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Original poster

old wives tales and superstitions

15 replies

whymummy · 18/04/2003 08:48

dont ever cut your childs hair before he/she starts talking as it will cause problems with their speech(told me a woman who actually believed that was the reason for her 2 year old not talking yet)another one is :don`t water your plants while you have a period or the plants will die!! i find those quite amusing has anyone got anymore?

OP posts:
EmmaTMG · 18/04/2003 08:51

Blimey I first cut DS1 hair when he was about 10 months and he hasn't stopped talking since. Maybe that one is true but in reverse!

Angel78 · 18/04/2003 08:58

I had to cut dds hair when she was 4 months old, shes 12 months now and I've had to trim it so many times since then. She'd look like cousin it by now if I hadn't.

hmb · 18/04/2003 08:58

My Mother used to tell me that I shouldn't wash my hair when it was my period. Yuck, as if having dirty hair would help when you had cramps! I ignored her!

My well educated, ex-science teacher, MIL is convinced that getting your hair wet will give you a cold. Virus, anyone??

expatkat · 18/04/2003 10:52

In Greek folklore, they say if you eat the end pieces of a loaf of bread, your mother-in-law will like you.

Hasn't worked for me.

Original poster
whymummy · 18/04/2003 11:01

while travelling in india we were told never ever to look at a water buffalos eyes as its very unlucky also there widows are considered very unlucky as the husband should never die before the wife and even her own family will not talk to her

OP posts:
Ghosty · 18/04/2003 11:32

You know that old rhyme about magpies ... One for sorrow, two for joy, three for a girl, four for a boy etc ....
Well, I worked at a place where there were always magpies and I often counted them ... never saw more than 2 at a time ... until I was pg with DS and I saw 4 every time ... wierd!

susanmt · 18/04/2003 12:03

Eat up your crusts - it will make your hair curly! (my Gran)

EmmaTMG · 18/04/2003 12:13

Susanmt, As a child I refused to eat my crusts as I was terrified of have curly hair. Only really started eating them when I was about 15 years old!

oxocube · 18/04/2003 16:51

Ghosty, magpies are the bane of our life!!! For some really stupid reason, I am really into these old wives tales and magpies are nesting in our garden. Needless to say if I see one I have to look for another immediately. My mum reckons if you see just one you have to salute him (or her?) and say "good morning Mr. Magpie and how is your wife?" and then the bad luck will disappear!!! My 2 older kids have also taken this to heart which strangers find a bit wierd (hardly surprising!!!) I am holding out for 5 or 6 (silver and gold) but have recently only seen 3 or 4 (very scarey prospect )

EmmaTMG · 18/04/2003 19:26

I have seen 5 magpies together more than once and until quite recently would always salute them. I stopped when I moved away from my hometown to a more 'green' area and started seeing them all the time, some of those being the 5 together. My DH thought I was a nutter as he had always seen them everywhere he went.
I still say the rhyme whenever I see them though.

Linnet · 18/04/2003 21:25

my granny has a whole list of old wives tales that she sticks to.

it's unlucky to pick lilac off a tree and take it into a house.

don't put new shoes on a table.

it's bad luck to whistle in the dressing room of a theatre( she told me this when I was in pantomime as a child but I can't whistle anyway so it didn't matter)

And she thinks corn dolls are unlucky. Someone gave her one once as a present and two people died and I broke my arm so she got rid of it, said it brought her bad luck.

In relation to the magpies I've never heard of that rhyme before and where we live there aren't any magpies, but I saw my first two last year in Glasgow before flying out to Canada. And once there we saw them all the time in the town that we were staying. Always in twos, never by themselves. weird

Norny · 18/04/2003 21:38

I am completely wary of magpies. My mother has me terrified of them as one crossed her path the night her mother died. I keep seeing one all the time and nearly break my neck looking for the other.

Oakmaiden · 18/04/2003 23:04

The thing with magpies (I am told) is that they mate for life - so if you see one then his mate has died, and you are most likely to see them in groups of 2 or more.

WideWebWitch · 19/04/2003 12:14

I'm smiling at the thought of you all saluting magpies and saying the rhyme - has anyone ever asked you what you're doing or do you think they all just think 'ah, she'll be saluting a magpie then'? I've never heard of this before.

Linzoid · 19/04/2003 14:36

A Knife to the floor brings a man to your door, thats what my friend says when she drops a knife. I never put an umbrella up in the house and never put new shoes on the table either.
My dh beleives that green is a very unlucky colour and won't have anything green (not undies, cars, curtains..ANYTHING!)
An itchy nose means your going to have an argument, mind you it's a wonder my nose isn't permanantly itchy living in this house..hmmm

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