Bad Luck – Salem Happenings

With Christmas only two weeks away, I figured it was a good time to discuss some of the superstitions surrounding the holiday. As a result, if you’ve ever wondered why we hang mistletoe, where this Krampus guy came from, or why some people feel it is necessary to give gifts to carolers, then you’ve come to the right place.

9. Mistletoe: It is bad luck to refuse a kiss from anyone that has asked you for a kiss while you’re standing under mistletoe.
Origin: There is some question as to exactly when the association between mistletoe and kissing first appeared, but there is no question that mistletoe has been associated with fertility since ancient times. In fact, the Ancient Celts believed that mistletoe could be used in a number of rituals to cure infertility and strengthen the body. This belief stood the test of time quite well, as the idea that mistletoe could somehow make people healthier was extremely popular throughout the Middle Ages. However, it wasn’t until the mid-1800s (long after people started to use mistletoe to decorate their homes) that the working class of England started to use mistletoe in an interesting game.

You see, kissing games like spin the bottle are not actually a new thing. They have been around for quite some time, but the way that society views these games has changed drastically over the years. Originally, kissing games were seen as an acceptable form of courtship or, in other words, a way for two people to get to know each other a little better without getting themselves into too much trouble. As a result, these games were typically viewed as harmless fun, and many people believed that they might even help young people find their future spouses. Kissing games were extremely popular during the Victorian period, which took place from 1837 to 1901, and it should, therefore, come as no great surprise that a plant that had long been associated with fertility, vitality, and all of the other things that go with those attributes, would become the perfect excuse for a kissing game.

10. Krampus: While Santa brings gifts to children who have been good around Christmas time, Krampus comes to punish children who have not been very nice.
Origin: Krampus has been growing in popularity very quickly in the United States and the world as a whole. In fact, Krampus has appeared in artwork, cartoons, comic books, movies, video games, television shows, and a whole lot more. However, even though Krampus is suddenly becoming a mainstream phenomenon, the legend of Krampus has actually been around since at least the 1600s and creatures like Krampus can be traced all the way back to ancient times. Enkidu in the Epic of Giglamesh, the beast that King Nebuchadnezzar becomes in the Book of Daniel, the Devil himself in virtually every depiction, and a number of other similar figures that resemble beasts or wild men have regularly been used as a means of frightening people into behaving in a certain manner.

Krampus is, of course, no different, as this hairy, devil-like beast with horns and hoofs originally started as a counterpart to St. Nicholas who would deal with all of the children that didn’t deserve gifts. The people of Austria, Italy, Germany, and many other alpine nations regularly told their children to behave or Krampus would steal them away in the night and commit no end of horrible acts to them. These stories were eventually incorporated into widespread parades and celebrations that carry on to this day. These celebrations, known as krampusnacht or Krampus Night, take place on December 5th (the day before the Feast of Saint Nicholas) and feature people dressed up as devils, wild men, and all manner of evil creature. Yet, even though these celebrations and the legends of Krampus began centuries ago, Krampus is becoming ever more popular as more and more people disenfranchised by the over commercialization of Christmas look for alternatives to some of the more traditional celebrations.

11. Carolers and Gifts: It is bad luck to let a caroler or a group of carolers leave without first offering them a gift.
Origin: Christmas caroling has existed in one form or another since the time of the Roman Empire, but the tradition of giving gifts to carolers didn’t actually appear until the mid-1800s. During the reign of Queen Victoria (also known as the Victorian period), it became a common practice for small groups of people to go wassailing by singing or, in other words, go door-to-door singing in order to spread good cheer and wish their neighbors well (wassailing has existed for millennia, but singing wassailers weren’t very common until the 1800s.)

However, some of the neighbors that these carolers sung to felt that they had to give the carolers something to reward their kindness. As a result, many neighbors began to share some of their food, drink, or money with the carolers as a way to pay for their songs, and this eventually became a tradition. In fact, the song “Here We Come-A-Wassailing” is actually about this tradition and the carolers’ hope that they may receive a gift in exchange for their good wishes. The idea that it is bad luck to let a caroler leave without a gift is ultimately based on this tradition, and it is very similar to the idea of stiffing a bellhop, a valet, or another similar individual who might consider you to be a cheapskate.

Want to learn more about superstitions and their origins? Check back next week for the final part of 13 Superstitions and Their Origins!

Photo credit: ekelly89 via Foter.com / CC BY

Works Consulted

“Christmas Superstitions.” Superstitions Online. Superstitions Online, 13 Dec. 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Cooper, James. “The History of Christmas Carols.” whychristmas?com. James Cooper, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

“Who’s Krampus? The XMAS Devil.” Krampus.com. Krampus.com, 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Oloffson, Kristi. “Christmas Caroling.” Time Magazine. Time Inc., 21 Dec. 2009. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Christmas carol.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Krampus.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Mistletoe.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 4 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Ritual of oak and mistletoe.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 24 Aug. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Victorian era.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 9 Dec. 2015. Web. 10 Dec. 2015.

Have you ever heard of a Christmas Crow? Well, if you haven’t, don’t worry. You’re not alone. In fact, I had never heard of a Christmas Crow until I started researching superstitions for this series. However, there is in fact an interesting superstition (if you can call it that) related to crows and gifts, and if you would like to know more about this superstition and some of the other superstitions surrounding these black-feathered creatures, all you have to do is keep reading.

6. Crows and Gifts: Some people believe that if you feed a crow and treat it kindly, the crow will actually reward you by bringing you small gifts (especially around Christmastime.)
Origin: It’s not completely clear when the association with crows and gifts first appeared, but it is most likely a modern development. In fact, while some ancient cultures believed that crows were divine messengers, most cultures did not view crows in a very favorable light (see the other two superstitions in this post for more on the reputation of crows.) However, there were some cultures, including the Ancient Greeks, which believed that crows and ravens could actually bring good luck, and this belief may have served as a foundation for the “Christmas Crow”.

The belief that crows will actually reward you for being kind to them is probably a more recent development though because there is no clear reference to crows giving gifts before the late 1900’s, and the association between crows and gifts appears to have really taken hold within the last 5 to 10 years. Yet, the strangest thing about this superstition and the thing that really has given it a life of its own did not occur until this year because the truly bizarre thing about this “superstition” is that it may actually be true. Research has indicated that the American Crow is an extremely intelligent animal that has a fascination with shiny objects and the ability to distinguish different humans from one another based on their facial features. As a result, it wouldn’t be a problem in the least for a crow to pick up some shiny objects and bring them to a human that had been kind to the crow in the past. In fact, it has actually happened.

You see, an 8-year old girl in Seattle, who used to regularly drop her food on the ground outside by accident (like most young children) acquired quite the fan club. A group of crows that really liked all of the food that she dropped began to wait around her house for her to come home so that they could eat any food that she spilled. Eventually, the young girl, enjoying the attention from her newfound friends, began to deliberately feed the crows on a daily basis, and the crows became so attached to the young girl that they would leave a shiny bead, an earring, a piece of metal, a polished rock, or another similar trinket each time they took the food that the girl left. The most amazing thing, however, is that the crows actually recovered a camera lens cap that the young girl’s mother lost in an alley across town, washed the lens cap in the bird fountain, and left it for the young girl and her mother to find.

7. Crows and Bad Luck: A single crow is considered to be bad luck (especially near a church), but more than three crows is considered to be an extremely bad omen. In fact, some believe that the closer the crows are to your home, the more likely it is that someone near you is about to die.
Origin: Crows have been considered to be the harbingers of war, death and darkness since ancient times. In fact, the Celts, Danes, Greeks, Romans, Swedes, and just about everyone else thought that these black birds were bad luck and a sign that death was on its way (either due to the belief that the crows were a bad omen or due to the belief that they were the very servants of death themselves.) A lot of the fear surrounding crows comes from the fact that crows are hard to see at night (they have dark colored feathers after all), and they’re not very picky about what they eat. This is because crows are actually a carrion bird, so they have no problem eating something whether it is alive or dead and decaying. As a result, their rather creepy eating habits, their dark appearance, and their tendency to eat the crops of hardworking farmers have earned them a reputation as creatures of death and disaster.

8. The Crow’s Caw and Murder: A single crow flying over a house, a single crow inside a house, or a crow cawing is considered to be a sign that someone nearby may be about to suffer a violent and/or unexpected death, especially if the cawing seems to be coming from far away.
Origin: As I mentioned above, crows have been associated with death since ancient times largely because of their dark appearance, their somewhat unusual taste in food, and the level of devastation they can cause to crops and livestock (which may, in turn, lead to the death of the people the farms serve through starvation.) However, the crow’s association with murder actually arose sometime during the 15th century when a number of scholars began to create specific terms to describe specific groups of animals. The term used to describe a group of crows was actually a murder, and while the exact origin of the term is unknown, it was probably related to the crow’s reputation as a harbinger of death. According to the Word Detective, the origin of the term may have also been related to the level of intelligence that crows have shown as they are considered to be incredibly intelligent animals capable of using tools, capable of using past experiences to anticipate behavior, capable of recognizing specific humans by their facial features, and capable of communicating their past experiences to other crows at a later time by cawing. If there were ever an animal (other than a human of course) with the skills necessary to carry out a murder, it would be a crow.

Dying to learn more about superstitions and their origins? Part IV of 13 Superstitions and Their Origins will appear next week!

Photo credit: wolfpix / Foter.com / CC BY-ND

Works Consulted

Morris, Evan. “Murder of Crows, etc.” The Word Detective. Evan Morris. 22 Feb. 2009. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Nosowitz, Dan. “Seattle Girl Befriends Neighborhood Crows, Making Bird Lovers Everywhere Jealous.” Audubon.org. National Audubon Society, 2 Mar. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Sewall, Katy. “The Girl Who Gets Gifts from Birds.” BBC News. BBC. 25 Feb. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Wikipedia contributors. “Corvus (genus).” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 3 Dec. 2015. Web. 4 Dec. 2015.

Tag: Bad Luck

Superstitions and Their Origins: Part IV

Superstitions and Their Origins: Part III