Little superstitions

[Arlanymor]

What little superstitions do you and your family follow? My aunt died today (we didn't think she would make it until Christmas and I got to see her very recently so I am feeling sad, but fairly fortunate in that regard, she really was not well) - my mum was with her and sent me a text to let me know. I responded with my sympathies (it was her sister) and I said: "Don't forget to open a window." And mum said she already had - do you do that too? To let their soul out?

I don't care about walking under ladders (I look up first!) or putting shoes (new ones, I'm not a grot!) on tables or anything like that. And I think it's lucky if a black cat crosses my path as nine times out of ten I get to have a cwtch! So I don't consider myself superstitious, but the window thing is second nature.

So what do you do? (I think I am trying to cheer myself up a bit with distractions).

Oh and never, ever do anything widdershins.

I have heard the superstition re entering a house by the same door and I'm Scottish.

If my husband is not there I take a chance and pick up the glove myself and hope the bad luck doesn’t find me 😆

I had a friend who carried that to extremes. She once put her knickers on sideways, went swimming later and put them back on the same way! She's from Glasgow, if that's relevant.

Magpie greeting of course.

When my unwell brother needed help with putting on his shoes, he indignantly told me that as a cricketer he had to put on the left boot first.

This was about 30 years ago, and ever since I have been incapable of putting my right one first. Even skiing, if my skis came off I had to manoeuvre until I could snap on the left one.

No new shoes on a table (boxed inc)
Not opening a brolly indoors.

Always greet a lone magpie. Also whistling. My mother is from South America and whistling is considered incredibly bad luck/bad omens. Every time I hear whistling it makes my skin crawl- it's like nails down a chalk board to me!

I'm from Wiltshire, it was a very common superstition there.

My Irish mum had lots of superstitions most of them mentioned already. But her umbrella one was don’t put an open umbrella over your head in the house eg a child playing with one. It was ok opened on the floor to dry.

Also, don’t look at a new moon through glass. That was a tricky one as you were usually looking through a window when you spotted it 🌙

Yes to the open window in the room of the recently deceased to allow their spirit to leave. But her family and neighbours in rural Ireland had another superstition after death. When the body was removed from the house to the church for the funeral all the kitchen chairs were upturned on the table so their spirit kept on their journey and didn’t return to their home. And a close neighbour remained on watch in the house while everyone else went to the funeral just to be sure.

I remember closed curtains in a house when someone died.
Don't know why as I was a child at the time.
Ne Scotland early 70s.

Pinch punch first of the month, I get really annoyed with myself if I forget to do this to someone.

Back luck to cut nails on a Friday and if you cut them on a Sunday, then you’ll have the devil on your back for the rest of the week.

I also don’t like crossing someone on the stairs .