The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1892-01-02
NEW YEARS FOLKLORE.
J. II. Besdle Writes of Some Old limo
Indiana Superstitions.

J. II. BeadIe Writes of Some Old limo
Indiana Superstitions.
Some say that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrated,
The bird OF dawning singeth all night long:
And then they say no spirit can walk abroad;
The nights are wholesome; then no planets
strike,
No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm,
So haIl0Wcd and SO gracious is the time.
So Shakespeare says, or makes Mar
cellus say and Horatio agree with him.
but for some reason / could never dis
cover. the traditions of the south and Of
southern peoples generally have trans
ferred the larger share of these gracious
influences to New Years night.
The rare " ankee" who penetrated to
our section of the lower Wabash valley
in the fortieS and ffties was amazed at
our notions, and the New England critic
sometimes said that our parents had been
'Afrlcanizel" in their old homes in the
border south, He meant, suppose, that
the poor and middle class whites-tne
early settlers Of the Wabash region-had
inObed the super>titions Of the negroes;
and there must have been some truth in
it, for surely We had many beliefs that
1owhite race would have invented. ITO
watch the old year out and the new year
H." was to sea strange sights indeed.
Then the COWS would fall upon
their knees and low in a strange,
prayerful way; the chickens would rise
On their perches and stretch their wings
as if in prayer; other animals would
show devotion after their manner, and
all nature would take on an appearance
that indicated the beginning of a new
life. 1t the potatoes in store had sprout-
ed as they too often did in a warm
cellar, the sprouts would often shoot out
sXlncheS IN as many minutes, and if
the ground near the smokehouse was
bare, peculiar white plants would spring
up.
Il have pulled shoots as long as nv
arm one good old lady told me, but
they never would keep. They jes' dried
up and blew away before daylight"
All this and much more l steadfastly
believed and why not: Hundreds Of the
best negroes in Kentucky had testified
most positively TO having seen such
things, and though our own white folks
mad never been SO favored, they did not
contradict the old negroes and the old
white people who had seen them. One
SIGHT, however, l did see, and that was
the world in an egg"
II the sun shOne bright on New Years
Gay the trial was made by opening the
south door Of the dwelling and setting
glass half full Of water on the floor in
The sunshine. Into this an egg was
broken, and as the contents slowly min
gled with the water the bright rays Of
The sun lllumining the mass would
snow IN 1t men Of various nations pursu-
ing their various employnents. 1 saw
The egg men," few of them, once
When was about eight years old, but
have never been able to see them since.
Philosophers may supply the explana-
oon. In those days, too, 1 often saw
wonderful things in the clouds, in the
Goals Of the wood fire and in the frost
upon the windOw-angels, fairies and
marvelously beautiful birds, lovely faces
and deep vistas Of garden and woodland
but l cannot see them now.
New Years in the west and south was
then sort of supplementary Christmas
there was less rioting and more quiet,
homely cheer. On Christmas the ten
dency was to gather at the village or
country store to drink and sing, shoot at
mark, wrestle and race; New Years
was the day for relatives and intimate
tnends to gather and partake Of boun-
oful dinner. It was about 1850 that
watch night" began to be observed
with religious services, at least in our
neighborhood, and the old superstitions
seemed to disappear all at once. No
more praying COWS or reverential roost-
ers' no more sprouting plants or ''men In
the egg" and no doubt the young people
OF that region would now hear with
amazement that any one, no matter how
ignorant, ever "took stock in such
things" III RpAnrp
Good H.nnk@