Folk-Lore of West and Mid-WalesDavies, Jonathan Ceredig
History
Folk-Lore of West and Mid-Wales
Davies, Jonathan Ceredig
Folklore -- Wales; Wales -- Social life and customs
It is considered unlucky by many to shake hands across a table;
and when two people are shaking hands, if two others of the company
attempt to shake hands across their hands it is a very unlucky sign.
It is considered unlucky by some to baptise more than one child in
the same water. There is also the same superstition respecting one
man washing after another in the same water.
In Cardiganshire, it is believed that he who dies on Sunday is a
godly man.
Mr. Eyre Evans, Aberystwyth, informed me that he has just come across
some people in Montgomeryshire who consider it unlucky to pick up or
carry white stones in their pockets; and it seems from Sir John Rhys,
that Manx Fishermen do not like to have a white stone in a boat.
Curious Belief about Salt.--When people remove into a new house it
is customary to take a bar of salt into the building before taking
in any of the furniture. This is supposed to secure good luck.
When this salt ceremony is forgotten or neglected, some people,
especially women, are very much perturbed.
I have discovered that this curious old belief about salt is very
common at present in the towns of Aberystwyth, Carmarthen, and Tenby,
and other parts of West Wales.
To spill salt denotes quarrels. To serve another person with salt,
is to serve him with sorrow.
When a white spot appeals on the nail of one of our fingers it means
a present.
Never stir the fire in anybody's house unless you are a friend of
seven years' standing.
To break a looking-glass signifies ill-luck for seven years.
To put the bellows on a table is considered unlucky. There is also
the same superstition about boots all over Wales.
Never mend your clothes while you are wearing them.
If you see a pin pick it up to insure good luck.
There is a saying in Welsh "Gwell plygu at bin, na phlygu at ddim," (It
is better to bend down for a pin, than to bend down for nothing.) It
seems that a needle, however, is not considered so lucky; for I once
overheard a woman who had quarrelled with her neighbour telling her
husband that her neighbour and herself were friends before she had
given her a needle.
If a bramble clings to the skirts of a young lady some one has fallen
in love with her; and the same is said of a young man when his hat
goes against the branches of a tree.
Welshpeople believe that those who have cold hands are very
warm-hearted; hence the saying "Llaw oer a chalon gynes," (A cold
hand and a warm heart).
Two spoons in a saucer denote a wedding, or according to some that
you are to be married twice dining your lifetime.
In West Wales it is considered unlucky to eat herring or any kind of
fish, from the head downwards; and in order to ensure good luck the
proper way is to eat the fish from the tail towards the head. This
superstition is also known in Cornwall.
If in making tea you forget to replace the lid on the teapot, it is
the sure sign of the arrival of a stranger.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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