As The Guardian's year-long celebration of our 125th anniversary concludes, we offer the following article that appeared in the Dec. 23, 1937 Guardian, which includes some superstitions about "Christmastide" — the days between Christmas and New Year's Day, as well as others about "Twelfth Night", which this year occurs on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2013.
Quaint superstitions surround Christmas
Christmastide arrives in an atmosphere of superstition, for it must be remembered that the introduction of Christianity was responsible for many of the commonplace superstitions of today.
The strict line of demarkation between the priesthood and the uneducated people was very pronounced, and many common superstitions of today, symbolical of religious ritual, can be traced to this fact. The explanation of the superstition connected with the ladder, is that, when placed against a wall, it forms the emblem of the Trinity, and only the priest could pas under it in the old days.
The origin of a vast number of other superstitions apparently absurd can be traced to the witch who carried on her trade or nefarious practices -- whichever term you like to use -- by scaring the people of the countryside.
For instance, she might see a woman pass a kind of hay and warn her that unless she brought an antidote at once, bad luck would befall her. Thus, the meeting with a load of hay was henceforth looked upon as unlucky. And hundreds of similar instances can be found -- superstitions utterly ridiculous with lack of tangible explanations other than the one I have given.
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Much superstition once surrounded the mistletoe. The head of a family considered it incumbent upon him to kiss every woman in the house, the dignified wife, his cheery daughters and giggling maid-servants. Unless this custom was carried out bad luck would befall the house for twelve months. In the West of England it is urged that if the mistletoe be not burned on Twelfth Night, all unmarried couples who have kissed beneath it will be foes before the end of the year.
Holly must be brought into the house at Christmastide, but it is absolutely necessary to burn it and never throw it away in a dustbin. The origin of this superstition is that the holly berry is the food of the robin, which, in ancient days, was looked upon as a holy bird.
No Christmas evergreen should ever be allowed to remain in the house after Twelfth Night, and even at the present time a formal ceremony is carried out in some parts of England by taking down the decorations, carrying them into a garden and burning them.
If this solemn ritual be not carried out, the house will be visited by evil spirits.
A child born during Christmastide, lasting from Christmas Day until New Year's Day, will always be lucky, but it must always be pricked with a holly leaf, on the right leg if it be a boy and on the left leg if it be a girl. Should snow be on the ground at the time of tis birth, the infant should be rolled in it before it is six hours old.
This custom of rolling a newly-born child in the snow was carried out by the old midwives until quite recently, and one of these old women whispered to me that she believes in many places this risky practice is indulged in surreptitiously today.
This custom of rolling a newly-born child in the snow was carried out by the old midwives until quite recently, and one of these old women whispered to me that she believes in many places this risky practice is indulged in surreptitiously today.
A lover on Christmas morning should walk to the house of his betrothed and, if the snow is on the ground, throw a snowball at her window. If there be no snow, a small pebble also insured happiness and possibly marriage during the year.
There is a general superstition that if a girl sits on a table, she will never be married. But Christmas Day is an exception. If she should be desirous of attracting the attention of a man in the room on that day, she should sit on a table and thus secure his admiration. If the bait is taken, the fish will be landed before the 21st June.
Green, except for an Irish girl, is a colour considered unlucky fora bride, but anyone married on Christmas Day or Boxing Day can wear it without the slightest risk. We find several other instances where a certain action may bring bad luck during the rest of the year but good luck on Christmas Day. For instance, it is unlucky to cut your nails on Friday, but should Christmas Day fall on Friday, you should make every effort to cut at least one nail for good luck.
In the ordinary way it is considered necessary to rake out all embers from a fire grate before retiring to bed, to keep the devil from coming down the chimney; coal is repugnant to him, while, on the other hand, he enjoys the warmth of hot embers. On Christmas night, however, the Evil One dare not come down the chimney whether the embers be red or black, and you can safely leave the fire burning all night.
You will find no more superstitious men than the shepherds, and there is a tradition in Romney Marsh that at dawn on Christmas morning every sheep faces the East and bows three times.
A parson once visited an old shepherd on his sick-bed and was requested to read his favourite hymn in which the following line occurred: "The roseate hues of early dawn." The old man who could not read, had always believed these words were: "The rows of ewes at early dawn."
A common practice of the shepherd is to make a cross with his fingers on the back of fifty-two sheep on Christmas Day. This ensues fifty-two lucky weeks for the flock.
A common practice of the shepherd is to make a cross with his fingers on the back of fifty-two sheep on Christmas Day. This ensues fifty-two lucky weeks for the flock.
Some cottagers in Ireland live in awe of Christmas Day, for it is a custom of the head of the house to light a huge candle on Christmas Eve, and the manner in which it burns determines the fate of at least one member of the family.
This candle is placed in the window, and lighted, while the family gather round in fear and trembling lest it should flicker out after burning only a few minutes. If, however, the flame burns on, it means a lucky year for all those who are assembled in the room.
To have the good old Christmas pudding served without a sprig of holly would be unthinkable; but it is not generally known that the reason for burning spirits is not to give the pudding a special taste, but the flames drive the Evil Spirit away, leaving the holly surrounded by good luck.
The eating of a mince pie starts on Christmas Day and continues to be a dish for twenty-eight days. For every mince pie eaten in a different house, a month of good luck for the coming year is assured.
