From the article: Polish Christmas Customs, Traditions and Recipes
Eastern Europeans are a superstitious lot. We believe in omens, fortune telling, and old wives' tales. Some are bizarre and some are laughable and some, have actual basis in fact. In my Polish family some of the old wives' tales I grew up with were that if a bird landed on a home's windowsill, there would be a death in the house. Likewise, if you didn't see your shadow at the Christmas Eve wigilia table, you wouldn't live out the year. When silverware dropped on the floor, it meant company was coming -- a man if it was a knife or fork, and a woman if it was a spoon. What are the old wives' tales you grew up with? Share Your Tales
Wear Red to Guard Against Jealousy
- Wear a small red ribbon, that can be hidden, so some people will not look at you with jealousy.
- —Guest Helen G
Eye of the Herring
- Whoever is lucky to get the head of the herring with the eye will find their true love in the coming year.
- —Guest rozybon
Eat Pork But Never Chicken on New Year's
- Eat PORK on NEW YEAR's and you shall live HIGH on the HOG all year. Eat CHICKEN and you will be SCRATCHIN' for MONEY all year!
- —Guest connie vedrinski fortune
Eat Pork for Good Luck in the New Year
- ...same tradition in my Czech/Hungarian family -- roast pork was our New Year's dinner.
- —Guest hugh
Left Leg
- When you get up in the morning you should get up first with your left leg to have a good day.
- —Guest Guest GM
Corner of the Table
- If a young girl sits at the corner of the table, they say that she will never get married.
- —Guest Guest GM
Cata in cribs
- Do not let a cat near a baby sleeping in a crib or it will jump in and smother it
- —Guest Gzrebian
Friends= Enemy
- Becareful who your friends are and who you like because they might become your enemy
- —Guest Amidou
Old wives tale
- Put a coin in a purse or wallet that you give for a gift.
- —Guest Kedi
Old wives tale
- Leave by the same door that you entered, or it would be bad luck.
- —Guest Kedi
Herrings and Silver
- On New Year's Eve, as midnight strikes, you are to hold a silver coin and eat herring. This will bring prosperity to the family.
- —Guest Joanne Maffenbeier
Black Crow
- I've heard an old wives' tale that if a black crow would fly in an open window it means someone in the family would die. Well, a month before my 92-year-old father died in 2005, a black crow DID fly in through an open door. The crow cawed a bit in my direction then flew out the same door he came in. I thought of the omen at the time and my father did die a month later in June 2005. Go figure.
- —Guest Jeanette
Flowering Trees
- If a flowering tree bloomed a second time later in the year, there would be a death in the family soon. It seems a lot of these tales concerned death. We're a Lithuanian family.
- —MarieTD
Men First!
- The first person to visit a house on New Year's Day had to be a male in order to bring good luck to that home. My mother would insist that my brother and father be the first ones to enter with "Happy New Year" greetings. Women came in last.
- —BestGram
Dropped Silverware = Company's Coming
- In my Polish family, whenever silverware dropped on the floor, it meant company would be showing up soon. If a knife or fork fell, we could expect a man. If a spoon fell, for sure it would be a woman!
- —Barb.Rolek
