Introduction
We like
to believe that we are original people who come up with new and unique ideas.
We think that we invent so many ideas, traditions, and customs; however, people
have walked the earth for over fifty thousand years, therefore many of these
have been around for a very, very long time. Most of the time, we are just
recycling or morphing traditions from a different culture or time period into
the culture we have today. Because our life span is so short, we often fail to
realize the origin of traditions we take part in each and every day. It also
never really occurs to us to think about the superstitions or traditions we
uphold— we do them without question because they are the “norm.” Many of these
traditions in our cultures grow out of superstitions— some that are still
practiced today, and others that are dead or beginning to become a thing of the
past.
According
to the Oxford English Dictionary, superstition is “a widely held but irrational
belief in supernatural influences, especially as leading to good or bad luck,
or a practice based on such a belief.” People follow superstitions for their
own individual reasons, perhaps because it is what they have learned from the
previous generation, and therefore is “right,” or maybe because it gives the
person a way of explaining events or actions that are otherwise unexplainable.
For as long as humans have been able to record aspects of their culture,
superstition has been prevalent and accepted among the people of Scotland.
Class has not affected superstition in Scotland. For centuries, the rich and
the poor have believed in the same superstitions. Some superstitions in
Scotland are specific to a region, while others stretch from the border of
England all the way up to the coast of Caithness and the islands in the north.
The Scottish might believe in superstitions because of the mysterious Scottish
landscape. The ocean waves crash eerily against the shore, the glens fill with
mist, and the lochs lay still and murky— adding to the magical yet creepy feel
of the land. It is easy to believe in “powers” that can affect lives.
Scottish
superstitions about objects are still very prominent today. They have spread
and morphed and snuck their way into other cultures and changed as the people
have changed. Even though people today do not necessarily believe in these
superstitions, they are still practiced out of tradition. Traditions that we have
today can be traced back to superstitions in Scotland, some of which go back
thousands of years. These object superstitions have influenced modern Scottish
culture and nestled their way into customs and traditions in other places
around the world as well. There are also many aspects of culture today that are
similar to old superstitions.
It is
important to preserve superstitions about objects because they reveal so much
about the people of a specific culture. From reading and hearing about
superstitions from Scotland, you can get a much better sense of the people than
when you read about them in history text books. Superstitions, because many are
unexplainable, are also much more interesting!
Beltane
Beltane,
or Bealltainn, was an ancient Gaelic festival held on the first of May to
celebrate the coming of summer. It was believed that during this time, it was easier
for spirits to cross into our world. Huge bonfires were lit, and people would sit
around the fire and eat cake that was specifically made for the festival.
Torches were lit around towns and farms. These rituals were supposed to bring a
good crop season. Today, Beltane is still celebrated. Since 1988, a Beltane
Fire Festival has been held in Edinburgh which draws thousands of people and
involves hundreds of interactions with objects. Huge bonfires are lit, cakes
are eaten, instruments are played, and goods are sold by vendors. “Up Helly Aa”
is the Shetland celebration of Beltane, which has been celebrated every year
since 1880, with the exception of during the years of World War I, World War II,
and 1901 because of the death of Queen Victoria. Each year, over 1,000 torches
are lit for Up Helly Aa. Beltane isn’t
just celebrated in Scotland. The festivity has spread worldwide— there is even
a Beltane festival held each year at the Center for Symbolic Studies in New
Paltz. This celebration draws out over one thousand people each year!
Samhain
Samhtheine,
or samhain, which translates to “the fire of peace,” was a druidical festival
held on October 31st, halfway between the autumn equinox and the
winter solstice. It was believed that during this night, just like during
Beltane, the veil between different worlds was thinner and it was easier for
ghosts to cross into our world. Sprites, fairies, witches and other creatures
enjoyed playing tricks on this night. In order to keep their farms protected
from mischief, farmers would surround the borders of their farms with lit
torches. Today in America, Halloween is celebrated and children dress up in
costumes— many of them dressed like the magical creatures that are supposed to
play tricks during this night. Americans also hang lights outside their homes for
Halloween, which is quite similar to the torches put out by the farmers long,
long ago.
Scissors
It is
normal for superstitions to be about common household objects, since these
objects were easily available to the people of Scotland. When handing scissors
to somebody else, you must hand them holding the blade yourself, otherwise you
may cut the friendship between you and the person that you are handing the
scissors to. If you drop a pair of scissors, it is bad luck to pick them up
yourself— you must have somebody else pick them up for you. If you receive a
gift that is sharp, such as scissors, you must give the person who gave you the
gift a silver coin in return. This is because it is believed that the sharp,
gifted object could sever the friendship between the two people. The coin
functions almost like you are “paying” for a part of your gift, and therefore
it will not cut your friendship. Today in many countries, children in school
learn to pass scissors to each other by holding the blade, so that the other
person can grab the handle of the scissors and not get hurt. This could be
simply for safety, but it could have stemmed out of Scottish superstition about
severing a friendship. In addition, many superstitions were about safety (such
as it is bad luck to sleep with your head under a beam). This may have been
because superstitions encouraged children to listen more willingly than when they
were simply told not to do something. Even if scissors are only passed this way
for safety today, it still follows the Scottish superstition. And who knows,
maybe if this superstition was introduced to America, children would be more
careful when handling scissors? Giving a silver coin in return for receiving a
sharp gift is still practiced in certain regions in Scotland today. If somebody
does give a coin in return today, it is usually a pleasant surprise for the
receiver because many people forget about this superstition.
Handselling
Handseling,
as defined by the Scottish National Dictionary, is “'A gift bestowed to commemorate an inaugural occasion, event
or season, e.g. the beginning of the year, the first visit to a friend's new
home or the commencement of a new undertaking, the wearing of new clothes,
etc., with the idea of bringing good luck to the recipient”. When a baby
is born, family and friends put a piece of silver in the baby’s hands the first
time they see him or her. It is thought that doing this will allow the baby to
be fortunate and never go without money in his or her lifetime. How the baby
receives these coins placed in his or her hand is very important. If the baby
grabs the coin tight, he or she will be stingy with money. If he or she lets go
of the coin quickly, he or she will love spending money. It is often very
enjoyable for the family to joke about how their child will be with his or her
money as they watch the handselling. The practice was extremely common in the
1950s, and was practiced for hundreds of years before that. Proof of this lies
in Robert Burn’s There
was a Lad, which makes reference to hanselling after birth
with the line “Twas
then a blast o' Janwar' win' / Blew hansel in on Robin”. Burns lived from 1759-1796, so the superstition was
around during that time. Today, it is a
typically a fifty pence piece that is placed in the child’s hand. In Margaret
Bennett’s book Scottish
Customs from the Cradle to the Grave, she records hanselling events
taking place in Lilliesleaf in 1990 and in Dundee in 1992. The two women whose
babies had been hanselled commented on how it was still quite a common
tradition in Scotland to bring the baby fortune in the future. Hanselling can
be related to children receiving pocket money, which was usually given in
coins. For many years, children receive money from their parents to keep them
from having no money, just like how handselling happens so that the baby will
never be without money. Up until recently, pocket money was given to children
in coins because this was what was available. Now, our money is shifting away
from coins and changing into either paper bills or an electronic card. Although
handselling is still common today, it may die out in the future simply because
silver coins may not be around.
First Footing on
Hogmanay
First-footing
is another type of handseling. In the New Year, Scottish people “first-foot”
one another, which means to be the first into somebody else’s home. The
first-footer must bring a gift into the home to bring good fortune for the
coming year. It is even luckier if the person bringing the gift has dark hair
instead of fair hair. This most likely developed because of the fair-haired
Vikings invasion of Scotland in the 8th century (therefore, a
fair-haired person would bring you bad luck in a first-footing). When
first-footing, if you gift a lump of coal, the home will be warm for the whole
year. First-footing still happens today in Scotland, with common gifts being
whiskey, shortbread, and chocolate. Many people in countries around the world
also bring gifts to each other’s houses when they first see each other in the
New Year, although it does not always have a specific name and it is not
necessarily to bring good luck. In Scotland, first-footing is still very common
and although most people don’t fully believe in the superstition, it is still
done because it is entertaining!
Teeth
Today,
we are very familiar with the tooth fairy who leaves us money under our pillows
in exchange for our teeth. Usually, the tooth is put in a small container
hidden under the pillow. This highly resembles an old Scottish superstition
about lost teeth that is supposed to bring a child good luck and strong teeth.
The first tooth that a child lost was to be carefully rolled up in a sheet of
paper lined with salt and hidden in a hole made by a mouse. This specific
superstition is not carried out today, but there is no doubt that it inspired
some of the specifics about the tooth fairy!
A
superstitious ritual was also performed for teething babies. A “teething
bannock” was made— in silence— from oatmeal, butter, and cream. When it cooled
and hardened, the teething child would play with it until it broke. A small
piece of the bannock was then placed in the child’s mouth, along with the
mouths of everyone else in the room. It was believed that teething pain would
disappear almost instantly. Although this is no longer made today, cultures all
over the world use teething rings to soothe a child’s gums when he or she is
teething. These teething rings serve the same function as the bannock.
Umbrellas
In
Scottish superstition, it is terrible to open an umbrella inside someone’s home
because this will bring bad luck to the family who lives there. This may have
come from when umbrellas were used as parasols for protection from the sun.
Opening an umbrella inside may have been seen as insulting to the sun, which
was considered to be like a god by the Druids in Scotland thousands of years
ago. This also may have come from Roman superstition, from when the Roman Empire
invaded England, since the Romans also held this superstition about umbrellas.
Although the Romans only conquered as far north as Hadrian ’s Wall, their
culture could have travelled much further north, and therefore impacted various
regions in Scotland. This superstition is very much alive today, probably
because we’re constantly using umbrellas! It is a common superstition all over
the English speaking world. In America, it is generally said that opening an
umbrella indoors is bad luck; however, most of the time it is not specified who
the bad luck will fall upon. In Scottish superstition, it only falls upon the
people who live in the home where the umbrella was opened, even if the umbrella
is opened by someone outside the family.
Howdies
A howdie,
an archaic Scottish term for a “handy woman”, is a midwife and the person who
looks out for the soon-to-be mother. She makes sure that certain rituals
concerning superstition and pregnancy are carried out. Before the baby is born,
the howdie unties all knots in the mother’s clothing and unlocks all the doors
and windows in the house to ensure the birth has no complications. She turns
over all the mirrors in the house so that the baby’s soul will not be captured
by evil spirits and gives the mother a Rowan berry herb concoction. The Rowan
berries are from the sacred Rowan tree, and are therefore believed to provide
protection against mischievous fairies and the Evil Eye. After the baby is
born, the howdie pours whiskey into the baby’s mouth to protect the baby from
these two predators. In addition to this, every woman who is present during the
birth must take three spoonfuls of oatmeal in order to bring the baby strength
and good luck. These superstitions were carried out until the mid-1900s. Today,
women who are close to the soon-to-be mother often help to care for the mother
when she is having a hard time. Herbal and homemade medicines are still quite
common today. These good friends who support the mother and baby are much like
howdies because they provide support to the mother and the baby.
Cradles
Fairies
in Scottish superstition love to play tricks. It is believed that they will
often try to swap a newborn human baby with a fairy baby (called a “Changeling”).
Until a baby gets baptized, it is at risk of being stolen by the mischievous
fairies. Therefore, a baby’s cradle should be made from rowan or oak and be put
together with iron nails. These materials provide protection to the vulnerable
child. Although we have other materials such as plastic, many baby cradles are
still made out of wood, or have a wood-like appearance. This could be preferred
by parents because it may have been what they had as children; therefore, they
may be following the superstition without even realizing it. Cradles for a baby
were often borrowed instead of bought new (for protection for the baby and good
luck). This is not an uncommon practice in Scotland today. There are very different
superstitions about rocking an empty cradle. One Scottish rhyme goes, “If you rock the cradle empty,
then you will have babies plenty.” However, others believed that rocking an
empty cradle was a terrible thing to do and could lead to the death of the
child. Another superstition says that if you rock an empty cradle it will bring
you another baby. A superstition like this could be completely different
between two adjacent towns. Many of these superstitions regarding objects for
babies were still quite popular in Scotland as recently as fifteen years ago.
People in certain regions of Scotland today are still wary of rocking an empty
cradle.
The Wedding Day
Wedding traditions involving object
superstition have survived better than all other object superstitions. This may
be because wedding days are all about following traditions. White heather is rare
in Scotland and very lucky— it is said that it only grows atop the final
resting place of fairies. Because it is so lucky, men would have a sprig of
this flower in their buttonhole and women would have it squeezed into their
bouquets. This is still done today, and now that the American prom tradition
has made its way into British culture, it is not uncommon for girls to have a
sprig of white heather glued into their corsages.
Horseshoes have been considered
lucky for hundreds of years. It was seen as lucky for a horseshoe to be
involved in the wedding in some way. Horseshoes were carried open side up so
that good luck could be caught. It was also common for a horseshoe to be sewn
into the hem of the bride’s dress. Today in Scotland, it is expected that a
bride will receive silver-covered cardboard horseshoes from small children when
she leaves the church. This tradition has made its way into American tradition
as well, especially in Western themed weddings.
In Weddings today, bridesmaids
usually wear the same colored dresses. This stems out of a Scottish superstition
in which the bridesmaids were dressed up fancily. They were supposed to look as
nice as the bride. This was supposed to confuse the fairies and evil spirits,
and therefore the bridesmaids acted as decoys, protecting the bride from
anything bad happening to her on her wedding day.
For a long time it has said to bring
good luck to the marriage if the bride puts a silver coin in her shoe during
the wedding procession. The saying went, “Something old, something new,
something borrowed, something blue, and a silver sixpence in her shoe.” Today,
the rhyme has made its way into many cultures, but without the ending words
about the silver coin. In England and Scotland, brides still make sure to have
a silver coin in their shoes. The tradition has taken hold in Sweden as well,
where a bride has a gold coin in her right shoe and a silver coin in her left
shoe for good luck.
Conclusion
These are just a few of the Scottish
superstitions related to objects that have survived in some way. Finding out
about old superstitions is fascinating because it reveals the mindset of the
people of the time and helps us to better understand their way of life.
Superstitions are such a huge part of history— and life today. They are often
frequently overlooked or deemed unimportant because they are not based on fact.
However, I believe that object superstition is crucial to learn because we can
then see where certain aspects of our culture came from. Halloween, for
example, would be a better experience for children if they knew that it had
grown out of many superstitions. The celebration seems more important if you
know its history.
Object superstitions are so intriguing.
Even if you don’t believe in them, they are fun to read, because some of them
sound so ridiculous to us. Superstitions create a unique interaction with
objects. A silver coin is no longer just a coin— through superstition, a silver
coin becomes a way of obtaining good luck. Our perceptions of the world and
objects around us can change drastically due to superstitions. Scottish
superstitions about objects are certainly alive today and provide us with a
unique perspective on the world, which is why they must continue to be
recorded.
Works Cited
Bennett,
M. Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave. Edinburgh: Polygon
1992.
Bogle, Lara. "Scots Mark New Year With Fiery Ancient
Rites." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 31 Dec. 2002. Web. 15 Apr. 2013. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2002/12/1230_021231_hogmanay_2.html>.
"Customs and Superstitions.” Clan Henderson Society.
N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2013. <http://www.clanhendersonsociety.org/>.
Hubbert, Gunilla. Personal interview. 19 April 2013.
Lane, James. "The Importance of Pocket Money." The
Huffington Post. N.p., 27 June 2012. Web.
18 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/dr-james-lane/pocket-money-the- importance-of-pocket-_b_1624582.html>.Scottish National Dictionary
Lynch,
M. The Concise History of Scots. Oxford: Oxford University Press 2001.
MacLean, J. P. An Epitome of the Superstitions of the
Highlanders of Scotland, Together with a Selection
of Books Pertaining to the Subject,. Franklin, OH: n.p., 1917. Print.
