Mentioned here once before, I think... When it was time to take our newborn younger daughter home from the hospital in Dunfermline, a nurse asked us which door we had used when we arrived, and made sure we left by a different one.
I docent at a Historical House/Museum where each October we have a "Behind the Veil" exhibit which illustrates late (American) Victorian mourning customs. Some of them are pretty superstitious. When someone dies in a house, all mirrors are covered by black veils to keep spirits from being caught in the house. Clocks are stopped at the time of death. Bodies are removed from the house feet first so they can't look back and beckon the living. And lastly (not exactly superstitious but cautious) people sit with the dead until the funeral to make sure they are dead and not in a coma.
That last point, about sitting with the dead, was quite a reality in a time when medical knowledge might not be very good. I am a lecturer in death studies (thanatology) and a social historian and I have a fascinating book on my shelf called ‘When the "Dead" Rose in Britain: Premature Burial and the Misdiagnosis of Death During the Enlightenment’.
In my childhood church, one of the flower arrangers would never do an arrangement of just red and white. She would sneak a flower of another colour at the back where it couldn’t be seen.
She was a nurse and I’ve heard that’s a common superstition in nursing, though I don’t know how true that is.
My parents had superstitions like not putting shoes on the table, touching wood and throwing salt over the left shoulder when you spilled it. My mother was brought up in Lancashire, not far from Pendle, and also believed in various supernatural gifts and ghosts. She never mentioned witches, but believed some people had ‘the gift’.
My parents had superstitions like not putting shoes on the table, touching wood and throwing salt over the left shoulder when you spilled it. My mother was brought up in Lancashire, not far from Pendle, and also believed in various supernatural gifts and ghosts. She never mentioned witches, but believed some people had ‘the gift’.
In my childhood church, one of the flower arrangers would never do an arrangement of just red and white. She would sneak a flower of another colour at the back where it couldn’t be seen.
She was a nurse and I’ve heard that’s a common superstition in nursing, though I don’t know how true that is.
My mother and my aunt, both nurses, had this superstition; it's down to the association of the colours with blood and bandages.
I'm also familiar with the magpie one, which seems very common, and always find myself counting how many I see with the rhyme "One for sorrow, two for joy..." My mum also had a superstition regarding the giving of gloves, which apparently always means a parting. I still remember her sharp intake of breath one Christmas when she unwrapped a gift of gloves from her next door neighbour; and as it happens my father died the following year.
I have a friend who is currently giving a temporary home to a brand new pram for an incoming grandchild because it's considered unlucky to have the new pram in the house before the baby arrives.
I've heard of the pram one. The shop where we bought the one for our son offered to hang on to it until he arrived.
I'm not very superstitious, though I do tend to think that things come in threes.
I have loads of these. My mum thought she had the gift!
My mother thought I had the gift. It turns out I actually have bipolar disorder, hence the heightened affective engagement. I really do read people and situations like books!
I have loads of these. My mum thought she had the gift!
My mother thought I had the gift. It turns out I actually have bipolar disorder, hence the heightened affective engagement. I really do read people and situations like books!
Yes, my mum was very intuitive, beware any girl friends who came round, under her baleful eye.
I never walk under a ladder (superstition or good sense ? )
I never cut my nails on Fridays or Sundays (probably superstition but by now long ingrained habit).
My gran believed all the Lancashire superstitions, and here are a couple more - if you drop a knife, it means a (male) stranger is coming. If you pour tea so that bubbles form on the surface, you're coming into money. Never put up an umbrella indoors.
If your right palm itches you’re coming into money, and if the left does you’ll lose some.
One I actively disobeyed (like most superstitions tbh) was that wearing green at a wedding is unlucky. My bridesmaid wore green and we’re coming up to our golden wedding anniversary.
I wish I’d seen my mother in law get married. She wore a green velvet gown and carried holly for her January wedding. She and my father in law were married for nearly sixty years.
Re: magpies - David would always greet a magpie with "good morning/afternoon, Mr Magpie, what a fine fellow you are", to break the bad luck, and so do I.
An ex-boyfriend of mine would always say ‘Good day to you, Captain’ if he saw a lone magpie.
The superstition about magpies was because they mate for life and are usually seen in pairs, so one alone meant sorrow as they had lost their partner, whilst two was for joy (as per the rhyme).
Mrs. Gramps was born on Friday the 13th. Did not even think about it until after our Twenty-fifth anniversary. By that time it was much too late. Today we celebrated Valentines one day early because Mrs. Gramps is working tomorrow--and the food establishments will be very full. Went for lunch and then a short day trip.
I like 'much too late'! I'd have said it was too late the moment she popped out. However, she would seem to have given the lie to the 'Friday the 13th' superstition.
It is a lot of nonsense. Yesterday was my beloved sister’s 75th ( can’t believe it!!) so schlepped across town to visit with jam tarts, cream and home made preserves. We had a great old day!
Friday the 13th is the day when the bikers gather in Port Dover on Lake Erie in southern Ontario. It was a bit quieter this time because of cold winds, snow and icy roads, but the faithful were out. I have no idea of the origin of the event, but the rest of us reckon it can be bad luck to be driving on one of these days - there can be hundreds of bikes out there. It's usually peaceful - just very busy.
My daughter was born en caul and in the couple of seconds it took to pop the bag and unpeel her to find out whether we had a new son or daughter, the midwife said "Your baby will have "the sight!"
I did not want my baby to have "the sight" and it's not what I wanted to hear at that moment!!
The midwife divided the caul, kept some for herself for luck, and gave us the rest as a lucky charm. However, I must have done something wrong because ours dried out and dessicated.
On the positive side, apparently if they realise a baby is coming out en caul, they summon every spare student to observe what is a fairly rare birth. The quinie fortunately appeared too quickly for any observers. If there was anything I would have liked less than being told my child had "the sight" it would have been her birth being watched by a room full of students!
ETA they would have asked for permission to have students present, and I know I would have agreed.
I don't think anyone asked for permission at the Simpson Memorial Maternity Pavilion in Edinburgh when Older Daughter was born. There was a row of students at the foot of the bed, and as soon as she appeared, they rushed off to the next one. They must have had to meet a quota that day. It was an old fashioned place - long gone - but the staff all seemed to like babies. I don't know about superstitions, but our first daughter was born on her maternal grandmother's birthday, and the second one on her wedding anniversary.
My daughter was born en caul and in the couple of seconds it took to pop the bag and unpeel her to find out whether we had a new son or daughter, the midwife said "Your baby will have "the sight!"
I did not want my baby to have "the sight" and it's not what I wanted to hear at that moment!!
The midwife divided the caul, kept some for herself for luck, and gave us the rest as a lucky charm. However, I must have done something wrong because ours dried out and dessicated.
On the positive side, apparently if they realise a baby is coming out en caul, they summon every spare student to observe what is a fairly rare birth. The quinie fortunately appeared too quickly for any observers. If there was anything I would have liked less than being told my child had "the sight" it would have been her birth being watched by a room full of students!
ETA they would have asked for permission to have students present, and I know I would have agreed.
So—so far as you know, does she have the sight, or…?
I've come across houses and flats where there is no number 13; they go 12, 12A, 14 etc or just straight from 12 to 14. Also I seem to recall a tall building where there was no 13th floor.
My daughter was born en caul and in the couple of seconds it took to pop the bag and unpeel her to find out whether we had a new son or daughter, the midwife said "Your baby will have "the sight!"
I did not want my baby to have "the sight" and it's not what I wanted to hear at that moment!!
The midwife divided the caul, kept some for herself for luck, and gave us the rest as a lucky charm. However, I must have done something wrong because ours dried out and dessicated.
On the positive side, apparently if they realise a baby is coming out en caul, they summon every spare student to observe what is a fairly rare birth. The quinie fortunately appeared too quickly for any observers. If there was anything I would have liked less than being told my child had "the sight" it would have been her birth being watched by a room full of students!
ETA they would have asked for permission to have students present, and I know I would have agreed.
The other superstition about being born in a caul was that this would protect the child against death by drowning. Dried out membranes were often taken by the midwives and sold to sailors who kept them as lucky charms against drowning.
I was told by an old warrant officer in the RAN that many years ago a “ Mother” tattoo on the arm was reputed to have the same protective function.
I was born with a caul.
I was told that this would protect me from drowning - or was it that anyone possessing a piece would be protected from drowning? Apparently, for this reason sailors were eager to acquire one.
I had actually forgotten about having had a caul until I read this, but as I haven't drowned yet its power seems to have continued regardless, for 80 years
She does not have "the sight." We discovered the superstition about not drowning soon after she was born, and we decided we liked that one better.
Although our portion of the caul dried and flaked away years ago, I assume the midwife was more clued up as to preserving her portion and still has it. I think she said it was her tenth caul.
No, she said she had a miniature chest of drawers, and kept them in that, one caul per drawer.
That is quite disturbing - but also the kind of thing that leads a researcher 200 years hence to be able to test if some physical parameter of newborns has changed due to society wide changes in nutrition, orclimate change or something.
It's much more frequent than that in midwife-led deliveries. It was just the luck of the draw, but my NHS midwife was a member of the Association of Radical Midwives, and Radical midwives are, or were when the quinie was born, more likely to manage labour in a way that ends up en caul.
I was born with a caul.
I was told that this would protect me from drowning - or was it that anyone possessing a piece would be protected from drowning? Apparently, for this reason sailors were eager to acquire one.
I had actually forgotten about having had a caul until I read this, but as I haven't drowned yet its power seems to have continued regardless, for 80 years
David Copperfield was apparently born in a caul, and it was sold to a sailor because of that superstition.
My mother was superstitious about opening umbrellas indoors. I guess the thought was that if you did, you might eventually need one indoors if the roof leaked!
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She was a nurse and I’ve heard that’s a common superstition in nursing, though I don’t know how true that is.
I agree with her. ❤️
My mother and my aunt, both nurses, had this superstition; it's down to the association of the colours with blood and bandages.
I'm also familiar with the magpie one, which seems very common, and always find myself counting how many I see with the rhyme "One for sorrow, two for joy..." My mum also had a superstition regarding the giving of gloves, which apparently always means a parting. I still remember her sharp intake of breath one Christmas when she unwrapped a gift of gloves from her next door neighbour; and as it happens my father died the following year.
I have a friend who is currently giving a temporary home to a brand new pram for an incoming grandchild because it's considered unlucky to have the new pram in the house before the baby arrives.
I'm not very superstitious, though I do tend to think that things come in threes.
Yes, my mum was very intuitive, beware any girl friends who came round, under her baleful eye.
I don't carry out any known superstitions, but I do occasionally make up a few of my own. Like, for example, the order in which I do some things.
That's a good point. I have set routines, doing X then Y then Z, for no obvious reason. I think it helps me navigate the chaos.
I never cut my nails on Fridays or Sundays (probably superstition but by now long ingrained habit).
Working in engineering, your association of cutting nails with the term 'long ingrained' made me laugh!
One I actively disobeyed (like most superstitions tbh) was that wearing green at a wedding is unlucky. My bridesmaid wore green and we’re coming up to our golden wedding anniversary.
The superstition about magpies was because they mate for life and are usually seen in pairs, so one alone meant sorrow as they had lost their partner, whilst two was for joy (as per the rhyme).
I did not want my baby to have "the sight" and it's not what I wanted to hear at that moment!!
The midwife divided the caul, kept some for herself for luck, and gave us the rest as a lucky charm. However, I must have done something wrong because ours dried out and dessicated.
On the positive side, apparently if they realise a baby is coming out en caul, they summon every spare student to observe what is a fairly rare birth. The quinie fortunately appeared too quickly for any observers. If there was anything I would have liked less than being told my child had "the sight" it would have been her birth being watched by a room full of students!
ETA they would have asked for permission to have students present, and I know I would have agreed.
So—so far as you know, does she have the sight, or…?
The other superstition about being born in a caul was that this would protect the child against death by drowning. Dried out membranes were often taken by the midwives and sold to sailors who kept them as lucky charms against drowning.
I was told by an old warrant officer in the RAN that many years ago a “ Mother” tattoo on the arm was reputed to have the same protective function.
I was told that this would protect me from drowning - or was it that anyone possessing a piece would be protected from drowning? Apparently, for this reason sailors were eager to acquire one.
I had actually forgotten about having had a caul until I read this, but as I haven't drowned yet its power seems to have continued regardless, for 80 years
Although our portion of the caul dried and flaked away years ago, I assume the midwife was more clued up as to preserving her portion and still has it. I think she said it was her tenth caul.
Well OK then.
AFF
That is quite disturbing - but also the kind of thing that leads a researcher 200 years hence to be able to test if some physical parameter of newborns has changed due to society wide changes in nutrition, orclimate change or something.
I had to Google "en caul" and it said it affected about one in 80,000 births, so your midwife must have been busy ...
David Copperfield was apparently born in a caul, and it was sold to a sailor because of that superstition.