Superstitions

 

Being superstitious is maybe something of the past as science fills our world with proven intelligent fact. But many of these old thoughts live strong in some people and even over run their lives. Many of our superstitions revolve around the elimination of bad luck or the avoidance of it altogether. Take the year 2013 for instance, it was toted as one of the worst years ever for life in general and for unexpected and unwelcomed events to arise . 13 being an unlucky number and having to do with the number of Witches in a Coven coinciding with the number of cycles of the Moon in a 12 month period and also the number of yearly menstrual cycles of a woman. Being born on the 13^th of any month is bad according to folk lore, you will have bad luck your whole life. I am not too sure about that as I was born on the 13^th and have used 13 as my lucky number often and succeeded. I’ll leave that to your perception.

 

So what is superstition? According to Webster’s it is religion, opinion or practice based on belief in luck or magic. If you were raised with people who believed in superstitions then one would think the influence would rub off. And it usually does according to nature and nurture. So what makes us want to believe in superstitions? Well based on the definition above, who would not want a little luck or magic in their lives?

 

After a brief over the dinner table interview with family one night at the cottage a summer or so past we came up with the following list of superstitions. Some, of course you will have heard of and some maybe not.

An itchy left palm is money coming in or you will find money

An itchy right palm is money going out or you will lose money

Killing a spider makes it rain

Breaking a mirror is seven years bad luck

Walking under a ladder is bad luck

Opening an umbrella in side is bad luck

When your ears burn someone is talking about you

Knitting a hair into the garment brings the recipient to you

Killing a Lady Bug is bad luck, your house will burn down

Knock on wood to keep evil spirits away

Snapping a wishbone, the larger side recipient will have their wish come true

Candles on the birthday cake were to keep evil spirits away from the birthday person and a wish will come true when they are blown out

A bay leaf in your wallet will keep the money flowing into your wallet

Wearing a wedding band on the ring finger of your left hand encircles a vein to the heart to hold onto love

It is bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the alter

Making a wish on a penny and tossing it into a fountain or another body of moving water is supposed to make the wish come true

Toss a pinch of salt over your right shoulder to keep away evil spirits

The playing of Amazing Grace for a safe ship voyage

Saying “Bless you” after someone sneezes prevents the Devil from entering the sneezer’s body

Jasmine rice sprinkled across the threshold to your home invites a marriage proposal from your sweetheart

A raw cut onion will draw off sickness 9we are actually not too far off on this one, as smell a it is)

Finding a four leaf clover is good luck

Carrying a rabbits foot is good luck

A horse shoe hung over a doorway keeps money flowing

A black cat crossing your path is bad luck

 If you have a favorite superstition one from a family member or one that you like to practice please leave it in the comments on the FB page and share with us where it is from. I would love to hear some of your stories.

 

 

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The French Kiss

 

After spending a lovely Valentine’s Day with my husband I started to wonder what are the origins of the French kiss? I began my research as always using an internet search engine and I came up with very little in the way of useful information. I mostly found information on how to perform this act not on where it came from. So I dug a little deeper and discovered that it was not the French people who first performed this very intimate and sensual act nor did they name it.

 

This type of kiss was named after the French because of their open sensuality and their acceptance of overtly public displays of affection way back in the early nineteen twenties. For most of the rest of the modern world this type of behaviour was frowned upon in public and was meant only for the bedroom of a married couple.

 

It was the arrival home of the soldiers from World War I that brought this kiss to North America. After spending their rotations with European women many of the soldiers came home with a new way of kissing that involved not just the lips but the tongue as well. This kiss was deeply passionate and extremely intimate. Almost as if they were making love with this part of their bodies, how romantic!

 

So no one really knows who coined the term French kiss not that it really matters. This act of passion is overtly sensual and pleases most human beings. It is a delicate balance of touching that can be subtle or more actively stimulating depending on the desire of each person involved. Now isn’t love grand?

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