The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-06-16
FROM TIL: MUSTY PAST.
MANY sUpERSTlTlON5 ROOTED IN
Old PAGAN BELIEFS.

Particularly into the origin OF some OF
our supprsiiti0n- have already told
you. IN a general way. what | now wish
to emphasize. that the largest part of
them arc modern surviyals of old nature
myths and pagan religions. That the
old woril is still vital in US we are Civ
/ ing cyidcacc every day Of our lives. Our
common speech is full of traces of old
beliefs. Just ~ tie rocks under our feet
aye mi Of fossils and tracks of creatures
long since cstinct. Our carnivals. Mardi
Gras and lents; our Christmas trees,
yulc logs. gift making. mistletoe b0ughs
and cvcrgrccns: our New Year and May
day festivals. our Easter rejoicings.
Easter cg,s AID carols: all Of there are
thousands Of years old and have their
sources in all nations and all religions.
The peasants Of England still kindle
their Bcl fires which across the darkness
u the centuries flame out an answering
signal to the old phmnicians; and they
were kiudlcd 40 the still more antique
fires Of tie older persians; and even
these last are only modern representa-
tiYcs Of the old first fires Of the first wor-
shippers. who. in far OF ,diuness Of the
years. lrst made on earth a fire in honor
Of their heavenly god, the sun The
past. then. where is it: 1t Is all about
ms and in rs; lis wisdom not only, but
its folly We clc;he ourselves in IFS
robes Of wisdom. and we still gather
about Us the tattercd and grotesque rags
Of is ignorance.
WHY FRIDAY Is Az UNLUCKY DAY.
We will ROW particularizo just little.
Why should Friday be now regarded as
an unlucky day. Nobody ever proved it
so. As many facts against the notion
can be found as those that favor H. Only
If people get q fancy in their heads, they
always forget the times when their fancy
misses fire. and only remember when 1t
hits is there anything in the nature OF
one day In the week to make 1t differ
from others? Nothing. Al days equal
iy are caused by tic turning Of the earth
on It's axis. and thus bringing its differ
cnt sides successfully toward the sun
Suppose we should begin new count.
and call Wednesday Monday, and so on.
would Friday. whom we got TO It, still be
unlucty, No. friends, the reason Is here.
I'm one of the oil forms Of paganlsm-
this relic Of which has still survived
Friday was dedicated 10 Freyja, the Pa
Gan Venus. Christianity naturally cursed
the day and it's worship. which was cor
rupt and coryupiing So poor friga's
day was given mp toa fish diet and Ill
fortune. wonder they kept the fish,
for it was sacred to Freyja, and this is
the reason why Friday is fish day still
Saturday used to be the unlucky day
-Saturna day, and hence the name.
And rs Saturn was always a gloomy and
malignant god it came to be thought un.
lucky 10 b,-in anything on his day.
And did YOU ever think of Il? This is the
old jewish Sabbath or day OF rest And
beyond question here is the origin Of the
Sabbath. First il was unlucky to do any
thing on that day, because they were
afraid Of the god who ruled it; then, rs
the conception OF the god changed, they
refrainod from work, because, for some
reason. they supposed ho wanted them
%. Our Sunday is still Saturday, Sa-
turns day. to thousands and they still
keep it. because they are afraid of the
God who is supposed to have made it his
own.
TIE WILD uUETsliAN's DOG.
Take one more illustration. 1t is still
a bad sign for the dog TO bark at night
under the window. 1t portends death
IN the family haven't time to go into
this 40 length, but this is q remnant Of
the old myth OF Odin, the wild hunts
man. John represents Jesus as saying
that he would como for his disciples at
death and receive them to himself. In
all AGES and ia all religions it has been
believed that at death the father OF the
tribe as the god OF the dead came for
and led away his followers to the land
OF the departed. This faith has assumed
a thousand shapes Odin used to be the
god OF our Anglo-saXon ancestors. I'm
der the name OF Violin wo still have his
namo ia our day OF the week, Wedne5-
day-Wodin's day.
I'm the dark nights when the storm was
up and rushing Of winds could be
heard through the groaning tree tops,
the frightened peasants fancied they
heard the rush of the Wild Hmtsman's
troops, accompanied by shrieking trump
cts and hurying horses and baying dogs.
TO pick up one of The hOrscshocs was
lucky, for. as lightning doesn't strike
twice in the same place, he wouldn't be
likely pass that way soon again. But
TO hear tac barking of one of his dogs
meant that the death call had come,
Odin is forgotten except by scholars; but
his horseshoe is remembered for luck,
and his dog bark at night still makes US
trcmbla.
Another origin OF many supcrstitions
is to be found IN fanciful analogieS or
ignorant interpretations OF nature, or
mere condolences of color or form. For
instance, why cut the hair or nails on
the increase OF the moon? A mere fanci-
fGl connection with the idea that as the
moon grows 50 other things would grow
also The witch supposed that as her
wax figures melted and wasted away be-
fore the fire, 50 the man it represented
would waste away. Here is the origin Of
the famous cures for warts we used to
know as boys. Rub a bean on them
and throw it away and as the bean dc
cayed Tie warts would 80 away. Or ii
another boy picked it up he would pick
up the warts along with it. Al tho
other cures were Qr a like kind. Tho
middle ages were full of such medicine
is this, even among grave and learned
men. 1t still survives among old nursea
Because The mandrake root was fOrked.
and supposed 20 resemble a man, it wal
ronceiycd 20 possess remarkable curative
powers. Rev. NJ. j. Savage in Boston
Elohe.
vret.itt.. t.tr Brain.