bat before use to make it lucky.
-If a black cat walks towards you it will bring good luck. If it walks away from you it takes away your good luck.
-Never take a broom along when you move. Throw it out and buy a new one.
-If three people are photographed, the middle person will die first.
-The sudden falling of a comb while combing your hair is an indication of coming disappointment.
-A loaf of bread should never be turned upside down after a slice has been cut from it.
-It was once thought that if a woman wanted her child to be fair skinned she should look at a corpse.
-If 13 people sit down to eat together, one of them will die before the year is over.
-”Ladybug ladybug fly away home” was said to the ladybugs instead of killing them because they represented the Virgin Mary.
-Rub a penny on a wart and it will disappear.
-Use white cotton thread to tie a knot for each wart. Bury it, and when the string rots, so too will your wart.
-In Europe they say that if you have small ears it means you are a mean person, but if you have large ears you will have a generous nature.
-Leaving your shoes upside down or upon the table is considered as bad luck.
-Many people believe that if they wear new clothes on New Year Day they will receive more new garments during the year.
-People wear red colored clothes as they believe red is symbolic to happiness and bright future.
-If you see three butterflies together they will bring good luck.
-Before slicing a new loaf of bread, make the sign of the cross on it.
-A person who dies on Good Friday or midnight on Christmas Eve will go straight to heaven.
-If a friend gives you a knife, you should give him a coin, or your friendship will be severed.
-They say if you drop a scissors on the floor you lover is being unfaithful.
-People believe that loud noise scares the devil which is why New Year’s is celebrated with as much noise as possible. In many countries church bells rung at mid night for this reason.
-If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good luck all year.
-Welsh coal miners used to believe that if they washed the coal dust from their backs it would weaken their spines.
-Babies born on 1st January is considered to be the luckiest persons throughout their lives.
-In Damascus yo-yo’s were once banned because the people thought that they were causing a drought.
-When traveling it’s a good idea to wear a St Christopher Medal. It is supposed to keep you safe.
-All windows should be opened at the moment of death so that the soul can leave.
-Scottish lore says to keep a knife under your pillow to avoid having fairies carry you off while you sleep.
-Step on a crack, break your mothers back.
-Think of a list of names of people you would consider marrying, then take an apple and twist the stem while reciting the names. Who ever’s name you call out when the stem breaks is the one you will marry.
-Eat some cherries and keep the pips. Count the pips while calling out the following – tinker, tailor, soldier, sailor, rich man, poor man, beggar-man, thief, doctor, lawyer, Indian Chief- when you reach the last pip, you’ll know the occupation of your future husband.
-Cut an apple in half and count the seeds to find out how many children you will have.
-If a young girl sees a sparrow on Valentine’s Day she will marry a poor man and she will be very happy. If she sees a goldfinch, she will marry a millionaire.
-If you ever drop a black ace on the floor while playing cards, quit the game. If you happen to drop the black ace and it falls on a mirror and breaks it, buy life insurance.
-If a clock which has not been working suddenly chimes, there will be a death in the family.
-It is said that the luckiest things for you to find are horseshoes, four-leaf clovers and teeth.
-If you kill the bee which is trying to enter into your home, you will have bad luck.
-If you mention something terrible or that you wouldn’t want to happen, knock on wood.
-An acorn at the window will keep lightning out
-You should never start a trip on Friday or you will meet misfortune.
-If you dream of running there will be a big change in your life.
-If an unborn child kicks on the left-hand side of the womb it is a boy and if on the right-hand side, it is a girl.
-Parsley should be picked and never cut and it should be grown from seed and not transplanted… and under no circumstances should you give it away or bad luck will fall upon you.
-Sage will grow well in the garden of a woman who dominates her husband.
-Hold a buttercup under your chin and if there’s a yellow reflection on your skin, it means you like butter.
-Sandalwood, ylang ylang, jasmine, and vanilla are very effective for attracting males.
-Garlic wards off vampires.
-The number of X’s in the palm of your right hand denotes the number of children you would have.
-Do not buy your husband shoes or he will walk right out of your life.
-If a rat runs around the feet of a pregnant woman this is very bad luck.
-The Indians from Peru, South America used to wash their babies in llama urine to ward off evil spirits.
-It’s bad luck to leave a house through a different door than the one used to come into it.


I do have to ask, though, where did these things come from?  Something had to happen for people to believe it was bad luck or evil, etc.