
Other baby related superstitions I found out when I was pregnant with my son included the one that says you can't have a pram in the house before the baby is born. In my family this extends to anything for the baby which makes planning and shopping in advance really difficult. We got special dispensation from my Mum to have some baby things otherwise our son would have spent his first 24 hours naked and with no means to travel home.
My family have some odd superstitions that I can't explain with any certainty - all I can admit is that I continue to follow them even though no one is checking.
Washing (clothes and hair) cannot be done on a Thursday. I used to avoid Tuesday as well and some Indian families include Saturdays in the ruling, but I have no idea why. I mostly observe the rule for Thursday, except when my son has vomited all over his sheets and clothes on a Wednesday night and I'm afraid needs must.
Another household chores related ruling is the no hoovering after dark. This may be a common sense reason like you can't see the dirt so well, but I suspect it's far more voodoo than that.
One my Naniji told me that is pretty specialist is you can't store a handbrush handle side down against a wall. the long sweeping brushes they use to clean houses in India don't stand that well so it may be a common sense one again or it might be something to do with dirty side facing down.
My Dad is adamant about this one - if you sneeze as someone is leaving the house they have to come back home and wait a few minutes before they can leave. He is also deadly serious about not calling someone by name as they are leaving and properly loses his temper if you do this to him.

I once bumped into a lad from school holding his collar and he told me he'd just seen a hearse and he had to hold his collar until he saw a cat or something. I don't do this one, but I still remember it.
My point is don't tell me a superstition - I have enough of them to worry about already and frankly they take up far too much room in my brain.
Thank you :o)
My nan used to say it was bad luck to be superstitious, bless her! We always counted to ten backwards and spun round when ever we saw one magpie. I've had to stop that now - it scares people.
ReplyDeleteIf you lived here you'd be permanently dizzy from spinning round so much !!
ReplyDeleteNans are great aren't they ?
I miss mine xx
There are flocks of them round by me, hence I've had to stop doing it. It is quite fun tho, spinning round till you feel sick!
ReplyDeleteYeah miss my Nan too. Mad as a box of frogs she was!! xx