The Christmas season is rich in superstitions. The whole period from the beginning of Advent, through the day itself, and especially throughout the twelve days (and nights!) between Christmas and January 6 or Epiphany are, in a sense haunted, a time when spirits are afoot and behavior is hemmed in by restrictions upon normal activities. Recently I stumbled upon a good collection of these folk beliefs in a volume from 1903 entitled Encyclopaedia of Superstitions, Folklore, and the Occult Sciences of the World: (And subtitled, A Comprehensive Library of Human Belief and Practice in the Mysteries of Life). The book’s contents are indeed as comprehensive as that title, and from their section on Christmas, I’ll be sharing some of the more interesting examples.
The show closes with a recording of a song sung by costumed Swiss holiday figures known as Silvesterchläuse. In the hinterlands of the Canton of Appenzell-Ausserrhoden, the se Silvesterchläus, groups of men and male youths wearing huge bells and ornate costumes, go door to door to offer seasonal blessings and sing songs like the one you will hear.
Swiss SilvesterchläuseThe post Christmas Superstitions appeared first on Bone and Sickle.
Witches, Healers, and Hex Cats in Old Pennsylvania
Nero: Myth and Monster
Marvelous and Rare II
Mermen and more Marvels of the Northern Seas
The Kraken and Other Marvels of the Northern Seas
Bees: Gods, Death, and Honey
Medusa and the Gorgons
The Lover’s Head
Waxworks
A Christmas Ghost Story
Terrible Tales for Terrible Tots
The Hellish Harlequin: Phantom Hordes to Father Christmas
Witchcraft in Southern Italy
Halloween Bonus Episode
Spook Shows
The Gibbet, Hanged in Chains
Marvelous and Rare
Gallows Lore
The Frankenstein Method
Bottled Spirits: Imps, Devils, Ghosts
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Irish Songs with Ken Murray
History Obscura
Historycal: Words that Shaped the World
The Rest Is History
Lore