So, you’ve made the deal.
Your shiny new home or that mortgage-covered condo is at last yours and you’re all set to move in, bag and baggage.
But wait—not so fast.
Before you step over the threshold (itself a potential disaster area) you should put one finger over another to form an X. In doing so, you will be forming St. Andrew’s cross and thereby giving your dreams a better chance to come true.
Moreover, in crossing the threshold, be sure to put your best foot forward. That means the right foot, which, legend tells us, ensures that any evil spirit accompanying you will be left outside.
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Superstition—traditional beliefs that certain actions or events—often are viewed as irrational or involving the supernational. It is universally the case when faced with something people don’t understand they will turn to freakish or fickle notions.
Maybe you’re not superstitious. You don’t view black cats as your nemesis, you don’t worry about walking beneath ladders. Broken mirrors? Nah!
Maybe you don’t go in for the little quirks that some people have about their domiciles.
In that case, you might scoff at the following data:
A number of superstitions in Southern West Virginia are centered on the entrance, notably the threshold or the door itself.
Farmers and city folk alike often scoff at superstitions because they believe them to be unscientific. Many scholars, however, are of the opinion that at least some superstitions do have a scientific basis.
In the old days, for instance, the English administered a tea made from foxglove plants to treat patients with some form of heart disease.
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Today, physicians often prescribe digitalis, a drug made from diced leaves of the purple foxglove, for patients with weak hearts.
Another widely held belief is that a horseshoe nailed above the door brings good luck. But this shoe must be nailed with the ends pointing up; otherwise, the good luck will spill out.
The origin of the horseshoe superstition is, as with so many bits of folklore, shrouded in mystery. But one source attributes it to the legend of St. Dunstan.
Dunstan, the archbishop of Canterbury in the late 10th century, also was an expert farrier (shoe-er of horses).
It seems that Satan, disguised as a horse, appeared at Dunstan’s door demanding to be shod.
The good saint saw through the ruse and hogtied that old devil, releasing him only after he swore never to enter a home with a horseshoe over the door.
A likely story, some may say. Yet many homes still mount a horseshoe over the entrance—just in case—and it is not unheard of for people to receive a genuine horseshoe as a housewarming gift.
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Whatever else you do, it’s wise to carry a ripe tomato when you first enter your new dwelling. Place it on the mantelpiece to ensure prosperity. If there is no mantelpiece, you can place the tomato on the windowsill, where it is equally effective.
If you’re allergic to tomatoes or don’t hold with such nonsense, you can still invite good fortune into your quarters. Hang a few garlic cloves somewhere inside your place.
They reputedly will discourage visits from evil spirits and also are said to be a powerful dis-infection that will kill disease germs. (The vapor from the oils in garlic—which some people call “Russian penicillin”—does indeed kill some bacteria, according to medical researchers in Europe.)
If garlic is too strong a folk medicine for your taste, you may safely substitute an onion. We have the Egyptians to thank for this ancient counterpart of today’s commercial sprays that kill household germs.
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A few other superstitions are rather interesting include the following:
One of my former editors always put her left sock and left shoe on first. A neighbor always sleeps with his head pointing North.
When we were kids, we were told to “always hold your breath” when passing a graveyard (probably because people once believed that spirits could enter through the nose or mouth), as well as “never open an umbrella indoors.”
Keep bats out of your house to prevent bad luck. Who likes bats anyway?
Never kill a ladybug. They were believed to bring farmers good luck since they eat crop-damaging insects.
Don’t pick up a “tails up” penny.
And, by all means, avoid stepping on a crack, or you’ll break your mother’s back.
Meanwhile, back at the threshold, you will do well to sprinkle a few grains of salt on it before stepping over. This little stunt is said to be effective in keeping witches and other evil spirits from invading the place, according to some folklorists and superstition enthusiasts.
In some parts of Europe, salt—not a tomato—is the first thing brought into a new home.
But among the most enduring customs concerning the threshold is that a new groom must carry his bride over it when they enter the home for the first time. This practice may be traced to ancient Rome, where the threshold was sacred to Vesta, the virgin goddess.
Hence, it was an ill omen—offensive to the goddess—if the bride fell or tripped over the threshold on first entering the new dwelling.
Obviously, it’s not politically correct to dwell on such matters today, inasmuch as no superstition has addressed the problem of the groom’s falling or stumbling over the threshold. Apparently, he’s on his own.
And as is the case with many superstitions, there is no clear explanation as to how rabbit’s feet came to be so widely seen as lucky. That notion may be associated with growth and prosperity because rabbits are perceived as being especially fertile, energetic, and independent—but the specific practice of carrying a rabbit’s foot may actually stem from a mix of sources. No one knows for sure.
Some commonplace superstitions seem to ensure that a person will pass from one stage of life to another.
- A bride and groom will have bad luck if they see each other before the ceremony on their wedding day.
- A pregnant woman must eat the right foods or she will give her child unwanted birthmark (which, on the surface, sounds like good advice for the wrong reason).
- After a person dies, the doors and windows so that the deceased’s spirit can leave.
- A newborn baby must be carried upstairs for being carried downstairs, ensuring that the child will rise in the world and become successful.
- Be sure to put money in a purse or wallet being given as a gift, ensuring that the recipient’s purse or wallet will always contain money.
- Never start a trip on the 13th day of the month, especially if it falls on a Friday.
Finally, some superstitions foretell events without requiring action on the part of the person involved.
Believe in them or not, superstitions are here to stay—and they will play a part in our everyday life cycles as long as we seek to control the uncertainties of the future.
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Top o’ the morning!