Family Lore

[GwinCoch]

This thread is inspired by @Applebyapples - hope that’s OK! When you posted that your grandmother is horrified by pegs left on a washing line and calls it slovenly, it recalled mind a couple of bits of ‘family lore’ from my own elders and thought it might be interesting to see if there was any resonance with others here.

Nana J: Females shouldn’t drink pints, it’s unladylike.
Nana B: Central heating is unnatural. As is having a bath more than once a week.

Both ladies are deceased and have been for some time, but I remember growing up with these weird sentences bumping about in my brain. Do you have any weird lore? Guess it’s kind of ‘old wives tales’ territory?

These are great.

My Nanna had a theory about cutlery being dropped on the floor during dinner.

If you drop a knife, a man will come to the door
If you drop a fork, a teenager will come to the door
If you drop a tablespoon, a woman will come to the door
If you drop a teaspoon, a child will come to the door

This only came true once and I remember the adults falling about laughing.

All from my Nan:

Tickling children too much makes them nervous

Eating your crusts makes your hair curl

Don't bring lilac into the house.
If you put an item of clothing on inside out you have to wear it like that all day.
Don't look at the new moon through glass.
You have to go outside and turn your money over at the new moon.
Never wear green to a wedding.
My mum was the most superstitious person I have ever met, there are tons more.

Open the door at the bells to let the new year in

Cross a new baby’s palm with silver when you meet him/her for the first time.

Put a coin in a gift of a new purse.

Red and white should never go together in decoration - it signifies blood and bandages.

Green is an unlucky colour.

No bird decoration in the house or on clothes - it’s unlucky.

Don’t let a crow land on your house - they bring death.

Don’t go out with wet hair, you’ll get pneumonia. Ditto for bare feet.

Don’t wash your hair on your period.

Growing up with my mother was just an exercise in avoiding death.

It’s incredibly unlucky to be superstitious.

My mother was a firm believer in making sure your dh has time to unwind and relax after work (regardless of wether you had been working) so we weren't allowed inthe living room for an hour after my dad got home.

No tv on in the day (unless ironing then it was acceptable)

Adults chose tv

Name changed, as potentially outing.

No new shoes on the table definitely, still follow that.

Don't sing at the table, you will die in the workhouse.

Not going out with wet hair, no eating in the street, women shouldn't whistle - I break those 3 frequently (sorry Nanny).

DH's Nanna stopped talking to me for a while after I wore a green dress to BIL's wedding. Blue and green should never be seen apparently.

Quite a lot of these but also bringing a 🦚 feather indoors is bad luck.

So many of these are familiar
At new year we open 2 doors at the same time to let the old year out and the new year in

I still don't cross on the stairs, put new shoes on the table or cut lilac

I knew one old lady who literally stopped talking completely to her neighbour who had hung her washing out on the Lords day

I'm Irish and here are a few examples that are still prevalent in my family.

On halloween night leave nuts and fruit at outside the door for travelling spirits.
Continuing the halloween theme, a burning candle at the window to give light to said passing spirits.

Never sit underneath a hawthorn tree or pick its flowers or risk upsetting the fairies and bringing bad luck for generations.

The cross on soda bread frightens the devil.

Never have red and white flowers together in a vase.

If you happen upon a comb in the street it's a sign that the banshee has been near and a death within the community is imminent.

At the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve, the first person to cross your threshold should have dark hair and gift a lump of coal to ensure good luck for the coming year. As we're all blond, my grandmother's neighbour kindly acts as the bearer of good luck.

If you hear a knock on the door see that nobody's there answer it and welcome the lost/wandering spirit.

My dm tells me she isn't superstitious but I have spent years persuading myself not to do loads of weird stuff.
Don't pass on the stairs - I work in London so not sure how this works!
Don't pock a knife up if you drop it someone else must pick it up.
Drop salt throw it over your shoulder.
Don't step on 3 drains at once
No new shoes on the side or table always on the floor.
Signalling magpies
No umbrellas up indoors
Have a small elephant with their trunk up in your bedroom
A fish model in the hallway pointing in a certain direction and a frog in the lounge

The 2 I still do
Turn your boiled egg shell upside down when done, make a hole and let the fairies out.
When celebrating someone's achievement take the champagne cork cut a slot and insert a coin in it.

Oh bloody hell! My mum believed in the banshees. She also thought that when a person was on the brink of death a loved one would come for them to take them over to the other side. Apparently she had evidence this was true as my grandma saw her late husband waiting for her.
And another, eating hare was forbidden. They are sacred animals.

Have a small elephant with their trunk up in your bedroom

You also need to make sure they are facing the door!

My grandmother was full of superstitions. We also have the peacock one. In fact that one lead to the smashing of an entire Spode dinner service for 20!

My favourite was that you had to fold any bank notes before putting them in your purse so the money would stay with you rather than be needed for bills. That’s not so easy now we have these horrible plastic ones.

Must get busy here, it’s the festival of St John so I need to harvest the St John’s Wort for the coming year and the correct planetary hour starts shortly

My background is Christian Eastern Orthodoxy.
I think most of these rituals transcend countries and religions, which is curious because a few hundred years ago communities used to be well isolated. So how did they all come to the same rituals? 🤔

Here’s another - if you forget a morsel of food and start on the next one, one of your dead relatives was hungry (so you metaphysically fed them the forgotten morsel and you can still eat the physical one).
Not sure I explain it well - say you have two pieces of toast. You start on the one, then get distracted, put the unfinished one on the plate, and start on the second slice, while the first one is still unfinished.

Birds in the house being a harbinger of death. That one has stuck with me.

I think the shoes on the table thing is death related too, too close to getting a body dressed for burial.

Don't sew or mend clothing while wearing it, because you are 'stitching sorrow to your back'

Spinach will put hairs on your chest

Bad luck to open an umbrella indoors

Bad luck to break a mirror (7yrs)

Sitting on a cold surface will give you piles

If you put your knickers on inside out you'll have a surprise ... although no idea who told me that one

Aw balls. I have a really itchy left palm! Are you SURE you got them round the right way?

Along the same lines-
Left eye twitching - bad luck
Right eye twitching - good luck

Sorry but it's right to receive and left to leave