Old wives tales!

[Alfiesmom74]

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever gone out with damp hair after always thinking that if you go out in the cold with wet hair you’ll catch the flu/pneumonia. What old wives tales have you believed in?

@Ifangyow yep I was told never to reach up too 🤦🏻‍♀️

It’s funny you should say that Stroller, cos a friend of my mum’s used to regularly say to me (cos i used to sit on the kitchen table), ‘tables are for glass, not little arses’. 😉

Saw the ambulance one upthread, we said something similar "Touch your knee, touch your nose, Never go in one of those!" I've wondered since if the touching thing is linked with making the sign of the cross!

My mother wouldn't let us cut our hair or nails on a Sunday. No idea what that was about 🙄

I've heard a lot of these but have no truck with superstitions, I do find the 'folk lore' behind them fascinating though.

I remember seeing something in that vein, actually, Birds, when it was only midwives who would deliver babies and the particular seat the pregnant woman sat on during labour looked ridiculously clever.

It was all about using gravity and the pregnant woman’s comfort, whereas when doctors/men became more involved, the woman gave birth on her back; which included the use of stirrups.

There’s one of these birthing chairs/stools in the Wellcome Collection, i think.

I always salute a single magpie and say "morning Mr Magpie" although have no idea why! Spilling salt and throwing some over your shoulder, itchy palms depending on which one means you will either give or receive money, ladders, black cats, the list goes on for me! In Hampshire we also have the Hag Stones story, stones with complete holes through them and if you spit through the hole and make a wish it comes true and they ward off evil spirits. I also have my own where if I find an elastic band I always pick it up for luck and then dispose of it when I go to bed. I consider them very lucky as once found one when on my way to an interview and my hair band broke and this saved the day and also once a huge file with important documents broke and I found a large elastic band that kept everything together before I could get it home safely. DH and friends think I'm mad but always guve me Hag Stones and tell me if they have found an elastic band! Also finding a penny and giving it away. When I was little I used to kiss new shoes before putting them on a table as felt sure this would stop the bad luck. Still do this now!

Rembered another one. We sail and it's considered unlucky to change a boat name, so if you do you have to do a rather lovely ceremony to Neptune, make a toast, pour some overboard for Neptune, splash some on the deck and place a gold coin under the mast. Except the sodding thing rolled around like a marble in the bilges annoying the hell out of us until we managed to find it and superglue it in place!

I say hello to magpies. And the most random one - i think my friend got it from her mum and then got me doing it when we lived together - touch red when you see a royal mail van. The extra bonkers bit is she decided that you should also count to 8 (thankfully not out loud!) when touching the red thing. And yes, i actually do this. Don't know why as i'm not superstitious but it's a habit now lol

In our family we always did "the doors" at midnight on new years eve, and no one else I talk to has ever heard of it - We had to open the back door to let the old year out and then rush to the front door to let the new year in. Any one else? I still do it, and my grandmother used to be really anxious about never only opening the back door as then you were in a kind of yearless limbo and bad spirits could come through. So we always ran to open the front door as soon as the old year was out the back!!

I dont salute magpies but always look for a 2nd as "one for sorrow, two for joy". And touch wood if we are talking about something going well or a run of good luck. Also grew up with "companys coming" if a broom or mop fell over. I'm sure there are lots more but Id love to find anyone else who has heard of the doors thing?

I had forgotten the doors one on New Years Eve but we did that too when I was a child.
Always salute lone magpies and you are supposed to say Good morning Mr Magpie, how's your wife and children so it implies there are more than one which is lucky.
I always heard shoes on table was unlucky because that was the height of a persons feet if they were being hanged.
If you spill salt you have to throw a bit over your shoulder to blind the devil.

By the way I used to work in a swimming pool and we do really prefer people (especially children) not to eat for half an hour before swimming.
Things like an apple a day of course now certainly have been proved to be good advice.

When I was pregnant I had horrific heart burn and everyone told me the baby would have a lot of hair. I didn't believe a word of it but she was the hairiest baby this side of actually being a werewolf. Her ears and forehead had hair (ears still do) and she's got long curly hair. It came right down her cheeks.
I'm not convinced it has anything to do with heartburn though!

@ShadowsInTheDarkness I am sure I have heard the doors one from my Gran!! We spent the millennium New Year with her (though I was only 7 at the time) and I swear as soon as I read your comment about doors I vividly remember being at hers and her saying the same thing.
I’m seeing her later so I’ll ask and report back!!

@ShadowsInTheDarkness yes we do the doors thing too

My mum had horrendous heartburn when pg, eventually the pharmacy gave her a dispensary sized bottle of gaviscon & kept refilling it for her. Lo and behold, as predicted by the midwives I had a beautiful head of hair. Masses of it. It never fell out or rubbed off either and I still have thick hair.

DM loves aniseed gaviscon though and aniseed and liquorice flavours. I loathe them, I'm sure it's from the amount she used to swill whilst pregnant!

l always salute magpies

DH is Brazilian and there's a Brazilian old wives tale that if you don't put your shoes straight or tidy away your shoes, then your mother will get sick or die. DH is a always telling the kids to straighten their shoes, which I suppose I should be flattered about and it's a ironic really because he throws his shoes in the cupboard any old which way. But then MIL is cast iron

Pugwash, I remember that one. If you change the name don't you have to remove the boat from the water and completely repaint it? I remember someone changing the name of a canal barge near my aunties house once. Sure enough a year later, it was half sunk on its mourings and looking awful.

This one comes from my Nan.... Never wash clothes on New years day as you'll was someone out of your life.

Me and my mum still do this...my husband thinks i'm mental

I do the shoes on the table too....he also thinks i'm mental for that too!

But he comes from the Isle of Man where its bad luck to say the word rat (called long tails, little fellas etc instead)

My grandma used to cover mirrors up at night. No idea why

Never pass on the stairs

New shoes

I hate old wives tales, my Mother's never heard an old wives tale she didn't believe. Since I've had a baby she now passes it down as if it's actual viable advice, rather than the made up bullshit any reasonable person knows it to be.

Oh and my great grandmother used to crush the shells if she used eggs otherwise witches could use them to make boats.

Spilling salt brings bad luck
Unless you then throw some over your shoulder. Except I can’t remember which one, so......

I had to put up with not having a bath or washing my hair when I had my period, also that only married women could use tampons. Even at 12 I knew this to be bullshit and to be ignored. So I did, much to my mothers annoyance....

Heartburn means your baby will have lots of hair.

I had the most awful heartburn both times. Both of my DC came out with hardly any hair

It's bad luck to have a pram in the house before baby is born - which is why my mum is currently holding mines hostage until my little girl makes her appearance in a couple weeks

either salute or address a lone magpie - I do this every time, normally "hello Mr Magpie", but in my defence I also say hello to pigeons, crows, snails; pretty much everything... My partner is used to it now