It’s January – the month of diets, resolutions, exercise and
much too much quiet after the holidays.
It seems a good time to offer up some of the advice from my childhood.
I grew up in the ‘burbs of Cleveland, home of many nationalities,
especially from Eastern Europe. Both my
parents were of Polish decent and my best friend’s parents were of Slovak
descent. I never much thought about the
sayings, expressions and old wives’ tales that were repeated throughout my
family and hers until my husband, Bruce (who hails from about 57 different
nationalities) started to comment that he had never heard such sayings and thought we
were just a bit superstitious. I’ve
endured many odd looks over the years, but I love these old sayings and, in an effort
to bring you good luck in the new year, I happily share my favorites with you:
- Get a new broom for the
house around New Year’s Day to make a clean sweep.
- Don’t eat chicken on New
Year’s Day or you’ll scratch for money all year. Eat pork and sauerkraut and you’ll prosper.
- If you are having bad luck
at cards, get up and walk around your chair and your luck will improve.
- If you say the same thing
at the same time as someone else, the first person that says “you owe me a
beer” doesn’t have to pay for the next beer.
- Green cars are unlucky.
- If you drop silverware, it
means that “company is coming!” A
fork is a guy, a spoon represents a woman and a knife is trouble. The utensil will point in the direction
from which they’ll travel.
- Knock on wood for good
luck.
- Always leave a building by
the same door that you entered.
- When a woman is pregnant,
she shouldn’t eat a lot of sour foods or the baby will have a sour
disposition.
- You can get sick in any
month that has an “R” in the name.
- To grow old gracefully you must start when
you are young.
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