Old Wive's Tales and Superstitions..

[simba20]

I do follow the following:

-- Cows lying down means it's going to rain.
I have lived in the country and for me, everytime I have seen cows lying down it does rain. So I believe it.

-- 7 years bad luck if you break a mirror.
I have never broken a mirror, so I've never tested this one. However, I do my best not to break mirrors. When we moved, I was very anal about protecting our entryway hanging wall mirror.

-- When your hand itches you are going to receive money.
Has always been true in my case. I've either received my paycheck or some small sum. Money is money. Today, my hand was itching while I ordered at Chick-Fil-A. Good thing too, because I just spent $600 having my car fixed at the dealship (part not covered under warranty) and new rear brakes.

-- See a penny pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck.
I do this. I always pick up a penny. I'll pick up any penny heads or tails, because I think this addage trumps the heads/tails superstition.

And finally, when I was pregnant with DD, my coworker had a Christmas party at her house. I was only a month and a hlaf along at that point, but her mother decided to hold a necklace with a pendant in front of my belly and depending on how it swung, it would determine if I was having a boy or a girl. Supposedly back and forth (side to side) meant boy and circles meant girl. Again, I was only 1.5 months along but it predicted "girl." It was right.

 

[walden]

"Red sky at night, shepherds' delight;
Red sky in morning, shepherds take warning."
My DH says that I have this wrong and it should be sailors.

If you unfold a bedsheet and there is a diamond shaped crease in the middle someone will near to you will die.

If a friend gives you a knife you must give him or her a coin or the friendship will be severed.

I can't believe how many of these I am suddenly able to remember!

 

[sunnyday123]

My family is European, so we are chock full of superstitions. Two that really stand out are the shoes on the table means bad luck and you MUST walk out the door you came in.

 

[C.Ann]

When someone in your family dies, a new baby will be born shortly after - and usually the same gender.. (New life replaces the old..)

Candles burn dimmer before a rain..

Rarely does a skyscraper have a 13th floor..

Rain on your wedding day means a happy marriage..

You won't go to Heaven if you die with your shoes on..

The head of your bed should always be north..

Ghosts are souls who are trapped on earth because they still have unfinished business..

 

[Huggles]

Never cut your nails on a Sunday; it's bad luck.

If you see a Magpie, you must greet it by saying 'Good Morning General' otherwise you'll have bad luck. ( That might be a purely Scottish one)

If you go out with wet hair you'lll get 'rheumatics'.

 

[C.Ann]

Sitting on the cold ground will give you hemorroids..

The length of your hair determines the frequency of headaches you have.. The longer the hair, the more heaches..

When newborn babies smile in their sleep it's because the angels are kissing them on their cheeks..

 

[luvsJack]

Sitting on the cold ground will give you hemorroids..

The length of your hair determines the frequency of headaches you have.. The longer the hair, the more heaches..

When newborn babies smile in their sleep it's because the angels are kissing them on their cheeks..

That one (bolded) is just so sweet!!!!!

My husband is always repeating these things but one he is adament about is that if he hands you his pocketknife, you have to hand it back to him the same way--if he gives it to you closed, you close it before you hand it back or visa versa.

 

[Katie's Butterflies]

I also have trouble stepping on cracks and lines on sidewalks (thus breaking my mother's back and spine).

When I was about 3, I learned this one from my friends at preschool “step on a crack and break your mother’s back.” I thought it was absolutely ridiculous, so I stepped on every crack I could. A couple hours later, my dad picked me up early. My mom was in the hospital, she had hurt her back! I still can’t step on cracks without remembering that!

 

[minniebeth]

My mom had many supersitions (she is from an Eastern European background too, it seems like others have said the culture has a lot of superstitions?)
but the only one I really have continuted with, and it has been mentioned often, is shoes on a table or counter is very bad luck. ESPECIALLY new shoes.

I often think of what she believed when I go to bridal showers, not to give knives, and if you do, they must be "bought" by the bride for a small amount of change.
Same with pearls~

 

[minkydog]

Here's a superstition that's popular in my family: Never give someone a poinsettia. They'll die within hours. This started in the 60s when my parents sent two elderly, sick aunts flowers for Christmas. Sure enough, they both kicked the bucket, one of them ON Christmas Day. A few years later a neighbor brought over a beautiful poinsettia as a gift. It didn't take my dad 3 seconds to loft that thing out the kitchen door into the back yard. Lucky for us,no one got hit in the head and died

 

[minkydog]

I've hear a lot of the ones already posted. Another I have heard is death always comes in threes.

I don't like that one very much!

I can't believe I recently heard an RN trot out this tired homily. And she was completely serious! Another one I hear medical people say is "all the crazies come out in a full moon" and "all the babies are born during a full moon", BOTH of which have been studied and proved false. But it doesn't keep otherwise intelligent and well-educated people from repeating these falsities to the unknowing public like it was law.

 

[walden]

When someone in your family dies, a new baby will be born shortly after - and usually the same gender.. (New life replaces the old..)

Candles burn dimmer before a rain..

Rarely does a skyscraper have a 13th floor..[/B]
Rain on your wedding day means a happy marriage..

You won't go to Heaven if you die with your shoes on..

The head of your bed should always be north..

Ghosts are souls who are trapped on earth because they still have unfinished business..

On the underlined, yes all buildings of 13 floors and over have 13th floors, but they are seldom identified as such. Skyscrapers tend to go from 12 to 14th floors. And 13 guests at the table is dreadful bad luck. In fact 13 of anything is bad.

It is funny, isn't it? My first post on this thread was for things that make me a bit uneasy (for totally illogical reasons) and I that avoid. No, I am not superstitious! Really!

The rest has been remembered lore from Scottish Grandma that I mostly discount. Amazing how it all comes back to me when the question is asked.

Here is another one: It will be good weather all day if there is enough blue sky in the morning to make a sailor a pair of trousers (pants to you Yanks). That one is totally a lie! Although I'm not that good at estimating yardage in the sky!

 

[TinkerbEllnor]

Eating bread crusts will give you curly hair

 

[C.Ann]

If you suffer from severe heartburn while you're pregnant, your baby will be born with a full head of thick hair..

(This was actually true in my DD's case.. She had terrible heartburn - and my DGD was born with such dark, thick, curly hair it was astonishing! Of course I don't think the Old Wive's tale had anything to do with that - LOL..)

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

I don't know if this one was posted or not but when I was pregnant with my first child, my DH's grandmother, who was from Poland, told me not to watch scary movies while pregnant because the baby would come out ugly. I didn't believe it but I don't watch them anyway.

 

[GingerJay]

My grandma told me to never wash linens between old Christmas (Jan 6) and new Christmas because someone in your family will die..

 

[C.Ann]

Some of you people have stated some really interesting ones - but not what is supposed to "happen" if you go ahead and do "such and such" (like wearing green to a wedding).. Later on I'm going to come back and ask about the ones that have me curious.. Hope that many of you will return to the thread and satisfy my curiousity..

Meanwhile, as I think of more, I'll keep adding on..

Next?

 

[Rora]

I don't know if this one was posted or not but when I was pregnant with my first child, my DH's grandmother, who was from Poland, told me not to watch scary movies while pregnant because the baby would come out ugly. I didn't believe it but I don't watch them anyway.

I love this one!

But, I think I will avoid scary movies during my pregnancy.. just to be safe..

 

[minkydog]

Rain on your wedding day portends a long and happy marriage

 

[ProudMomTo3Boys]

If you suffer from severe heartburn while you're pregnant, your baby will be born with a full head of thick hair..

(This was actually true in my DD's case.. She had terrible heartburn - and my DGD was born with such dark, thick, curly hair it was astonishing! Of course I don't think the Old Wive's tale had anything to do with that - LOL..)

My sister just had a baby on Tuesday with so much hair, he has more than her DH and she had terrible heartburn that she didn't have with her other 2.