CURRENT SUPERSTITIONS.

BABYHOOD.

1. The bairn that is born on fair SundayIs bonny and loving, and blithe and gay.Monday’s bairn is fair in the face,Tuesday’s bairn is full of grace,Wednesday’s bairn is loving and giving,Thursday’s bairn works hard for a living,Friday’s bairn is a child of woe,Saturday’s bairn has far to go.Massachusetts.

2. Monday’s child is fair of face,Tuesday’s child is full of grace,Wednesday’s child is sour and sad,Thursday’s child is merry and glad,Friday’s child is loving and giving,Saturday’s child must work for a living;But the child that is born on the Sabbath dayIs blithe and bonny, good and gay.Baldwinsville, N. Y.

(Some put it, Sunday’s child shall never know want.)

3. He who is born on New Year’s mornWill have his own way as sure as you’re born.

4. He who is born on an Easter mornShall never know want, or care, or harm.

5. A child born on a saint’s day must bear the saint’s name. It is unlucky to take away the day from it.

Catholic superstition.

6. Thursday has one lucky hour, just before sunrise, for birth.

BAPTISM.

7. If a child cries during baptism, it is the devil going out of it.

Niagara Falls, Ont.

8. It is lucky for the child to cry at baptism, but unlucky for the godmother to wear mourning.

9. If twins are brought to baptism at the same time, christen the boy first, or else he will have no beard, and the girl will be beggared.

PHYSIOGNOMY.

10. An open hand in a baby is a sign of a generous disposition, but a habit of closing the fingers indicates avarice, or, as we say, closefistedness.

Cambridge, Mass.

11. If a child “favors its father,” it is good luck for it. It will get on well in the world.

Salem, Mass.

12. A baby that has two crowns will live in two continents or kingdoms.

Massachusetts.

13. A double crown on the head means that the owner will “break bread in two kingdoms.”

Northern Ohio.

14. “Two crowns will never be satisfied.” This is a sign of a very changeable disposition.

Chestertown, Md.

15. A baby born with a veil over its face has good luck.General.

16. A child born with a veil over its face will never be drowned. Many sailors are known to wear the caul, with which they were born, about the person as a charm against death by drowning.

Sailor’s superstition.

INTRODUCTION TO THE WORLD.

17. Take the baby first into the sunlight on Sunday. Put it into short clothes and make all changes on that day.

18. To make a child rise in the world, carry it upstairs (or to the attic) first.

Mifflintown, Pa.

19. The baby must go upstairs before it goes downstairs, or it will never rise in the world.

Massachusetts.

20. To be a bright baby, it must go up before it is carried down, and it must be bumped to the attic roof for luck.

New England.

21. A young baby was taken up a short step-ladder by its nursebefore being for the first time carried downstairs lest it should die before it was a year old.

Holyoke, Mass.

22. A child will have a nature and disposition similar to that of the person who first takes him out of doors.

Georgia.

23. The first time a baby is taken out of its room, it must be taken up, or it will not go to heaven. If the door of the room steps down, then the person carrying the baby must step up on a chair or book with the baby in her arms.

North Carolina.

24. Let the baby have or touch the thing he starts after on taking the first step, and he will always get what he wishes. If it be the moon, then let him touch something light, on which its light shines.

25. When taking the child into your arms for the first time, make a good wish for him; if you give him his full name and he opens his eyes and looks at you (answers to his name), it is good luck.

26. To be a bright baby, it must fall out of the crib before it is eleven months old.

Brookline, Mass.

27. If a baby does not fall out of bed, it will be a fool.

Eastern Massachusetts.

28. A child’s tumbling out of bed is a sign he will never be a fool.

Maine.

29. To drink water out of a bucket which is being carried on a child’s head stops its growth.

Virginia.

30. To step over a young child stops its growing.

Virginia.

31. About 1860 the Alabama negresses believed that if any one stepped on their pickaninnies it would dwarf them.

32. Pass a baby through a window and it will never grow.

South Carolina.

33. Do not go for the first time into the room where the infant is without removing the veil and gloves.

34. If the “cradle cap” of a baby be combed with a (fine?) tooth comb, the child will be blind.

Labrador.

35. A baby should not look into a glass before it is a year old; if it does it will die.

Deer Isle, Me.

36. Hold a baby to a looking-glass, he will die before he completes his first year.

Massachusetts.

37. If you let a child look into a looking-glass before it is a year old, it will cut its teeth hard.

Baltimore, Md. (negro), and Virginia.

38. It is bad luck not to weigh the baby before it is dressed. When it is first dressed put the clothes on over the feet instead of the head for good luck.

39. The common nurse has an objection to weighing a new-born baby.

40. Always give a baby salt before it tastes aught else. The child will not choke, and in general it is a good thing to do.

Mansfield, O.

FIRST ACTIONS.

41. If a child cries at birth and lifts up one hand, he is born to command.

42. If the baby smiles in its sleep, it is talking with angels.

43. If a baby yawns, the sign of the cross should be made over it that the evil spirit may not enter.

Niagara Falls, Ont.

44. While tying on a baby’s cap repeat,—

Look up there and see a fly,Look down there and see it die.

Its chin will follow the direction indicated, and the tying is hastened.

Brookline, Mass.

VARIOUS.

45. First a daughter, then a son,The world is well begun.First a son, then a daughter,Trouble follows after.Maine and Massachusetts.

46. First a son, then a daughter,You’ve begun just as you oughter.Brookline, Mass.

47. Rock a cradle empty,Babies will be plenty.Peabody, Mass.

48. Rock the cradle empty,Have children a plenty,Rock the chair empty,Have sickness a plenty.Nashua, N. H.

49. To rock the cradle when the baby is not in it will kill it.

New York.

50. If the empty cradle be rocked, the baby will have the colic.

New York and Ohio.

51. The first time a baby is taken visiting, if it is laid on a married couple’s bed there will be a baby for that couple.

Salem, Mass.

52. The mother who gives away all the clothes of her dead baby will eventually be comforted by the coming of another child.

53. However many children a woman may have, the last will be of the same gender as the first, and they will look alike.

Maine and Massachusetts.

54. One article of an unborn infant’s wardrobe must be left unmade or unbought or the child is liable not to live.

Salem, Mass.

55. A baby’s nails must not be cut with scissors before it is a year old; it will make it steal.

North Carolina.

56. To cut a baby’s finger-nails deforms it; if the baby is a month old, to do this will cause the child to have fits.

Georgia.

57. To allow a child to look into a mirror before it is a month old will cause it trouble in teething.

Georgia.

58. Tickling a baby causes stuttering.

Georgia.

59. If an infant be measured, it will die before its growing time is over.

Georgia.

CHILDHOOD.

ASSEVERATION.

60. A child to whom is told any story which he considers remarkable will usually reply by an expression of skepticism, such as: “Really and truly?” “Honestly?” “Earnest, now?” or, “You are fooling.” The first speaker answers by some formula or asseveration, as, “Honor bright” (New England); “Deed, deed, and double deed” (Pennsylvania); “True as I live,” or, “Hope I’ll die if it isn’t so,” or simply, “Hope I’ll die.”

General in the United States.

61. A formula of asseveration in Maryland and Pennsylvania is, “I cross my heart,” accompanied by the sign of the cross.

62. A sign resembling that of the cross is made on the chin or throat. “You won’t tell?” “No.” “Well, cross your throat.”

Cambridge, Mass.

63. When a child wishes to make an asseveration, he wets his finger on his mouth and signs a cross on his throat.

Salem, Mass.

64. In asseveration, the proper method is to use the words, “Hope to die if I don’t,” the speaker drawing the forefinger across the throat from ear to ear.

Biddeford, Me.

65. Asseveration in Maine and Massachusetts is often made by the following formula. First boy: “Honor bright?” Second boy: “Hope to die.” First boy: “Cut your throat?” Second boy draws finger across throat. This is the strongest possible form of oath that can be taken by a boy.

66. Little girls, without any idea of the meaning, employ the following formula of asseveration:—

Certain, true,Black and blue.

A variant of the first line: “Certain and true.”

Massachusetts.

67. A form fuller than the preceding:—

Certain, true,Black and blue,Lay me down and cut me in two.

68. A boy who desires to tell an extravagant story without being guilty of a lie would point with his thumb over his left shoulder. If he should succeed in accomplishing this without the observation of the boy to whom he is talking, so much the better.

Biddeford, Me.

69. “In my school-days, if a boy crossed his fingers, elbows, and legs, though the act might not be noticed by the companion accosted, no blame was attached to the falsehood.”

New York city.

70. The addition of the words “in a horn” justify a falsehood. In the childhood of the informant, it was not considered honorable to express the words in such manner that they could not be heard by the child with whom conversation was carried on.

Cambridge, Mass.

71. In making a false statement, it was proper to say “over the left.” This was often uttered in such manner that the person addressed should not perceive the qualification. Or, the statement would be made, and after it had been taken in and believed, the words “over the left” would be added.

Ohio and Cambridge, Mass.

72. A formula for making a false statement: “As true as I lie here,” said, as one fools, gives free scope to white lies.

Roxbury, Mass.

73. An imprecation of children against disloyalty:—

Tell tale tit,Your tongue shall be slit,And every dog in our townIt shall have a bit.Ohio.

CHALLENGE.

To “stump” another boy to do a thing is considered as putting a certain obligation on him to perform the action indicated. The phrase is sometimes used, although the person giving the “stump” may not himself be able to accomplish the feat.

74. We used to “dare” or “stump” one another to eat green “chuckcherries.”

Brookline, Mass.

75. Daring or “stumping” is or has been common among children generally. Sometimes it is to jump a certain distance; sometimes to skate out on thin ice; again, to touch something very hot. Once in Ohio several lads were collected together about a spring. One of them drew a pail of fresh water and by chance brought up a small live fish. One of the boys “stumped” his companions to eat the fish alive, without dressing or cooking. The boys took the “stump,” one quickly cut up the unfortunate little animal and each boy swallowed a bit. Often the dare is to eat some very untoothsome morsel.

FORTUNE.

76. Put a mark upon a paper for every bow you get, and when you have one hundred bury the paper and wish. When the paper is decayed you will find your wish in its place.

Cambridge and Bedford, Mass.

77. Children collect two or three hundred names of persons, asking each to give a bow with the name. This bow is expressed after the name on a sheet of paper on which the latter is written by this signH with downslanting crossbar. After all are collected the paper is secretly buried face downward, and then dug up after two or three months, when money is sometimes found under it.

North Cambridge, Mass.

78. At Christmas or New Year’s children, on first meeting, call out “My Christmas-gift,” or “New Year’s-gift,” and the one who calls first is to receive a gift from the other.

Mansfield, O.

FRIENDSHIP.

79. If two persons, while walking, divide so as to pass an obstruction one on one side and one on the other, they will quarrel. Children avert this catastrophe by exclaiming, “bread and butter,” which is a counter charm. On the other hand, if they say “pepper and salt,” the quarrel is made doubly certain. So universal is the practice that many grown people of the best social class (women) still involuntarily avoid such separation, and even use the childish words. In country towns, when girls are walking with young men, if the latter pass on the other side of the tree it is considered as rude, and as a token of indifference; in such a case one girl will cast a meaning look on her companion as much as to say, “he does not care for you.” To use the local phrase, it would be said, So-and-so is “mad” with —— (naming the girl).

Massachusetts.

80. In passing a tree in the middle of the sidewalk, children usedto pass it on one side going one way and on the other side going the other way for luck.

Billerica, Mass.

MYTHOLOGY.

81. The stars are angels’ eyes.

Westminster, Mass.

82. The stars are holes made in the sky, so that the light of heaven shines through. “I remember, as a child, that this idea was suggested to me on seeing the effect of holes in the lamp shade. I think, however, that I rather liked to suppose it true and firmly believed in the explanation.”

Cambridge, Mass.

83. “As a child, I constantly looked into lilies and tulips in the expectation of finding fairies lying within them.”

Mansfield, O.

84. “I remember that as a child, while walking with a companion, she cried: ‘Why, a fairy lighted on my hand!’ The child believed that this had been the case.”

Cambridge, Mass.

85. The children used to fearfully look in the well, and on seeing the reflected face in the bottom, would cry out, “Face in the well, pull me down in the well,” and would then run away quickly.

Bruynswick, N. Y.

86. At the age of six or seven years, a child, while going to a spring to draw water, saw a little creature with wings fly from one star to another, leaving behind an arc of light. She cried to her aunt: “Oh, aunt, I saw a little gold-boy!” Her aunt, somewhat shocked, rebuked the child, who insisted on the literal truth of her vision.

Mansfield, O.

87. Stick your thumb through a knothole and say:—

Old Gran’f’ther Graybeard, without tooths or tongue,If you’ll give me a little finger I’ll give you a thumb.Thumb’ll go away and little finger’ll come.

88. Go to the woodpile and say, “Johnnie with your fingers, and Willie with your toes,” and something (suthin) will come out of the woodpile and tear off all your clothes (close).

Gilsum, N. H.

PUNISHMENT.

89. An “eyewinker” placed in the palm of the hand will cause the ferule to break when the teacher strikes the palm with it.

Portsmouth, N. H.

90. Pine tar or pitch in the hand will prevent the blows of the ferule from causing pain. (Portsmouth, N. H., sixty years ago.)

Believed by most schoolboys there at that time.

SPORT.

91. At croquet, if your ball was about to be sent flying, the safeguard was to draw an imaginary X with your mallet, saying, “Criss cross.” It made your enemy’s foot slip, and many a girl would get “mad” and not play, if you did it often.

Brookline, Mass.

92. Children believe it is unlucky to step on the cracks in the flagstones, which are believed to contain poison. It is a game to walk a long distance on such stones without setting foot on the interstices.

Cambridge, Mass.

93. When children are tired of swinging, or think it is time for the swinger to give way to another, the phrase is “let the old cat die.” After this has been said, it is unlucky to quicken the motion of the swing again.

General.

VARIOUS.

94. When a child loses a tooth, if the tongue is not put into the cavity a gold tooth will come in place of it.

New York and Northern Ohio.

95. The ideas of children about the significance of color are mixed. Thus in croquet no child (in a town near Boston) would take the red ball, because it was supposed to mean hate. Blue is the favorite color.

96. Red and yellow, catch a fellow.Brookline, Mass.Pink and blue, he’ll catch you.Deerfield, Mass.Pink and blue, he’ll be true.Deerfield, Mass.Black and white, hold him tight.Pennsylvania.

97. An old superstition which still survives among children is, that if they crawl over an older person and do not crawl back they will never grow again.

Haverhill, Mass.

98. “We used always as children to get X’s scored with a pin on our new ‘village gaiters.’ We were told it was to make them safe and take the slipperiness off.”

Brookline, Mass.

99. Children say that the one who takes the first bite of an apple that is to be passed about for eating will fail in his or her lesson.

Chelsea, Mass.

100. Boys believe that they can prevent the stitch in the side which is liable to be induced by running, by means of holding a pebble under the tongue. “I believe I could run all day, and not get tired, if I could hold a pebble under my tongue,” said one.

Cambridge, Mass.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

BEAUTY.

101. If a person is very handsome, it is a sign that he will have one of the infectious diseases of childhood (measles, whooping cough, etc.) more than once.

Massachusetts.

DIMPLE.

102. Dimple in chin.Devil within.Chestertown, Md.

103. A dimple in the chin is lucky. Some say “it shows you’re no fool.”

104. A dimple is the mark left by the angel’s finger in turning up the face to kiss it when asleep.

Pennsylvania.

EARS.

105. Small ears indicate that a person is stingy. Large ones show that he is generous.

General.

106. Large ears are a mark of a liar. Small ears show that one is truthful.

Boston, Mass.

107. Long, slim ears are a sign that you will steal.

Chestertown, Md.

108. If the protuberance behind the ear is large, it indicates generosity.

Massachusetts.

EYES AND EYEBROWS.

109. Hazel eyes betoken a good disposition.

Boston, Mass.

110. If your eyebrows meet, you will be rich.

Somerville and Bedford, Mass.

111. A well-known children’s rhyme runs:—

Blue-eye beauty, do your mammy’s duty!Black eye, pick a pie,Run around and tell a lie!Gray-eye greedy gutEat all the world up!General in the United States.

112. If the eyebrows meet, one is ill-tempered.

General in the United States.

113. If the eyebrows are far apart, you will live away from home; if near together, you will live near home, or at home.

Massachusetts.

114. Heavy eyebrows are a sign of long life.

Lawrence, Mass.

FINGER-NAILS.

115. Always keep your nails clean and you will be rich.

Peabody, Mass.

116. A white spot in the nail, when it comes, means a present. You get the present when it grows to the end and is cut.

Boston, Mass.

117. White spots on the nails of the left hand denote the number of lies one has told.

Maine and Central Illinois.

118. Count on finger-nail spots:—

Friends,Foes,Money,Beaux.

Begin with the first nail spotted, and the noun falling to the last nail thus marked gives the sign.

Deerfield, Mass.

119. Another formula:—

(First finger) a friend,(Second finger) a foe,(Third finger) a gift,(Fourth finger) a beau,(Fifth finger) a journey to go.Mansfield, O.

An almost identical variant is found in Prince Edward Island.

FOOT.

120. If your instep is high enough to have water flow under it, you are of good descent.

Brookline, Mass.

121. A mole on the sole of the left foot means trouble and hardships during life.

Boston, Mass.

FOREHEAD.

122. If there is a blue vein in the child’s forehead extending down upon the nose, it is one of the surest signs of early death.

Maine and Massachusetts.

123. Vertical wrinkles in the brow show the number of husbands one will have. Horizontal ones show the number of children.

Northern Ohio.

HAIR.

124. Coarse hair indicates good nature; fine hair quick temper.

Northern Ohio.

125. Red hair indicates a “spit-fire.”

Massachusetts and Chestertown, Md.

126. Beware of that man,Be he friend or brother,Whose hair is one colorAnd moustache another.Portland, Me.

127. The color of the hair growing on the neck indicates the color of the hair of one’s future husband.

128. A single white hair means genius; it must not be pulled out.

129. If you pull out a white hair, two will come in its place.

Somewhat general in the United States.

130. Hair growing upon the upper lip of a woman means riches.

Boston, Mass.

131. The point formed by the hair growing on the forehead is called “A widow’s peak.”

Eastern Massachusetts.

132. When a woman’s hair parts where it should not, it is a sure sign she will be a widow.

Springfield, Mass.

133. Draw a single hair from the head strongly between the thumb and finger-nail. If it curls up, you are proud.

St. John, N. B., and Prince Edward Island.

The same result indicates that you are cross.

Cape Breton.

134. Hairy arms mean wealth.

Northern Ohio.

135. Hairy arms mean strength.

General in the United States.

136. Scrape the finger-nail and the thumb-nail along a hair, and if, by the third time, it curls up, the owner is high-tempered.

Boston, Mass.

137. Put some of your hair in the fire. If it burns slowly you will have a long life. If quickly, a short one.

Chestertown, Md.

HAND.

138. A straight line in the palm of the hand is an omen of early death.

Massachusetts.

139. The letter formed by the veins on the inside of the wrist is the initial of the name of the future husband or wife.

St. John, N. B.

140. A person with an initial in his hand will be very fortunate in selecting a companion for life.

Alabama.

141. In clasping your own hand, you put uppermost either your right or your left thumb. If the former, you are to rule;vice versa, you yield.

Brookline, Mass.

142. If the thumb sticks up in the closed fist, you are either capable or honest, probably the latter, as thieves are said to double theirs in.

New England.

143. If you cannot make your thumb and one finger meet around your wrist, you are a glutton.

Province of Quebec.

144. If you cannot touch the tips of your little finger and first finger together behind the two middle fingers, on both hands, then you will not marry the man you want to marry.

Province of Quebec.

145. Clasp your fingers, and if the right thumb lap over the left you were born in the daytime. If the left overlap, you were born at night.

146. The number of folds on your wrist as you bend your hand shows the number of thirties you are to live.

Massachusetts.

147. If the ends of the fingers are capable of being bent far back, it indicates a thief.

MOLES.

148. A mole on the eyebrow denotes that one will be hanged. On the ear it denotes that he will be drowned.

Chestertown, Md.

149. Mole above breathMeans wealth.

150. Moles on the neck,Money by the peck.Prince Edward Island and Northern Ohio.

151. A mole on the neck indicates that its owner will be hanged.

Boston, Mass.

152. A mole on the side of the neck means a death by hanging.

Central Maine.

153. A mole on the arm indicates riches.

Boston, Mass.

154. Mole on your arm,Live on a farm.Alabama.

155. A mole on the arm means that you will fight many battles, and will be very successful in them.

Prince Edward Island.

NOSE.

156. A vein across the nose is an omen of short life.

General in the United States.

TEETH.

157. A broad space between the teeth indicates a liar.

Biddeford, Me.

158. Broad front teeth mean that one is generous.

Biddeford, Me.

159. A space between the two front upper incisors signifies wealth.

Mansfield, O.

160. If the front teeth are wide apart, it means one can’t keep a secret. If overlapping, one is close-mouthed.

Boston, Mass.

161. Do not trust people with pointed teeth.

Chestertown, Md.

162. If you have a space between your teeth, it is a sign that you will die of consumption.

Baltimore, Md.

163. A lump (enlarged papilla) on the tongue is a sign one has told a lie.

Mansfield, O.

PROJECTS.

Love divinations or love charms, I have found, are popularly known as “projects” in parts of New England and on Mt. Desert. On Prince Edward Island and in various parts of the Canadian provinces the practice of such divinations is usually spoken of as “trying tricks.” If a number of young people are together, one will say, “Let’s try tricks.” In the Middle and Western United States the usual colloquial expression for these love divinations is “trying fortunes.” One girl will say to another at some appropriate time, “Let’s try our fortunes.”

APPLES.

164. Eat an apple at midnight before the glass, saying,—

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