The Newark ledger. (Newark, Del.) 1877-1???, 1880-08-07
CURIOUS sUPERsTIfIONs.
Omena and Signs that Have Come from
the Old World.

LII lS very COuLuOuly pcACfOu3 Guys "
New York paper, that the assembling
death Of one of the pHrty before the years
end. Like many other social supersti-
tions, this foolish notion has probably
survived the strange delusions which
existed in the world during the dark
ages that interviewed between the fourth
century Of the Christian era and the re-
vival of Christianity. The birth, suffer-
ihgs aid depth of Our Lord has furnished
.iniiumerab1e incidents on which fhys-
terious spperstitions and sayings have
been founded. For example, in many
barts OF England, and In the New Eng
land States, il is believed that the cattle
kneel in their stalls on Christman eve,
at midnight, in remembrance OF the
nativity Possibly SOME of our readers
rememheE how they were wont, in their
childhood, under the direction of ignor-
ant and snpefstitious ssrvatits, to go
into the snow-bound barn, by night,
"to see the cattle kneel" on Christmas
eve.
Many Of these perverted beliefs come
from over the seas. AS our forefathers |
brought with them the superstitiousa
bottoms of Old. England which we hns7 I
trausplanted in the New England, So
later emigrants have brought the super
sttions OF other lands. The Cornish |
miners in the Pacific States, for exam
pie, say that they hear on Christmas |
eve, far down in the depths Of the mines,
supernatural voices singing: NOW |
wrlll Now we1l!' One authority says |
that our Lord was crhci6ed OH an asheh |
tree, wherefore, as is known, stiaFes do |
show suchEa dread of that tree that they |
may be driven from their haunts by |
chips and sliyers of the, ash: But an
other equally learned authority declare
that lighthing never strikes the elder, for
| the reason that the cross was made of
| the wood of that tree, and therefore it
| is hallowed for all time. Nevertheless,
| it is popularity believed that the leaves
of "the light quivering aspen" shiver
and shake because the tree is in agony
| for the shameful death of the Savior
wrought upon it in the time of PLATE.
| And the balief that some one of a party
of thirteen at table will die before the
i year is out is founded upon the remem-
brance of our Lord and his twelve dis
ciples at table where the last supper was
eaten.
There are multitudes of intelligent
people who hesitate to sit at table with
q party of thirteen, although the objector
does not know whence the idle superti-
ton began. He has heard of instances
of persons dying soon after being one of
thirteen at dinner-table. He does not
believe in the superstition, but he would
rather be on the safe side, so he declines
to sit. How many people do not like 10
zee the new moon over their left Shout
derp Hoss many fail to turn over in
their pockets the few coins which nap
len to be therein when they see the new
moon through glassP 1t Is not an un-
common thing for sensible men and
women to deter beginning a piece of
work, which might have been begun of
| Saturday, until some other day, on ac-
count of the popular belief that work
begun of o Saturday will never be fin
ished.
The homes of New England and of
/ New York and other States for that
/ matter are filled with signs and won
< ders, omens and superstitions. 1t is
; unlucky to weigh newborn children;
. they will not thrive, and they may not
> live. When children are first taken
from the room in which they were born
! they must go upstairs before they go
downstairs; otherwise they will
: never rise in the world. Very likely
t some of our readers have seen a nurse
g mount chair with the baby in her
arms. when there was no room. in the
n house higher than the baby's birth
c place. 1t is difficult to trace the origin
n of this superstition, but it must have
e been derived from some pagan notion.
l. The popular saying in New England
b that when girls petticoat is longer
lie than her gown her mother loves her
ie less THAN her father need not be rele-
l. gated to the dark ages. The breaking
sc of a looking glass as an omen of "a death
t, in the family is easily applicable. It's
I'd the breaking of the image of some ono
le in the household. But why a stranger
H. should be expected to arrive very soon
is after o fork, pair of scissors or other
ru sharp-pointed instrument falls an(
es sticks upward in the floor is not to b.
understood. Yet multitudes of womei
rs set their house in order when such
ed warning comes to them. A stranger
ro i approach is also warned often by th
,ic dropping of dish-cloth on the floor
Manifestly, this came to be accepted q
X u sign because il would be mortifyin
IN for the stranger to come in before tn
dish-cloth could be taken up and th
he room made tide.
he Oldwives by the sea coast hold man
a superstitions concerning the "hollow
sounding and mysterious main" Thu
IN. Dickens tells us that Barkis fingered
|
mi when, the tide going out, Barkis wei
,at out with it. In New England it is III
nv lucky to kill a pig in the wane of Il
nd moon OF at the ebbing Of the tide; Il
pork will shrink in the boiling. Wat
in the dinner pot evaporates mo
rapidly over the fire when the tide
,ed dead low 1t is unlucky to eat ID
MI from the head downward; 1t driv
he away the fish from the shores. To Il
1Ioh she stage of the tide without going
to che beach, look ia cats eyes; the pnI
rs. ofevery intelligent cats eye is elongat
III when the tide is at the flood. New
iii count a catch of fish until the days wo
al. or sport is done. Otherwise the sport
81 spoiled. Similarly the seaside farm
M. never counts his lambs until the seas,
RS for their dropping is over. But it is n
of alone in rulal communities that nj
or and women keep up customs and rit
md founded on bagan superstition. Amo
,er. the ancient Greeks and Romans it " as
we common custom for the bridegroom
nm give his bride, on the wedding-night
Nv. considerable sum OF money, by way
red purchase OF her person. From ii
yes usage, no doubt, we have derived
!. custom of making wedding presen
under which so many people gro;
The ancient Saxons gave a Detroit
ling, or other gift, which was cal
ian, "a wed" and from which we have
be rived q very charming word. FIJI
, a. avenue throws an old shoe after
" parting bride. Is this because {
loot sterner foreiathers ordained that
steI bridegroom should tap his new-mn
ssel wife on the head with his shoe as
,am token of her submission to her lordP