Homepage
Comic Poems
Lancashire
Howlers
Image Gallery
Guestbook
Kind Words
Links
E-Mail
Shop



Rhymes and Superstitions

In parts of Lancashire, the age old rhyme concerning the sighting of magpies went like this........

One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a wedding
Four for a birth
Five for the rich
Six for the poor
Seven for a bitch
Eight for a witch
Nine for a burying
Ten for a dance
Eleven for England
Twelve for France


Our ancestors always held it to be extremely unlucky to view the new moon for the first time through a window.

New Moon, New Moon I pray to thee
Tell me who my true love will be
Whether he's dark or whether he's fair
And what be the colour of my true love's hair

Because of the close link that metal has with witchcraft, a very young child's finger nails would never be cut with scissors. Instead they would be bitten off by the infant's mother.

Better that man had never been born
Who cuts his nails on a Sunday morn

A young woman could discover the identity of her future husband by walking backwards on Midsummer Eve towards a rose bush and plucking a flower. This to be done in silence. The flower was then wrapped in paper and put in a safe place until Christmas Day when the young woman would place the bloom in her bosom. If all was done correctly the future husband would then appear and take the flower from its resting place.

Sneeze on Monday, you sneeze for danger
Sneeze on Tuesday, you kiss a stranger
Sneeze on Wednesday, you sneeze for a letter
Sneeze on Thursday for something better
Sneeze on Friday, you sneeze for sorrow
Sneeze on Saturday, see your sweetheart tomorrow
Sneeze on Sunday, your safety seek
For the devil will have you the whole of the week

Index

HomePage Comic Poems Lancashire
Howlers Image Gallery

Guestbook

Kind Words Links E-Mail Shop