52 Ancestors – 52 Weeks
The writing prompt for Week 30 is the old country. The term refers to the native country of a person who has gone to live abroad. (1) My ancestors came from Ireland. The modern Irish Éire evolved from the Old Irish word Ériu, which was the name of a Gaelic goddess. Ériu is generally believed to have been the matron goddess of Ireland, a goddess of sovereignty, or simply a goddess of the land. (2)
The Irish are known for their superstitions and legends. This post will detail some of their superstitions and legends that are still popular today.
If you find a half-penny, you’ll have good luck
Ha’pennies were taken out of circulation in Ireland in January 1987, and even one and two cent euro coins ceased being physically circulated in the country in 2015. However, it’s still seen as bad luck to leave a coin lying around, so many people ignore any hygiene trade-off to pick up and pocket whatever shiny piece they see on the pavement.
When your nose is itchy, it’s a sign of a fight to come
An itchy nose can be annoying enough as it is, but the belief that it signifies a fight is coming in your near future brings another level of irritation. To nip the conflict in the bud, some believe a light punch and handshake with the suspected combatant will do the trick. (Don’t punch me! No handshakes please in this time of covid-19 virus.)
If a candle doesn’t burn in the window throughout Christmas, bad luck will come to the house the following year
Soft lights in the window aren’t just for hygge at Christmas in Ireland. A candle in the window of an Irish home at Christmas traditionally signified that the holy family would be welcomed, and acted as a more general symbol of hospitality. Interrupting the hospitality by letting the light go out on Christmas is still thought to be bad luck to many. (I love seeing candles burning in windows at Christmas and you don’t have to burn a candle to have a light in the window with today’s alternatives.)
If the palm of your left/right hand is itchy, money is coming to you/leaving you
Another itchy one, but this has both a positive and negative spin. An itchy palm on your left hand means that someone is going to pay you money – although some also believe you need to spit on your hand to bring that to fruition. An itchy right palm means you will have to pay out money soon, and no amount of spit will turn that fortune around.
If you knock over your chair while standing up, you’re in for bad luck
Us clumsy folk should worry about more than just an awkward exit when getting out of our chairs. If you happen to knock over your chair as you get up, it’s said to bring back luck as well as just embarrassment. (My dad did not like us messing with the kitchen chairs.)
If you break a looking glass, you’ll have seven years of bad luck
This one dates back to Roman times. The Romans believed that when you looked into a looking glass, you were actually looking into your soul and, as such, breaking the mirror damaged your soul. There was some respite, however, provided by the counter-belief that our souls regenerate every seven years, so the damage was finite. (I still try to avoid breaking a mirror and I don’t need seven years of bad luck!)
Having a bird poo on you is good luck
This one feels like it might have come about to make unlucky people feel a bit better, but the belief is still that a bird going to the loo on you is a sign of good things to come. This superstition supposedly originated in Russia, and maybe the Irish have just taken to it so strongly as it happens relatively frequently on the Emerald Isle. The belief also extends to a bird pooing on your car. (I had a bird poo on my shoulder once when I got out of my car to go into the doctor’s office. If I counted all the times a bird pooed on my car I’d have enough luck for all of us!)
A cross on the bread lets the devil out
Soda bread was traditionally a staple of many Irish households as it could be cooked easily from basic, cheap ingredients – flour, soured milk, baking soda – in a bastible pot suspended over the home fire with no need for an oven. To this day, the person who is baking scores a cross through the top of the bread before baking – the practical reason is to facilitate more even cooking, but the more spiritual interpretation traditionally was that the cross let the devil out. (Next time you see a loaf of soda bread look for the cross.)
If you take the last cut of bread off a plate, you are going to be an old maid or a bachelor (so don’t be greedy)
(Wish I would have known this when I was younger!)
Ears burning
Somebody, somewhere is talking about you. Obviously.
Have you ever heard or thought about superstitions or legends from your family’s old country? It might be fun to research them.
Sources:
(1) Merriam Webster Dictionary Onlines
(2) Wikipedia
(3) https://theculturetrip.com/europe/ireland/articles/11-irish-superstitions-people-still-believe/
Loved this take on the “Old Country”! I have written a series on the superstitions of my ancestors and how I was raised with so many of them because of my mothers beliefs. I don’t do any of them anymore, not in the last 46 years at least.
Thanks for the comment. My mother’s grandmother was from Ireland and I heard some of these from my mother over the years.