Elmore bulletin. [volume] (Rocky Bar, Idaho) 1889-1906, 1891-05-30
FROM THE MUSTY PAST.
MANY supERsTlTloNs ROOTED IN
OLD PAGAN BELIEFS.
Clingins Ia the Ignoranc. of the Past As
Well rs 10 Its wisdom-rhe unIueky
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 I
you, in general way. what | now wish
to emphasize, that the largest part of
them are modern suryivals 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 Phenicians: and they
were kindled at the still more antique
fires OF the cider Persians. and even
these last are only modern representa-
tives of the old first fires of the first wor-
shippers, who. in far off .dimness of the
years. first made on earth fire in honor
of their heavenly god. the sun. The
past, then. where Is 1t? Ii is all about
us and in us; its wisdom not only, but
its folly We clothe ourselves in It's
robes of wisdom, and we still gather
about us the tattered and grotesque rags
of its ignorance.
WHY FRIDAY Is An UHLUCKY DAY.
We will now particularize just q 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 it. Only
if people ger fancy in their heads. they
always forget the times when their fancy
misses fire. and only remember when it
hits. Is there anything In the nature of
one day in the week To make il differ
from others? Nothing. All days equal.
~ are caused by the turning Of the earth
on its axis. and thus bringing its differ
cnt 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 ii. still be
unlnckyS No. friends. the reason IL here.
In one of the old forms Of paganism-
this relic of which has still survived
Friday was dedicated to Frey ia, the Pa
gan Venus. Christianity naturally cursed
the day and its worship, which was cor.
rupt and corrupting So poor Frigas
day was given up To a fish diet and i'll
fortune. | wonder they kept the fish.
for it was sacred to Freyja. and this 10
the reason why Friday Is fish day still
Saturday used 10 be the unlucky day
--Saturn's day, and hence the name.
And as Saturn WAS always gloomy and
malignant god il came to be thought un.
lucky to begin anything on his day.
And did YOU ever think Of III This Is the
old Jewish Sabbath or day of rest. And
beyond question here Is the origin of the
Sabbath. First 1t was nnlucky 10 do any.
thing on that day, because they were
afraid of the god who ruled it; then, az
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 IL, because they are afraid of tho
God who is supposed TO have made 1t his
own
THE WILD HUNTsaAS's poo.
Take one more illustration. 1t Is still
a bad sign for the dog TO bark at night
under the window. IL portends death
in the family. haven't time to go into
this AT length. but this Is remnant of
the old myth of 0din. the wild hunts
man. John represents Jesus as saying
that he would come for his disciples at
death and receive them to himself. In
all ages and in all religions IL has been
believed that al 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
thousand shapes. Odin used 10 be the
god OF our Anglo-Saxon ancestors Tn.
der the name of Wodin we still have his
name in our day of the week. Wednes-
day Modin's day.
In the dark nights when the storm was
up and a rushing of winds could be
heard through the groaning tree tops
the frightened peasants fancied they
heard the rush of the Wild Huntsnan's >
troops. accompanied by shrieking trump.
cts and hurrying horses and baying dogs
To pick up one of the horseshoes was
lucky. for. as lightning doesn't strike
twice in the same place. he wouldn't be
likely to pass that way soon again But
10 hear the barking OF one Of his dogs
meant that the death call had come.
Odin is forgotten except by scholars; but
lis horseshoe Is remembered for luck.
and his dogs bark at night still makes ua
tremble
Another origin of many superstitions
Is 10 be found in fanciful analogies or
ignorant interpretations of nature, or
mere condolences of color OF form. For
instance. why cut the hair OF nails on
the increase of the moon2 mere fanei-
ful connection with the idea that as the
moon grows 50 other things would grow
also. The witch supposed that rs her
wax figures melted and wasted away be-
fore the Dire. so the man IL represented
would waste away. Here Is tho origin Of
the famous cures for warts we used to
know as boys. Rub bean on them
and throw 1t away. and as the bean de
cayed the warts would 60 away. Or il
another boy picked it up he would pick
up the warts along with il All the
other cures we're of like kind. The
middle ages were full Of such medicine
as this, even among grave and learned
men, II still survives among old nursea.
Because the mandrake root was forked.
and gttntYaEsaA IN rxNaasxa 1ain a x,.aw II ..xma