Italian myths are a hoot!

< Italian myths are a hoot >...and then you die! Sorry I couldn't resist!

From my Irish Nanna..never give a sharp or pointed object as a gift, have the recipient buy it from you for a penny, or else their love or friendship will be cut off.

On New year's Eve, we always leave a little saucer of flour, salt and some coins outside of the front door for prosperity in the new year. Don't ask, I do it all the time and it must work! The you are supposed to put the coins in the collection basket at church!

Another Italian myths: If you sit in front of a window and the wind hits your neck, you will die.

Hint: If you are at a crowded beach or swimming pool in Italy, wait until after lunch to go into the water, because you will have it all to yourself. Although you may die.

Another Italian myths..

New year Eve at Midnight you must throw away something old,

You must have a bowl of Lentils in New Year Day, lentils will bring You prosperity and Good Fortune...

To ward off Evil Spirits, in Taiwan you must have a firework before you move in a new house ....

If you are born.... you will die (although I have on good authority that this one isn't a myth.... it has come true every single time)

The more money you spend on vacation, the more fun you will have.
If you wear black in Paris, people will think you are a local.

On the New Year theme, I was brought up in Scotland to ensure that:-

1. The house was pristine clean at midnight

2. all my bills were paid (you would be amazed at the number of people who pay their fees on Hogmanay, even today)

3.you open the front door just after midnight, to let the aul' year out and the new year in.

My Scottish grandmother's:
If you wear your pajamas on inside out
your dreams will come true.

This could be good or bad, just don't eat chilibeans and chocolate cake before going to bed and you might not have bad dreams that night. I never wanted to take the chance so even today I make sure every pj is right side out.

ttt, interesting post

From MY Grams:

You must leave through the same door of the house you entered.

No NEW shoes on the table.

And along the same lines, she has a prayer that she says to Saint Anthony if something is lost. To the entire family's amazement, this has effected some minor miracles... for example, my aunt lost her ring on a beach in California, and days later my cousin found it while playing in the sand...

On New Year's Day, my family insists on pork and sauerkraut to ensure a "good year."

Sorry, these aren't travel related... I've done the Trevi Fountain coin toss and it hasn't worked yet!!!

Where is your Gram from? We do the same thing with the doors and the shoes.

My mum is from Yorkshire
She has the shoe one too.
Also never bring lilac into the house.
Never go out after you've had a bath because your pores are open and as in Italy ....you'll die.

In Chester we have a set of wishing steps on the walls. You have to run up and down and up again and then make a wish. I saw a young American tourist doing it. At the end she looked over at her husband and said with a look of great disappointment, "He's still here!"

My mom is from Plymouth and she does the same thing: no new shoes on the table and comes and goes from the same door. She also will not cross anyone on the staircase. That one was mentioned early on in this thread.

Then there is something about not putting hats at the end of your bed (bad luck or death? not sure).

A Filipino friend claims if you bury a statue of St Joseph, I think it has to be upside down, in your yard..your house will sell quickly.

She claims it never fails

Jody, your post reminds me of a phone call my sister made to me. She had recently bought an old house, and woke up one morning to see the previous owner rooting around the front yard! When she asked what the woman was doing, her answer was "I left St. Joseph here somewhere...it's gotta be somewhere..."

Interesting...
I side with my mom on the shoe thing: no shoes on the table. Okay, unless one is overcome by an irresitable urge to dance on tabletop.
My palm has been itching for months now. I don't have a rash or allergies, maybe it's a huge buildup of money coming my way.
I always find things that are lost by saying, "nothing is lost in the mind of God." (insert diety of your choice)"

So many of these are common to so many different cultures, it's interesting, isn't it? I was raised with a lot of them, plus the following:

After you've left the house, it's bad luck to go back for something you've forgotten. If you must, then sit down for a moment.

And my dear, departed mother, the quintessential Jewish mother, absolutely astounded me by burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the yard to insure the quick sale of her house. "Well, it couldn't hurt, could it?"

My mother, who as a general rule, is NOT a superstitious woman, has always stuck by two superstitions:

1) NEVER give a new bride anything that has opals in it. She swears that giving opals to a new bride will doom the marriage.

2) If the door happens to blow open - as in, it wasn't shut very well in the first place, and slowly squeezes out of the frame and opens - then my Mom says you are supposed to welcome whatever spirit just walked in. "Come on in, Spirit, and welcome." If you don't say that, or something like it, the spirit will become your enemy.

(Now, I won't even MENTION the 'house elves' that my Mom swears are the ones who move her glasses so she can't find them, when she's trying to read the newspaper. As I said, my Mom is generally NOT a superstitious woman. (giggle) I love ya, Mom, honest.)

Brim, you just reminded me of something my English born husband believes in. On the first day of the month, you have to say "rabbits" before noon of that day, and then you will have good luck. If need a lot of luck, you can upgrade to "white rabbits."

LOL, dln. I'm gonna try that, as I need all the luck I can get, these days!