Black Cats & April Fools - Origins of Old Wives Tales and Superstitions in Our Daily Lives. Harry Oliver

and Norsemen believed that nightmares were brought about by a mara, an evil fairy-demon creature that would ride on the chest of sleepers at night, holding them by the hair, having the knots and metal bolts of shoes next to the sleeper’s bed were probably reasonable precautions.

      New clothes at Easter

      Wearing new clothes at Easter is a tradition that also contains a bit of superstition in it. It was thought that failing to wear at least one new item of clothing on Easter Sunday would bring bad luck. This belief has both a practical and a symbolic origin to it. The practical origin is connected to the fact that in many places people observed Lent by wearing the same outfit during the entire forty days (or at least it was considered sinful to buy new clothes during that period). The symbolic reason is that Easter is a time of regeneration for the Earth after the death of Christ: as a time of renewal it was the ideal moment to purchase a new outfit, for the poor perhaps the only outfit they would own until the next year.

      Aprons

      If a woman’s apron comes untied, this is a sign that her sweetheart is thinking about her. Other versions of the superstition simply state that ‘somebody’ is thinking about her. This superstition only dates back to the early nineteenth century, and its origins are unclear, although there are two possible explanations. The first is simply connected to the slightly sexual idea of untying a woman’s apron, perhaps something the presumed lover would like to do; the second, which is less modern, is connected to the idea that knots in clothing were used against witches and spells. That a knot comes untied of its own accord suggests that a spell has been cast on the woman, removing her ‘defences’ – though she may not be that eager to keep up such defences in the first place.]

      Gloves

      It is considered unlucky for a person to pick up his or her own glove if it falls to the ground. One should wait for a friend to pick it up instead. When the glove is returned, it is recommended not to say ‘thank you’, as a final precaution against bad luck. Some sources assume that this superstition originated in medieval times when ladies used to make the gesture of dropping gloves for their knights to pick up as a sign of romantic interest. There seems to be little evidence for this connection in written records, and the superstition only begins to appear in accounts dating back to the early twentieth century. To drop a glove in medieval times was actually a gesture of defiance and challenge, anticipating a duel if the challenged person chose to pick up the glove. Perhaps having a friend pick up the glove and return it is a way of neutralising the bad feeling that could come from a ‘challenge’. Much like the superstition surrounding scissors and knives, which requires a person to pay a symbolic amount for those sharp objects (see page 223), friends who are given a pair of gloves as a present are supposed to pay the donor a symbolic sum to prevent any bad feelings from harming the friendship. It is supposed to be unlucky to lose a pair of gloves, not only because one’s hands will consequently be cold, but also supposedly because the gloves could fall into the hands of witches. It is, instead, considered very lucky to find gloves in the street, especially on Sundays when such an occurrence is an omen of a great week to come.

      Hats

      It is considered extremely unlucky to put a hat on a bed or on a table. A hat on a bed announces a death to come. This superstition may have come from a time when doctors paid home visits to patients. If a patient was very seriously ill, the doctor would be rushing to his or her bedside and would not have had time to take his hat off upon entering the house, which was the normal polite thing to do. He would more likely take the hat off at the patient’s bedside, perhaps only once he became aware that there was nothing left to do for his patient. A hat on the table is unlucky for the same reasons that shoes on the table are unlucky: a combination of hygienic concerns and fear of being disrespectful since the table is like an altar within the home. Another superstition surrounding hats, which has now fallen out of use, concerns their use in church for women. It was considered very unlucky for a woman to take her hat off in church. This probably stemmed from the belief that a woman’s hair would tempt men attending the service to be distracted by desire and lose sight of the holy thoughts and words they aimed to encounter during the service.

      Underwear

      A strange superstition says that if a person is having a bad day they can make the day better by turning their underwear inside out. The origins of this superstition are unknown and puzzling and, although some men in the throes of bachelorhood have been reported to turn their used boxer shorts inside out before stepping back into them, it seems this is motivated by laziness and lack of alternative underwear rather than a desire for a change in fortune! If a single woman borrows underwear from a married woman, this is supposed to ensure she will get married within the year.