Never on a Friday.
Men have done many strange things for the sake of luck
not only was the ship called the Friday, but its keel was laid on a Friday and, for good measure, it was commanded by a captain Friday. The British Admiralty had decided to expose the absurdity of one of the Royal navy's most cherished superstitions -that Friday is an unlucky day. Their plans might well have worked. But on its maiden voyage -on a Friday -the ship disappeared with all hands. no trace was ever found.
The Admiralty has consistently denied that this story is true, but their denials are unimportant; generations of British seamen have accepted every word of it. for superstition cannot be overcome by logic. In many cases, it is a survival from those primitive religions in which men worshipped the wild elements in the pious hope that they might help him in his struggle for survival.
For instance, touching wood for luck reflects early men's belief that every natural object -a tree, for example -was inhabited by a particular God. the significance once attached to fire and ironLingers on today with the carrying of a piece of coal or a small replica horseshoe as a good luck charm.
Just spill salt meant misfortune, because for centuries it was the only means of preserving meat in the winter.
To primitive peoples, the home needed to be blessed with kindly spirits. The focal point was the hearth, the parts of the house where, according to the Romans, household gods lived. In Western Europe, the Fireplace, or England Nook was thought to be the home of the brownies and other fairies who brought good luck to the household. Some even thought they helped with the chores.
It was unwise to offend the fairies. In their attempts to appease the spirits, Housewives in the Western Isles of Scotland would leave part of the fire burning in the hearth to keep the fairies warm through the night.
When a family moves to a new home, it is still traditional in some parts of Britain To take the embers from the old fireplace and burn them in a new one. House warming parties are the development of this custom.
Kitchen folklore
superstition also dominates a woman's work in the kitchen. Some Housewives believe a meal will be spoiled if the food is stirred ‘widdershins’ - that is, against the Sun's course. in order not to offend hence and so to stop them laying, no eggshells were thrown on the fire.
No implement has more superstitious connections than the knife. Made of iron, it was thought to be a protection against the evil of many kinds. This may stem from a time long ago when people armed with weapons of stone or bronze were easily overcome by sharp-edged in apparently magical swords of iron.
Another belief is that if two knives are crossed on a table. A quarrel is indicated unless the second person uncrosses them.
There are many superstitions about bread. It was thought disastrous if bread did not rise in the oven, for it was believed the devil lurked inside unrisen and bread. For this reason, a cross was cut at the top to help the bread rise and also to let the devil out. But when cutting bread, it was considered foolish to slice off both ends of a loaf, as the devil would be able to fly all over the house.
Even the table has superstitious significance. If a white cloth is left on a table during the night the household will soon Need a shroud.
Above all, never allow 13 people to sit down to eat at the same table. This superstition is generally associated with the Last Supper, when 13 were present, including Judas, Christ betrayer.
But the belief is older than Christianity. In Norse mythology, 12 gods were feasting when the spirit of strife Loki appeared and provoked a quarrel that ended in the death of Baldur coma the favorite of the gods.
outside the house, further dangers lurk. One of the most widely known superstitions is the one about not walking under a ladder in case a tool or a pot of paint falls from above. But the reason is far older than that. Anyone walking between the ladder and the wall was breaking the triangle -the early Christian symbol for the Trinity.
another theory on the origin of the latter superstition suggests that it was once associated with the gallows. One method of hanging was to turn the victim of a ladder so that he dropped under the ladder to the rope's end.
Chickens and fouls generally have long been regarded as reliable guides to what fortune holds. The Romans were frequently consulting their entrails, but self-confidence seemed to have a lot to do with consulting a foul. On one occasion, an ancient Greek Admiral was told by his soothsayer that the holy foul had refused to eat, which was a bad omen. He replied tartly: “well, let us see if they will drink.” he tossed the lot overboard, engaged the enemy, and won a resounding victory.
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