T.R | Title | User | Personal Name | Date | Lines |
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89.1 | black cats | CSSE32::PHILPOTT | The Colonel - [WRU #338] | Mon Mar 03 1986 13:44 | 6 |
| some superstitions are completely reversed from place to place.
For example a black (or white) cat is considered lucky in some
countries, and unlucky in others.
/. Ian .\
|
89.2 | Assorted Black Cats | PEN::KALLIS | | Mon Mar 03 1986 15:30 | 6 |
| re .1:
... Sometimes it depends upon the size of the black cat. :-)
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.3 | Anjellicle cats are black (and white) | USHS01::MCALLISTER | The Shadow Knows ... | Tue Mar 04 1986 15:59 | 7 |
| Actually, the black cat superstition says that if a black cat crosses
you, it's bad luck, but if he comes to live with you, it's good
luck. My neighborhood has an unusually large preponderence of black
cats, most of which seem to have adopted my garage as their new
home. Are adopted cats tax deductible?
Dave
|
89.4 | Superstitions = Cats? | SPECTR::DENHAM | Beam me up Scottie | Wed Mar 05 1986 11:54 | 1 |
| Perhaps this topic should be moved to FELINE.NOT :^)
|
89.5 | More superstitions | SPECTR::DENHAM | Beam me up Scottie | Wed Mar 05 1986 12:03 | 32 |
| Some other superstitions I can think of off the top of my head:
It's bad luck to spill salt. The bad luck can be counter acted
by throwing 3 pinches of the spilled salt over your left shoulder.
I suspect the origin of this comes from the middle ages when
salt was *very* expensive.
Grey cats are lucky.
Grey horses are bad luck.
If someone sweeps (with a broom) under your feet you won't get married
for another year.
Three times a bridesmaid, never a bride. This can be counteracted
by being a bridesmaid nine times.
The color that a woman wears when she gets married effects the
marriage. Poem follows, though I may have missed a few verses:
Married in white,
You've chosen all right.
Married in blue,
You know he'll be true.
Married in brown,
You'll live out of town.
Married in red,
You'll wish you were dead.
|
89.6 | Salt of the Earth.... | PEN::KALLIS | | Thu Mar 06 1986 11:09 | 28 |
| >It's bad luck to sipll salt. The bad luck can be counter acted
>by throwing 3 pinches of the spilled salt over your left shoulder.
> I suspect the origin of this comes from the middle ages when
> salt was *very* expensive.
Well, actually, the value of salt goes back prior to the Medieval
period; the word "salary" comes from sale ("sal") because the Roman
foot soldiers were frequently paid in salt rather than coin.
On the salt-over-the-left-shoulder: this could come from the following
-- a) salt is a good substance (it was a preservative), b) the
left-hand side was considered the "bad" side (e.g., seeking after
dark forces is called "taking the left-hand path" among practicing
occultists), and the number 3 was coonsidered both "good" and the
number used for a number of mystic things (there are other echoes
of this, such as the Rule of Three). [One classic dismissal spell
for ghosts in ancient Greece was to spit beans at them and say
"Begone!" three times; in Islam, a husband can divorce his wife
by saying, "I divorce thee," three times, etc.] Therefore, combining
the elements, and you use the "pure" but spilled salt as something
to direct against evil forces in a vestigal dismissal rite.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
P.S.: I copied the first line; there was no typo in the original.
-S
|
89.7 | blind beleifs? | CSSE32::NAIDU | | Thu Mar 06 1986 15:44 | 8 |
| Why is it considered bad luck for a bridegroom to see his bride
night before the wedding?
Why do people say "bless you" when someone sneezes?
What is the superstition of Black color associated with sorrow and
Red color associated with death?
|
89.8 | One Out of Three | PEN::KALLIS | | Mon Mar 10 1986 16:56 | 12 |
| re .7:
People say "bless you" because it was thought by some than when
you sneeze, your soul is momentarily spewed forth from your body,
and saying "bless you" will make sure nothing sinister takes up
residence before your soul can get back inside. Some notions of
possession were parents of this thought.
The other two superstitions I'll pass on.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.9 | sinister | LASSIE::TBAKER | My Karma Ran Over My Dogma | Wed Mar 12 1986 14:58 | 7 |
| RE: left (hand)
RE: .8 make sure nothing sinister takes up residence.
Sinister is the Latin word for left.
Tom
|
89.10 | Three On A Match | INK::KALLIS | | Wed Apr 30 1986 15:59 | 17 |
| Hmm. Nobody's used this note for a while. So, another one to start
the ball rolling again (one hopes):
"It's unlucky for three people to light a cigarette using the same
match."
Today, one might think it was because people holding the match would
get their fingers burned after three had lit up, but this isn't
the reason.
The one I heard was that during World War I, after dark, if three
soldiers bunched togther to share a match, the time involved for
three to get all their cigarettes lit was sufficient so that an
enemy rifleman could draw a bead on one of them.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.11 | How about a GOOD black cat story? | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Wed Apr 30 1986 16:52 | 17 |
| One interesting superstition I've heard concerns black cats. It's
not the typical bad luck that is supposed to occur when a cat crosses
in front of you. (BTW, it is supposed to be back luck only if the
cat crosses from the left--the "sinister" side.)
The charming one I heard, and which I used to comfort my sister's
collywobbles on her wedding day, is that it is extremely luck if
a bride sees a black cat on her wedding day, before the ceremony.
In my sister's case, she was resting with tea and toast in her friend's
bedroom before the ceremony, and her friend's black cat slunk out
of the closet and jumped into her lap. I assured her that this
was wonderful luck, and she clutched that cat to her for the next
hour.
PS. She and my brother-in-law are doing very nicely.
Marcia
|
89.12 | Purrr | INK::KALLIS | | Thu May 01 1986 09:28 | 21 |
| Re .11:
I don't want to transform this into FELINE.NOT; however, following
up on the black cat business:
In the _definitive_ and now, sadly, out-of-print cat book, _Tiger
In The House_, by Carl van Vechten, he pointed out that there was
a tradition that black cats were often assumed to ne unlucky unless
you happened to own one. Then they were good talismans, as exemplified
in this mini-short-story:
There was a little girl who had a black cat. One night while she
was carrying it, a ghost appeared in front of her. It regarded
her for a second and said, "Were it not for what you hold in your
arms, you would now become what I am." Then it disappeared, never
to be seen again.
Meows! [Two of my three cats are black, oddly enough.]
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.13 | Lucky in Black | GRDIAN::BROOMHEAD | Ann A. Broomhead | Thu May 01 1986 15:53 | 7 |
| In Japan, black cats are considered a sign of good luck.
My grandfather's Japanese colleagues were absolutely thrilled
to make the acquaintance of his cat, Satan, who was very
friendly, and who would do tricks for them on request.
-- Ann
|
89.14 | Was black, now blue | HUDSON::STANLEY | ASTRAl projectionist | Thu May 01 1986 16:15 | 4 |
| I have a black cat and he kept crossing my path, causing me bad luck.
I dyed him blue and now all my bad luck is gone. :-}
Dave
|
89.15 | A Scottish Fold? | INK::KALLIS | | Thu May 01 1986 16:30 | 6 |
| Re .14:
Was he a celtic cat? :-)
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.16 | And now for something completely different | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Thu May 01 1986 17:37 | 11 |
| This one has to do with crossing your fingers for good luck. The
variant I am familiar with is that you must cross ONLY the fingers
of the right hand. If you cross any fingers on your left hand,
you will get ill luck. If you cross fingers on both hands you cancel
out the charm you are trying to work with the right hand.
As a left-handed Capricorn, this wounds me deeply, but I must say
that I always keep my fingers crossed when a plane I'm travelling
in is taking off and landing. And I've never had a bad flight!
Marcia
|
89.17 | Different, and Differenter | INK::KALLIS | | Thu May 01 1986 18:08 | 15 |
| re .16:
It's okay to cross your fingers during takeoff and landing except
if you happen to be the pilot. :-)
Steve Kallis, Jr.
[For those who aren't pilots, the reason they can't is there aren't
enough fingers to spare for the job.]
Then there are jinxes, such as "Don't tempt fate," by making an
absolute assertion. This borders, however, on Murphy's Laws.
-SK
|
89.18 | Different "Three on a Match" | VAXUUM::DYER | Iceberg or volcano? | Mon May 05 1986 02:18 | 5 |
| [RE .10]: I always thought "three on a match" meant that
if something happened twice, it would happen three times.
For example, if two rockets explode on a liftoff, the third
one would too.
<_Jym_>
|
89.19 | Ah, Love . . . | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Mon May 05 1986 11:26 | 15 |
| Here are two charms the women can try if they're trying to snag
Mr. Right.
If you find your hem turned up, make a wish for the man you want
and kiss the turned-up portion of the hem before straightening it
out.
If you're wearing a pendant on a chain around your neck, if the
clasp of the chain should happen to work its way around to the front,
make a wish for the man you want and kiss the clasp before turning
it to the back again.
Here's hoping . . .
Marcia
|
89.20 | "What do you think I am? A Contortionist?" | INK::KALLIS | | Mon May 05 1986 11:44 | 7 |
| re .19:
I think it'd be easier to kiss a pendant clasp than an upturned
hem, particularly with some of the dresses _these_ days! :-)
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.21 | Not Three on a Match (for Ignition) | GRDIAN::BROOMHEAD | Ann A. Broomhead | Mon May 05 1986 13:38 | 6 |
| Re: .18
Nah. "Bad luck always comes in threes." is the superstition
you're remembering.
Ann B.
|
89.22 | From the far left | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Wed May 07 1986 18:02 | 10 |
| Did you know that in order to have your baking/cooking come out
well, you should only stir the batter/soup/etc. in a clockwise
direction? (I wonder if this one gets reversed south of the
equator?)
It is also considered quite unlucky to walk around a church in a
counterclockwise direction.
Marcia
|
89.23 | More on Baking | BISON::DENHAM | Springtime in the Rockies | Thu May 08 1986 21:55 | 4 |
| On the subject of baking, to keep a cake from falling bounce the
pan up and down three times before putting it in the oven.
Kathleen
|
89.24 | Medical Superstition | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Fri May 09 1986 13:23 | 6 |
| To make a wart go away, rub it with a penny, leave the penny someplace
and forget where you left it.
(I wonder--should I put this in the health notes file?)
Marcia
|
89.25 | Making relationships last | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Thu May 22 1986 12:30 | 8 |
| Does anyone out there do the "bread and butter" ritual? When you're
walking with a friend, lover, spouse, etc., if both of you detour
around opposite sides of an obstacle, one of you must retrace your
steps, go around the object again (this time on the other person's
side) and say "Bread and butter!" This is to prevent you from
quarreling or breaking up.
Marcia
|
89.26 | Roll 'Em Out! | INK::KALLIS | | Thu May 22 1986 15:53 | 11 |
| One sports superstition I read of once is that baseball players
believe it's lucky to see barrels before a game. According to an
essay on the subject by the late H. Allen Smith, one manager hired
a truck loaded with barrels to drive by the stadium before crucial
games to give the players a lift.
Of course, in the decade or so since the essay was published, this
might have changed.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.27 | More baseball stuff... | KELVIN::CGORDON | | Tue May 27 1986 16:39 | 8 |
| While we're on the subject of baseball superstition...
I've noticed that at the end of every inning, more times than not,
as the first baseman trots in toward the dugout, someone in the
dugout will toss him a baseball. Are there any baseball players
out there who can shed some light on this phenom?
|
89.28 | | PATOIS::HANAM | General Motors is in the army | Wed May 28 1986 10:54 | 4 |
|
The first baseman always brings out a ball at the start of an inning
to throw around the infield. They throw one to him on the way into
the dugout so that he's got one ready.
|
89.29 | Ribit! | INK::KALLIS | | Mon Aug 25 1986 17:52 | 6 |
| Re .24:
Does the person who finds the penny get warts?
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.30 | Doesn't _Anybody_ Else Have Any? | 24579::KALLIS | | Tue Sep 02 1986 10:18 | 8 |
| I read an interesting one over the weekend:
If you're single, if you fill your cheeks with water, you'll be
married within a year if you can walk completely around the block
and still keep the water in your cheeks.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.31 | This one takes the cake | 57428::BUTCHART | | Tue Sep 02 1986 11:23 | 9 |
| Re: .30
I can't _wait_ to tell that one to my single-and-desiring-to-be-
married friends.
How big (or small) a block does it have to be? Is there a "minimum
block" size?
Marcia
|
89.32 | Cakewalk | INK::KALLIS | | Tue Sep 02 1986 11:26 | 8 |
| Re .31:
I assume a block is something upon which there are buildings that's
surrounded by different streets. Outside of that, I've heard of
no restrictions.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.33 | who knows where they came from! | AKOV68::FRETTS | | Mon Oct 27 1986 16:14 | 20 |
| My family was great for having strange superstitions, and I think
they even made them up as life went along in order to explain any
"bad" luck they were going through.
The one that caused us the most tension was when my mother decided
to paint our kitchen light green. After that, whenever anything
went wrong for my father, he would blame it on "that @$&** green
kitchen!".
My paternal grandmother had another good one. Every new year's
eve after 12 midnight, no one was allowed to enter the house until
a dark haired male came through the door. This person had to be
a non-family member, so we would always go and drag the son of my
mother's best-friends over to grandma's so that the rest of the
family could come into the house.
Verrry strange!
Carole
|
89.34 | and black cats count, too... | USHS01::MCALLISTER | TARDIS Sales and Service Co. | Tue Oct 28 1986 08:18 | 8 |
|
re .33 ...dark-haired male
This is actually an old superstition, that if anyone but the above
is the first to enter your house on the new year, that they will
bring 'bad luck and unhappiness' with them.
dave
|
89.35 | More superstitions | MPGS::KELLEYP | | Wed Sep 16 1987 23:16 | 15 |
| I have a strange superstition that my mother recently told
me. She says it is bad luck to hang anything on a door knob.
I don't know the reasoning behind the superstition. Does anyone
know? I also heard one about when you find a penny...I used to
pick it up until one of my friends said it had to be head side up
for luck.
Anyone believe if your ears are burning someone is talking about
you? It's right for spite and left for love.
What about dropping silverware? Where does this one come from?
We say if you drop a knife a man will come to the door, a spoon
is a woman and a fork a group. The Irish seem to be notorious for
superstitions, my family is, that is!!
|
89.36 | | VINO::EVANS | | Thu Sep 17 1987 13:42 | 11 |
| RE: .35
Well, everything I hang on doorknobs seems to fall off. Most especially
clean clothes. I've stepped on/tripped over stuff like that so often,
I'm thinking of making it a superstition of my own! :-)
I, too, would love to know where the knife/fork/spoon thing for
visitors came from.
Dawn
|
89.37 | | MSTIME::RABKE | | Thu Sep 17 1987 15:02 | 4 |
|
If your nose itches,
someone is coming with a hole in their britches.
|
89.38 | more | DECWET::MITCHELL | Memory drugs: just say ..uh.. | Thu Sep 17 1987 17:27 | 10 |
| I know a guy who won't accept salt passed to him unless you set the salt
shaker down on the table.
In the Philippines they say that if a house lizard chirps over your door,
you will have a visitor. I have never known it to fail.
I admit to an aversion for the number 13.
John M.
|
89.39 | Anybody know why? | MRMFG1::C_SULLIVAN | Just another tricky day... | Fri Sep 18 1987 10:56 | 15 |
| My grandmother used to say it was badluck for you to put your shoes
on the table.
Does anybody happend to know why, (besides you getting a dirty table
;-)
Also, my father used to stock car race, and told me it was extremely
bad to have a green race car. I guess that's why the "Indy 500
ins't in Ireland :-O
CS
|
89.40 | | COOKIE::ZANE | Trithemius | Wed Oct 07 1987 15:21 | 26 |
|
My (ex)father-in-law is an artist who grew up in a Jewish village in
the Ukraine. One of his paintings, entitled Superstitions strangely
enough :^), depicted a number of Jewish village superstitions.
1) one was the black cat crossing your path
2) meeting a shiksa (non-Jewish woman) with empty buckets
3) a sow
4) things that were crooked -- house, lamppost, etc.
5) throwing a bit of straw over your left shoulder with your right hand
to ward off evil spirits
and a few other that I can't remember right now.
Except for the black cat and the sow (Jews are prohibited from eating
pork), does anyone know anything about any of the others?
Terza
|
89.41 | Train Tracks | BUFFER::SZYMANOWSKI | | Wed Oct 07 1987 16:45 | 9 |
| I remember a superstition that I learned in school that said while
in a vehicle (in this case, a school bus) crossing over train tracks,
always lift your feet off the floor and hold your breath until the
bus is over the tracks so that demons/evil spirits couldn't enter
your body through your feet. I assume that train tracks are rumoured
to be a passage way for demonic beings into the "upper world"--is
that true?
~WJK~
|
89.42 | Symbols? I've got symbols. | REGENT::BROOMHEAD | Don't panic -- yet. | Fri Oct 09 1987 13:50 | 11 |
| Well, a woman with empty buckets has the obvious symbolism
of a sexually receptive woman. So, a shiksa with empty buckets
would have the symbolism of trying to lure a man away from
Judaism with feminine wiles. Not lucky.
A sow is also an ancient symbol of Freya (in that part of the
world) as the Goddess of Death. Not something you want to meet.
The symbolism of crooked things is also plain.
Ann B.
|
89.43 | | ERASER::KALLIS | Just everybody please calm down... | Tue Feb 02 1988 12:38 | 11 |
| Well, on today of all days:
If a groundhog csees his shadow on February 2 after emerging from
his burrow, he'll go back in and there will be six more weeks of
winter.
I'll bet the idea behind this one is that if the groundhog doesn't
see his shadow, it's because it's cloudy, and things are likely
to be warmer when the land has overcast clouds above it.
Steve Kallis, Jr.
|
89.44 | Question? | 28713::MORGAN | Heaven - a perfectly useless state. | Tue Feb 02 1988 18:47 | 1 |
| Is Candlemass and groundhogs day always on the same day?
|
89.45 | Hmmmmm..... | DECWET::MITCHELL | Let's call 'em sea monkeys! | Tue Feb 02 1988 23:01 | 10 |
| RE: .44 (Mikie)
> Is Candlemass and groundhogs day always on the same day? <
Ohmygosh... Is today Candlemas? Seems to me that this day is observed
only by (very devout) Catholics and Satanists.
So tell us Mikie...
John M.
|
89.46 | The groundhog didn't see his shadow. | 28713::MORGAN | Heaven - a perfectly useless state. | Wed Feb 03 1988 02:40 | 13 |
| Reply to .45, John,
Candlemas is the Catholic name for the holidays Imbolg, Lady Day,
February Eve and Brigid.
Imbolg is more agricultural, Candlemas is more human inspiriation
oriented. Both have much to do with seeding of ideas and crops.
The holiday existed in many different cultures before the Catholics
decided to absorb it into their holiday scheme.
I was just wondering if groundhog day always occured on Cnadlemass.
There may be a connection.
|
89.47 | And if the ground hog lights a candle, its Candlemas... | GRECO::MISTOVICH | | Wed Feb 03 1988 12:58 | 14 |
89.49 | | DECWET::MITCHELL | Let's call 'em sea monkeys! | Thu Feb 04 1988 16:35 | 25 |
| RE: .48
> John M., why do you say only Catholics and Satanists celebrate
Candlemas (Imbolc)?? <
Because I didn't know about Imbolc. Note my quote (emphasis added):
"Ohmygosh... Is today Candlemas? *Seems to me* that this day is
observed only by (very devout) Catholics and Satanists."
Know what I just CAN'T STAND about pagans? They take every Christian holiday
and try to claim it as their own!
Hey, just kidding!!
BTW, Good Catholics take their household candles to church to be blessed
on that day. Hey... What do you get when a priest blesses a PAGAN's candles?
Blessed Beeswax. Hahahahahahaha!
John M.
|
89.50 | We baaaadddd.... | NEXUS::MORGAN | Heaven - a perfectly useless state. | Thu Feb 04 1988 17:22 | 4 |
| Reply to .49, John,
That's right, we bad, we gonna' steal every holiday in the
neighborhood. B^) B^).
|
89.51 | :^) :^) | SSDEVO::YOUNGER | Calm down, it's only 1's and 0's | Thu Feb 04 1988 18:01 | 3 |
| Re .50
Yea, all but Grover Cleveland's birthday.
|
89.52 | Groundhog Day | LNKUGL::KACHELMYER | David Kachelmyer | Thu Feb 04 1988 20:33 | 34 |
| RE: Groundhog Day
I looked this up in my trusty EOET (Extraordinary Origins of Everyday
Things) and discovered some interesting things about Groundhog Day.
This folklore originated with 16th Century German farmers. The
legend was that if a Badger emerged on a sunny day and was frightened
by {his/her/it's} shadow back into hibernation, then farmers should
refrain from planting crops, since there would be another six weeks
of winter weather.
The change from badger To groundhog resulted from German immigrants who
setteled in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (85 miles N.E. of Pittsburg) in
the nineteenth Century. The area had no badgers, but did have hoards
of groundhogs, which the German immigrants conveniently fitted to their
folklore.
At Punxsutawney's lattitude, the groundhog emerges from it's
hibernating burrow in February. If they'd settled a few states
south, the groundhog would have been out and about in January.
In the upper Great lakes region, the cold weather keeps 'em in until
around March. Thus, it was the lattitude at which the German
Immigrants settled that set Groundhog Day at Feb 2.
It's interesting to note that the groundhog's accuracy in forecasting
the coming of Spring is around 28% (observed over a period of 60
years).
It's also interesting to note that the elements that actually determine
a groundhog's behavior, when it emerges, are hunger and sexual arousal.
If the groundhog's appatites are dulled from his winter sleep, he'll
return to his burrow for a six-week snooze. However, if he's hungry
and horny, he'll be out and about, looking for a mate and a meal.
|
89.54 | So *THAT'S* why! | CLUE::PAINTER | Imagine all the *people*.... | Fri Feb 05 1988 12:02 | 9 |
|
Re.52 on groundhogs and biological functions....
Good one Dave!
Sorta takes the mystery out of it though. Whatever will all those
groundhog watchers do from now on? (;^)
Cindy
|
89.55 | The astronomy behind Groundhog Day (& others) | NATASH::BUTCHART | | Tue Feb 09 1988 13:07 | 46 |
| Just more tidbits of information about the seemingly peculiar timing
of seemingly peculiar celebrations...:-)
In these New England climes, one might well say on good ole Groundhog
Day "It's all _uphill_ from here??" After all, here, winter lasts
til mud season, which lasts until the two weeks two weeks of spring
we experience before the Summer Solstice.
The measurement that marks these holidays is the sun's seeming progress
from north to south and back again, the phenom caused by the 23
degree tilt of the earth's orbital axis. This apparent
north-to-south-to-north-etc. travel is called the sun's declination.
At the Solstices (in December and June) the sun reaches its
southernmost and northernmost declinations.
At the Equinoxes (in September and March) the sun crosses the equator,
with the effect that days and nights everywhere are of equal length.
These four astronomical reference points divide the year into its
four major "seasons" that we call winter, spring, summer and fall.
Each season is said to begin on the equinox (spring/fall) or on
the solstsice (winter/summer).
The midway points between a solstice and an equinox are called the
cross-quarter days; halfway between two points, they can be said
to represent the season at it height, at its fullest. They occur
when the sun is half-way between 23 degrees and 0 degrees declination
(around 11 - 12 degrees). They tended to be times when the
ancients either celebrated because a difficult season (like
winter) was now on its downside, and/or mourned because an easier
season (like summer) was passing on.
Around Feb 2nd is one of those cross-quarter days; it is midway
between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox.
Around May 1st is the midway point between the Vernal Equinox and
the Summer Solstice.
Around August 1st is the midway point between the Summer Solstice
and the Autumnal Equinox.
Around Oct 31st/Nov 1st is the midway point between the Autumnal
Equinox and the Winter Solstice.
Marcia
|
89.56 | the solstices and equinoxes are *moving* | SSDEVO::ACKLEY | Aslan | Tue Feb 09 1988 14:10 | 20 |
| Precession of the equinoxes (wobble of the earth's pole)
changes what day is the solstice;
Christmas *used* to be on the solstice.
Dec 31 or Jan 1 was the solstice a few centuries earlier.
It shifts a day, in somewhat less than a century.
One full cycle of the precession of the equinoxes takes
approximately 25,800 years. Divide this by 365.25 days, and
that says it takes about 70.6 years for the equinox and solstice
points to move a full day. Multiply by 30 days to get about
2100 years for them to move through an entire astrological sign.
Christmas was three days from the solstice this year, and
would have been the actual solstice around 210 years ago.
"New Years" day is ten days from the solstice, and would
have been the solstice more like 700 years ago.
Alan.
|
89.57 | mirrors, buttons, and gloves | NAC::L_WILLIAMS | | Wed Feb 10 1988 13:37 | 9 |
| How about mirrors? You break a mirror and you get 7 years bad
luck. Yesterday I discovered that the mirror I keep in my purse
was broken! 7 years.......... such a long time..........
And buttons? you button your shirt, blouse, or coat etc. in
the wrong buttonhole and you will have a bad day.
And gloves? you drop your glove. Someone else has to pick
it up for you or you'll have a bad day.
|
89.58 | funny, haha... | JJM::ASBURY | | Wed Feb 10 1988 13:42 | 13 |
| re .57
> How about mirrors? You break a mirror and you get 7 years bad
>luck. Yesterday I discovered that the mirror I keep in my purse
>was broken! 7 years.......... such a long time..........
I heard a segment of a routine by Stephen Wright, comedien...He
said something like "Broke a mirror yesterday. Should get 7 years
of bad luck, but my lawyer thinks he can get me 5..."
;-)
-Amy.
|
89.59 | 7 to 21, no time off for good behavior! | GRECO::MISTOVICH | | Thu Feb 11 1988 11:55 | 10 |
89.60 | | 5691::PARE | What a long, strange trip its been | Thu Feb 11 1988 15:39 | 3 |
| Mary,
Have you ever considered buying one of those steel mirrors?
Mary_too_:-)
|
89.61 | Groom shuldn't see bride. | XCELR8::MCCONNELL | | Mon Feb 15 1988 10:42 | 9 |
| My wife did a paper on superstitions(sp), and the reason that the
groom shuldn't see the bride is that the Devil will find out who
the man is marring and steal her away. Thats also why she wears
a veil. They had a brids maid and best man to confuse the devil
as to who is getting married.
Steve M.
|
89.62 | | DECWET::MITCHELL | Let's call 'em sea monkeys! | Mon Feb 15 1988 16:05 | 8 |
| The devil must be awfully stupid.
The bride is the one with the sly smile.
The groom is the one sweating.
John M.
|
89.63 | Rats and Superstitios Behavior | GENRAL::DANIEL | If it's sloppy, eat over the sink. | Wed Mar 09 1988 16:39 | 31 |
| Ms. Scientific here, with today's report on What Is Superstitious
Behavior, as put forth by the same dudes who brought you Depressed
Dogs in Shock Therapy!!
The proverbial "They" hooked up electrodes to rat's brain's pleasure
centers. The original reason for the tests was to determine extinction
of behavior; if, upon pressing a lever to receive stimulation to
the pleasure center, the rats received consistant reward (i.e.,
the "buzz" went off every third time they pressed the lever, or
every other time, et cetera), would their behavior of pressing the
bar, extinguish more quickly, or more slowly, than another group
of rats who received inconsistant reward (i.e., the "buzz" went
off twice in a row, then not for three presses, then once, then
not for a press, then three times, et cetera)? In addition to the
results sought (which showed that the rats with inconsistent reward
kept pressing the bar long after the "buzz" was stopped, while the
rats with consistent reward stopped pressing the bar much sooner
when they realized the thrill was gone), they found a *surprise*!
The group who got inconsistent rewards performed the act of pressing
the bar in addition to other behaviors, i.e., they would walk in
a circle before pressing the bar, or jump twice; the experimentors
concluded that, because a rat had randomly performed the behavior
before a successful bar press, the rat thought that the behavior
was part of what had made the press, successful.
What rodents won't do for a high...
Meredith
ps - I put this story somewhere else in here, but deemed it appropriate
for this topic, too.
|
89.64 | HEARSE CURSE !!!! | SEQUEL::HUSSIAN | I love warm rainy days | Wed Jul 20 1988 14:01 | 4 |
| Has anyone ever heard the one about if you see a HEARSE (The car)
you hold a button until it is out of sight?
DAWN
|
89.65 | which one?? | USAT05::KASPER | Life is like a beanstalk, isn't it... | Wed Jul 20 1988 14:52 | 5 |
| RE: last one (Dawn)
The hearse of the button :')...
Terry
|
89.66 | This one! | SEQUEL::HUSSIAN | I love warm rainy days | Thu Jul 21 1988 13:23 | 9 |
| RE: (TERRY)
If you see a hearse, hold a button (on your clothing) until
the hearse is out of sight.
Is that what you were asking? Hope it helps.
DAWN
|
89.67 | "Give us back our eleven days!" | LYCEUM::CURTIS | Dick "Aristotle" Curtis | Tue Jan 10 1989 19:16 | 9 |
| .56:
If you're considering dates prior to 1582� you really should take
Pope Gregory's calendar reform into account.
Dick
� -- on the Continent; England didn't make the adjustment until some
time in the 1730s or '40s, and Russia did it in 1917.
|
89.68 | more info? | SSDEVO::ACKLEY | Mediumfoot | Wed Jan 11 1989 09:42 | 8 |
| RE: .67
Do you have a list of calendar reforms then? I don't, but
it would be interesting to see, if you could tell us more than
just the year of the reform, but also what the changes were when
the calendars were changed.
Alan.
|
89.69 | Re. shoes on the table | COMICS::BELL | Chaos warrior : on the winning side | Mon Jan 14 1991 08:18 | 14 |
|
OK, another old note which most people probably don't read but anyway ...
.39> My grandmother used to say it was bad luck for you to put your shoes
.39> on the table. Does anybody happend to know why, (besides you getting
.39> a dirty table ;-)
I heard this as being unlucky to put _new_ shoes on the table. The reason
given was that it was a sin of pride [ to display your wealth blatantly ]
so you're bound to be punished soon after. (Wonder if this applies to the
yuppies who leave their brand-new BMW posing on the drive while their
old slug-mobile is safely tucked up in the garage ? :-)
Frank
|
89.70 | Egyptian Gender Bender | FABSIX::K_KAMAR | | Mon Mar 11 1996 12:14 | 17 |
89.71 | | WRKSYS::MACKAY_E | | Mon Mar 11 1996 12:50 | 15 |
|
Such practices to "protect" the infants from evil spirits were
and still are rather common in the other cultures. Some cultures
do not give their baby names until 1 year old (hoping that evils
would know of the newborn), some cultures used jade/amber/gold/
silver/herbs/feng sui to fend off the evils. Infant mortality rates
were very high before we had vaccines for smallpox, TB, polio, measles,
and etc. (my grandmother had 12 children and only 5 made it through
all these childhood diseases); thus parents did everything they could
possibly think of (not knowing why babies died) to "protect" their
babies.
Eva
|
89.72 | | WRKSYS::MACKAY_E | | Mon Mar 11 1996 12:51 | 6 |
|
oops typo in .71
It should say "hoping that evils would not know of the newborn"
|