Hare-lip or Cleft Palate
If a pregnant woman meets a hare, the baby will have a hare-lip or cleft palate. The fear inspired by such an encounter was heightened by the idea that the hare might not be...
SuperstitionsOnline.com All the bits of strange your grandparents lived by & warned you about.
Birthmarks
A birthmark is any mark present on the skin at birth, or that develops soon afterwards. Birthmarks may be red, blue, brown, white or skin coloured, depending on the cells involved. Different birthmarks include...
Colcannon Irish Potato Dish
Colcannon is an Irish potato dish that has become popular around the world. It normally includes chopped kale or green cabbage mixed with hot, floury mashed potatoes. The word colcannon is from the Gaelic...
Superstitions About How to Bring Snow During the Night.
New Jersey children who wish for a snow day off from school believe that if you wear your pajamas to bed inside out and backwards it’s sure to snow during the night. Other activities...
New Year’s Superstitions
What you do the first hour of the New Year will be what you do most of the year. If the first butterfly you see in the year is white, you will have good...
Shadow Superstitions
If you sit with your shadow thrown on the water, you will not catch fish. If someone broke something onto which the shadow or reflection appeared, people believed that their soul was harmed. Shadows are...
Rocking an Empty Rocking Chair
It’s bad luck to rock an empty rocking chair. To do so will bring death to your family. The Irish have always believed that rocking an empty rocking chair welcomes evil spirits into the...
Horseshoe Superstitions, Good Luck Up and Down
It is believed that the good luck powers of the horseshoe originate with the story of a blacksmith named Dunstan. The Devil came to Dunstan and requested that he fit him with new horseshoes....
Valentine’s Day Superstitions, History and Legends
Valentine’s Day Superstitions Answer the Question “Whom Will I Marry?” On Valentine’s Day, the first man or woman’s name you read in the paper or hear on the TV or radio will be the...
