Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1889-06-07
FROM THE MUSTY PAST.
MANY SUGGESTIONS ROOTED IN
OLD PAGAN BELIEFS.


Day-The Barking Dog-cutting Nails
and Hair by the Moon.
want now to look with little more
particularly into the origin of some of
our superstitions. | have already told
you, in general way, what | now wish
to emphasize. that the largest part of
them are modern survivals of old nature
myths and pagan religions. That the
old world is still vital in us we are Civ
ing evidence every day Of our lives Our
common speech is full of traces of old
beliefs, just as the rocks under our feet
are full of fossils and tracks of creatures
long since extinct. Our carnivals, Mardi
Gras and Lents: our Christmas trees,
yule logs. gift making. mistletoe boughs
and evergreens: our New Year and May
day festivals our Easter rejoicings
Easter eggs and 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 Bel fires which across the darkness
of the centuries flame out an answering
signal to the old Ph1nicians; and they
were kindled at the still more antique
fires of the older Persians; and even
these last are only modern representa-
tives of the old first fires OF the first wor-
shippers, who, In far off sdimness of the
years, first made on earth fire in honor
of their heavenly god, the sun The
past, then, where is iti 1t Is all about
us and in us; its wisdom not only, but
it's folly We clothe ourselves in its
.,f .olS nd OF hnr
about US the tattered and grotesque rags
Of its ignorance.
WHY FRIDAY IS AN UNLUCKY DAY.
We will now particularize just little.
Why should Friday be now regarded as
an unlucky day2 Nobody ever proved it
so. As many facts against the notion
can be found as those that favor it. Only
II people get fancy in their heads, they
always forget the times when their fancy
misses fire. and only remember when 1t
hits. 10 there anything in the nature OF
one day in the week to make it differ
from others? Nothing. All days equal
ly are caused by the turning of the earth
on its axis. and thus bringing its differ
ent sides successfully toward the sun.
Suppose we should begin a new count,
and call Wednesday Monday, and so ON,
would Friday. when we got to it, still be
unlucky2 No, friends, the reason is here.
In one of the old forms Of paganism-
this relic of which has still survived
Friday was dedicated to Freyja, the Pa
gan Venus Christianity naturally cursed
the day and its worship, which was cor
rupt and corrupting SO poor Friga's
4 .,t,ta txN. fob IL t.,ta
fortune. ! wonder thty 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
-Saturn's day, and hence the name.
And rs Saturn was always IA gloomy and
malignant god it came to be thought I'M
lucky to begin anything on his day
And did you over think of it2 This is the
old Jewish Sabbath or day of rest And
beyond question here is the origin of the
Sabbath First it was unlucky to do any
thing on that day, because they were
afraid of the god who ruled it; then, as
the conception of the god changed, they
refrained from work, because, for some
reason. they supposed he wanted them
to. 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 10 have made it his
| own.
THE WILD HUNTsMANs DOC.
Take one more illustration. 1t is still
= bad sign for the dog to bark at night
under the window. 1t portends death
in the family | haven't time to so into
this at length. but this is remnant of
the old myth of Odin, the wild hunts
man. John represents Jesus rs saying
! that he would come for his disciples ut
! death and receive them to himself, In
all ages and in all religions it has been
| believed that Mt 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 Ang lo-Saxon ancestors. I'M
| der tho name of Wodin we still have his
name in our day of the week. Wednes-
! day Wodin's day
In the dark nights when the storm was
| up and n rushing of winds could be
heard through the grooming tree tops,
/ the frightened peasants fancied they
| heard the rush of the Wild Huntsmans
troops, accompanied by shrieking trump
cts and hurrying horses and baying dogs.
| To pick up one of the horseshoes was
lucky. for. rs lightning doesn't STRIFE
twice in the same place, he wouldn't be
likely to pass that way soon again. But
to hear the 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 dogs bark at night still makes us
tremble.
Another origin of many superstitions
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-
full connection with the idea that as the
moon grows so other things would grow
also, The witch supposed that as her
wax figures melted and wasted away be-
fore the fire. SO 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 Us the bean de-
cayed the warts would go away. Or if
another boy picked it up he would pick
up the warts along with it, All the