Old Traditions

Something I read on another thread made me think of some old family traditions (superstitions?) that my mother has taught us. I wonder how many more there are out there I don't know about and would love to learn. I can only think of a few right off the top of my head.

When you give someone a purse or wallet, you always include a coin or two inside it.

When you give someone a knife, you always include a penny with it (something about keeping it sharp?)

Placing a stamp upside down on an envelope is a secret hello / sign of affection.

The star or angel on the top of the Christmas tree is always placed last as the finishing touch on the tree by the youngest child in the family, held up high by the father or oldest child.

Anyone have any others? There have to be hundreds.....

ladyanne, my family's traditions about knives is actually exactly the opposite. One should never give a knife away lest it bring bad luck (getting cut with the knife), so my grandmother always said one should make the recipient give a penny in exchange for the knife. I never did that, but I remember her doing it to me and my siblings and cousins when she gave us knives. LOL

-Julie

Always give a pocketknife back in the same way that you got it. If it's handed to you blade open....then it goes back to the owner that way. This is for borrowing knives...the 'penny rule' is the same as Julie's...if you get a pocket knife as a gift...you give the giver a penny.

Whoa, that is a trip!! Wonder how Mom got that backwards after all this time. So if I give a knife to Sally for Christmas, she is supposed to give me a penny back? Rolling here.

Well I gave my last Ulu knife to someone in a gift exchange at work. Where's my penny??? :)

Nicole

Maybe for a Ulu you should get a strip of blubber? Seal meat? Eskimos are one of the most giving groups on the planet.

My Grandmother said to never give a knife to your lover, it would cut your love into.
Sandra

What's an Ulu knife?

Accidentally drop a fork on the floor, a woman will come to visit. If a knife is dropped it will be a man.

Left palm itches, money or an unexpected gift will be coming in...

Right palm itches, something will be going out...

Ha ha! I can think of other reasons not to give your lover a knife! lol

Darius, it's a traditional knife used by the Eskimos. They did use them to 'skin' whales I believe. I am no Ulu historian by any means... It's shaped like a piece of pie - the round 'edge' of the pie being the knife part and the 'point' of the pie being the handle. If you have a cutting 'bowl' to go with it it's awesome for cutting herbs! You use it in a rocking motion. I bought several to give as gifts on my one and only trip to AK... Now that I'm out I need to go back and get more - darn! :)

Nicole

Oh, I had a rounded-blade knife like that once and a wooden bowl that it fit. Great for chopping...

Check out this site for ulu knives :-)....and all sorts of other fun things for the kitchen :-)

http://www.ulu.com/

ladyanne, can a tradition be "new"? LOL

Traditions / Superstitions from my Childhood in Yorkshire (Northern UK)

The first person to cross the threshold after mid-night on New Years Eve should carry a lump of coal or wood and a sprig of grenery - (thus bringing food and fuel to the house for the coming year) Ideally it should be a tall dark man too.

You must say "bless You" when someone sneezes or their soul will fly out of their mouth with the sneeze.

You should allow visitors to open the door for themselves when they leave - if you do it for them they will never return.

Christmas decorations not down by midnight on Twelfth Night must be left up till Easter or the house will have bad luck all year.

Always wish a single Magpye 'good morning' to avoid bad luck.

A whistling woman or a crowing hen will drive the devil out of his den. (Its unlucky for women to whistle)

As others have said. A gift of a Knife will cut the freindship so always charge a penny for them.
A purse given empty will remain so so always include a penny.

Gosh there are loads more !!!
♫ and LOL (but not whistling!)

I always heard if you went visiting on New Year's Day, you'd have friends all year.

And
"A whistling girl is like a cackling hen,
both will come to a no good end"

Crushing egg shells as they become empty (faries hide in them and cause houshold mischeif)

Mopping up spilled milk immediately (them fairfolk again, milk attracts them apparently)

Morning Mr Magpie, how's your wife and children? for a single magpie, they aren't often out alone except during nesting season.

Throwing a pinch of spilled salt over the left shoulder.

No new shoes on tables!

No dead flowers in a vase

No red and white flowers together in vase, especially in a house or building where sick people are.

No iron to enter the earth on Good Friday.

Bringing a bunch of May (Hawthorn) into the house, bad luck

The tail feathers of peacocks, evil eye

Saying white rabbits 3 times on the first day of the month before 12pm and preferably before speaking to another soul.

Like Okus said there are quite a few more that we were brought up with!

Incidently, the superstition that should the Ravens at the Tower of London fly away, the Crown would be lost is still such a strong tradition that their wings are clipped and they are fed treats of blood soaked biscuits to encourage them to remain in situ.

Baa, I shall never put an egg shell down the disposal again without thinking of the fairies! That was wonderful. The red and white flowers together have me stumped, as well as the reasonings behind most, especially the Ravens and the crown. Might you know?

Darius, I love them all, old or new!

Okus, I love the not opening the door for a visitor! I have always heard the sneezing blessing is also because your heart (supposedly) stops for a brief nano-second during the sneeze and the blessing prevents death? Or something like that?

The whys and wherefores fascinate me!!

I just remembered one of my favorites. For anyone's new house and/or home, you give them a piece of bread and a dollar, the tradition being that their house would never be without food or money. I started drying a slice of bread (best if it's homemade and great excuse to make some), placing it in an old fashioned, non ziplock baggie. On one side of the bread inside the baggie is a crisp, ironed one dollar bill. On the other side is a pink or red construction paper heart on which is written, "May your home never be without love, food or money." The baggie is tied up with a gay ribbon or two that also winds through the hole on a card (much like a Christmas present tag) that tells the recipient this is an old Polish custom. Place the package in a top kitchen cupboard and leave it there, but don't forget it when you move.

Grandma was strong on these so I will expand where I can.
The red and white flowers query. Red and white emulates blood and bandages, therefore is symbolic of sickness and death and so unlucky. Hospitals will split a bouquet so that they separate the colours if they are just red and white.

Salt was a valuable commodity in times gone past so spilling it was an expensive disaster. The devil being on your left throwing it over your left shoulder should get him in the eye and stopped him using your misfortune.

New shoes on the table indicates that they have never been worn, so the owner is likely to have died. It is taken to predict the event if he/she is still healthy.

Dead flowers in a vase indicates lack of care in the household - therefore sickness or death has prevented their removal, Again taken to forcast the event.

May blossom is the harbinger of summer, if you cut it you stop it thriving and cut short the season, or cut short someones life.

There is another related to May (I'll translate the heavy Yorkshire dialect in a sec.)
Ner cast a clout till May be out or tha'll be ill wi' chill.
- Don't ever (ner) shed (cast) any layers of clothing ( clout) until the Hawthorn (May) is in bloom as winter is not over till then and you will ( tha'll) catch a severe cold (chill)

Gosh this is fun! Its taking me back 60 years - I could hear my Grandpa saying that last one.

Edited for typo's





This message was edited Dec 19, 2004 11:02 AM

Ladyanne

Okus has the others covered but here's a website about the Ravens http://www.historic-uk.com/DestinationsUK/TowerRavens.htm

Similar to your bread and dollar another old tradition here not much practised now is when moving to a new house, a piece of bread and a bit of salt is taken into each room to appease the house or in more modern terms for very similar reasons you give the bread and dollar.

.... Wellllllll .. I can't pass this one up! ... I jes gotta!! ....

HeeHee ..

Good Morning Magpye!
I always do it too - passengers in my car must think I'm nuts with my "Good Morning Mr Magpye" every mile or so somedays. - Early training dies hard!! LOL and still not whistling.

LOL ..

Oh geez .. I've either whistled and/or hummed all my life!

And, 'bad luck' would have to dang well sneak up on me! .. hee ..

- Magpye

when my grandson came to live with my dh and me at eight years of age his only experience with a christmas tree was a paper cut out of one put up on the wall. i decided that we would find a place not just to buy a tree but to cut down our own tree. we found a neat place a few miles from the house and have been going there for seven years now. as the last couple of years my bad knees forced me to stay in the barn i let him pick out the tree and cut it down himself. we always try to include one or two of his friends as it makes the sharing of this experience more fun. although most of his friends are a lot more affluent than we are, sometimes i think they get a bigger kick out of it than we do. everyone out there should try to find something to do with family and/or friends.....the sharing is a gift for everyone. btw, my grandson is now a teenager and although he thinks he is a man of the world and sentiment is for little kids when i asked him if he still wanted to continue "our tradition" he looked at me as if i were crazy to think of anything else. happy holidays everyone.

good work, nicksgrammy!