Here are superstitious beliefs around the world on Christmas.
• A child born on Christmas Day will have a special fortune.
• A blowing wind on Christmas Day brings good luck.
• Wearing new shoes on Christmas Day will bring bad luck.
• Place shoes by your side on Christmas Eve to prevent a family quarrel.
• To have good health throughout the next year, eat an apple on Christmas Eve.
• A clear star-filled sky on Christmas Eve will bring good crops in the summer.
• On Christmas Eve all animals can speak. However, it is bad luck to test this superstition.
• If you refuse a mince pie at Christmas dinner, you will have bad luck.
• Good luck will come to the home where a fire is kept burning throughout the Christmas season.
• In Greece, some people burn their old shoes during the Christmas Season to prevent misfortunes in the coming year.
• There is a game in Germany where they blindfold a goose. The girls make a circle around the goose and whoever it touches first will be the first to get married.
• Place a branch of a cherry tree in water at the beginning of advent. It will bring luck if it wears flowers by Christmas.
• A loaf of bread left on the table after Christmas Eve dinner will ensure no lack of bread in the next year.
• Tie wet bands of straw around fruit trees to make them fruitful, or tie a stone to a branch on Christmas Eve.
• Never launder a Christmas present before giving it to its recipient as this takes out the good luck.
• Eat plum pudding on Christmas and avoid losing a friend before next Christmas.
• In Ireland, it is believed that the gates of Heaven open at midnight on Christmas Eve. Those who die then go straight to Heaven.
• If you eat a raw egg before eating anything else on Christmas morning, you will be able to carry heavy weights. Shout “Christmas Gift”’ to the first person knocking on your door on Christmas Day and expect to receive a gift from the visitor.
SOURCE: Funfare contributor Leo Udtohan | December 25, 2010
