~~~~~~~~~~~ HAPPY SAINT PATRICK’S WEEKEND ~~~~~~~~~~~
Be thankful, be grateful, be patient, be charitable, be kind, and don’t forget to smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America and our Military!
Being of predominantly Irish descent, you might expect me to be superstitious—after all, Irish culture is known for its wide array of superstitions, both good and bad. Unfortunately, many of them are negative! For example, placing shoes on a table is considered bad luck. If you see a single magpie, you should brace yourself for sorrow; it’s best to hope you see two, as that’s a good omen. Accidental misfortunes, like killing a robin or breaking a glass, can also lead to trouble, and throwing salt over your shoulder won’t necessarily help. You might end up scratching your nose or looking for a fight—or both!
On the other hand, if you’re a woman and a knife falls on the floor, or it happens to be a Leap Year, it’s said to be your lucky time to attract a man! So, powder your nose and get ready; you might just be in luck!
So, if you’re on your way to answer that door, make sure your shirt or blouse isn’t on backwards, and for gosh sake, don’t break the entryway mirror by accident. Now, if you hear three knocks and you have a wooden door, especially, and no one is there, and it’s followed by the wail of a curlew, then the scream of the banshee. You must have been a naughty person who entered a fairy fort or sat too long under a fairy tree. You’d better hope your piece of bread either has a cross on it or that you go pray to Our Lady of Knock and use holy water to cast out any evil spirits.
Oh, don’t forget to leave the house by the same door you entered, as that’s not good either. I might add not to let the door hit you in your arse on the way out, as it’s a sign that you really ticked someone off, usually identified by an itching nose. Well, that covers the majority of the major ones, that is, unless you whistle while out walking at night or stare by candlelight into a mirror too long! Then it’s up to you to figure that one out. However, if you happen to hear tapping of a small hammer on leather and can catch the wee fellow doing the hammering and get his pot-o’-gold, you could be into some luck as long as you let the little fellow go and not touch the gold! It also makes them happy to leave some milk on your doorstep and a spot of Irish Elixir to ward off those cold nights!
Well, that pretty much covers the Irish superstitions, and I am sure every ethnicity has more of its own. Most Irish households, however, keep plenty of salt, some well-placed relics or blessings scattered about the home, and of course, something for rheumatism, or in the event you get a terrible thirst, a Guinness or two!
I, however, for the most part, like most true Republic of Ireland descendants (aka Catholic), do keep a bible, a cross or two with an Irish blessing, and a bottle or two strictly for medicinal purposes, of course, as you never know when the rheumatism is going to act up. Well, no matter what your ethnicity or country of origin here in the good old USA, everyone on March 17 celebrates being Irish. Who knows, you just might have a bit of the green Celtic blood running in your veins, as we Irish tend to travel and get around after all!
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