Superstitions Surrounding Babies

In one way or another, since the dawn of mankind, superstitious beliefs have touched all of our lives. And whether or not we actually believe any of those often repeated “old wives tales”, superstition still has the power to make us stop and think…just to be on the safe side. After all, those beliefs have been handed down from generation to generation, century after century, so there must be some truth in them – must there not?

As children we are told that finding a four-leaf clover in a field will bring us good luck, crossing our fingers while making a wish is sure to make it come true and an “apple a day” will the keep the doctor away.

But even before we are born, safe and secure in the womb, superstition is rearing its mysterious head and affecting our future lives; or so our ancestors strongly believed not too long ago.

There can be few adults in the world that have not heard the saying that if a pregnant woman is carrying her child high it will be a girl, and conversely if carried low a boy will be born. Interestingly, there is also another belief on the same theme. If the child is born while the moon is rising it will certainly be a girl. But beware! If that child is born at midnight, it will have the ability to see ghosts!

However, the expectant mother could, by following a couple of tried and tested customs, ensure that the infant would be a boy or girl as desired. By placing a knife under the mattress a boy would certainly born, and by substituting this for a frying-pan a girl would be delivered. While on the subject of the “birth bed”, it is worth noting that the pain of childbirth would be eased considerably by the simple act of placing an axe on the floor beneath the bed.

Once the confinement was over, and the child safely born, there were further rituals that our superstitious forbears felt obliged to adhere to. It was customary to stroke the newborn infant with a rabbit’s foot. Because rabbits are born with their eyes open, it was thought that the animal possessed special powers; and this, combined with its powerful hind legs – which touch the ground before its fore legs – gave the animal an almost magical status. However, to own a truly lucky rabbit’s foot, it would have to have come from an animal that had been killed by a cross-eyed person at the time of the full moon.

During the Middle-Ages, it was an extremely important matter to ensure that the newborn baby sneezed as soon as possible after its birth, as any evil spirits inside its small body would be expelled with a sneeze.

Sneezing, throughout the 1600’s in England was, amazingly, taken as a sign of being healthy. So healthy in fact, patients were discharged from hospital after they had sneezed three times in succession.

Our ancestors were so afraid that nail parings could fall into the wrong hands, thereby putting the child in mortal danger, that it was common practice for the mothers of babies under one year old, to chew off the fingernails of the infant concerned. A practice that was still fairly widespread up until the 1960’s.

There were chiefly two reasons for this custom. Firstly, and probably most importantly, people were afraid that if a witch gained possession of the parings they could be used in some magical potion or other, or to cast an evil spell bringing untold doom and destruction upon the child and its family. Secondly, if the fingernails were cut and not chewed off, the child would grow up to be a thief!

So, if you are unsure whether or not the power of superstition has any real basis in fact, it may be worthwhile considering this Roman belief to help you to decide. ‘If you sneeze while making a decision – your choice will be the right one’.

Good Luck!

The Grisly Murder of Sweet Fanny Adams
Britain’s First Railway Murder
Exploring The English Village Churchyard
London’s Unique Funeral Railway

The Intriguing Origin of the ‘Little Jack Horner’ Nursery Rhyme.

                                                                                           *****************************

If you can write a clear, straightforward article like the one you have just read…then you could make money!

Or, if you enjoy writing fiction, taking photographs, writing poetry, producing short videos, songwriting etc., and wish to have your work published with the possibility of making an extra income from your talent, simply click here now

The site is totally FREE to use and totally FREE to publish your work.