Thursday, March 26, 2009

Signs and Superstitions

We are in a blizzard warning. The forecast yesterday was for 20 inches and has declined during the day until about 5 inches are currently expected. However, the 40 mph wind will make it seem like more. The forecasts have been driving me nuts with the changes. My daughter's family had planned to come tonight on their way to a funeral in Colorado Springs. Well, the Springs is actually getting a pretty big storm so the whole trip was cancelled. I'm disappointed, but it was a wise choice.

Can you imagine living 150 years ago with no advance warning? You might have known there was going to be snow, but how would you anticipate the severity of the storm? I imagine there might be signs that they watched for. Do you know what they were? My husband's Granny Cecil believed if you saw a black wooly worm you were in for a hard winter. Her name was Celia Marcella, but her brothers called her Cecil. She was extremely superstitious. She'd go blocks out of her way to avoid a black cat. She always went out the same door she entered by. To do otherwise, would be bad luck. She wouldn't let me thank her for the gift of a plant, that would cause it to die. She would never give you a knife for a gift because it would cut your friendship. If your hand itched, you were going to get some money. Have you heard of these? Are you superstitious?

5 comments:

Nancy said...

Supposedly, if coins were taped to the knife blade, then the recipient knew you did not mean them any harm or ill-will.

My mother could tell if a storm was coming by watching for sundogs or halos around the moon. The animals also were restless a couple of days before a storm.

Vonita said...

our good ol' friend Arther Itis lets us know when a storm is brewing.
I didn't realize Cecil was so superstitious. I learn something new every day.

Anonymous said...

Many of mother's friends thought that thanking you for a plant would cause it to die. Funny, they would always tell me, "I am not going to thank you for the plant!!!"
Hope you have a safe weekend. The wind and snow sound terrible. Take care.

Anonymous said...

Wow, all these old superstitions are so interesting. I've heard of some of them but not all of them. Like Vonita, I didn't know Cecil was superstitious. Also didn't know Cecil wasn't her real name. Fun post!

June said...

The only "custom" I can think of to which I adhere . . . and I don't know if it qualifies as "superstition" or not . . . is that I never give a wallet or purse or a savings bank without a coin already inside.

I know people who cannot smell snow coming on the air. Country people can, even now. I imagine in the old days, when weather was so much greater an influence, people's senses were attuned to that kind of thing.