Halloween past present and future 4
Other less well known superstitions about Halloween are the beliefs that the Welsh held that you could sneeze your soul out which led to the ‘God Bless You’ we all now use after sneezing. If someone sneezed on Halloween, it was especially dangerous as the devil could then capture your traveling soul.
Owls were thought by some cultures to swoop down and snatch the souls of the dying, and any owl heard hooting immediately had individuals turning their pockets inside out for good luck. Africans would eat in silence during Halloween night to keep the spirits happy, and encourage them to come to the table. In Britain, the devil was viewed as a nut gatherer and nuts were worn on Halloween night as magic charms.
A lot of folklore exists about babies born on Halloween and their ability to see and speak with ghosts. This is called the ‘Gift of Second Sight’ and many movies are made about this folk tale. Halloween babies are also supposedly protected from evil spirits.
Halloween also has romantic superstitions. It’s been said that catching a snail and locking it in a dish on Halloween night will reveal your ’sweetheart’s’ name in the morning. Another states that a girl that puts rosemary and a silver coin under her pillow will see her future husband in a dream.
The carrying of water to a spring on Halloween night by a young girl will supposedly reveal a future husband’s reflection in the water. Carrying a broken egg in a glass to a spring of water during the day and mixing some of the water into the glass will reveal the future husband’s image as well as future children. Scattering the seed of hemp into a field while chanting, “Hemp I Sow Thee, Come After Me, and Show Me’ and then turning around would reveal the image of her future husband.
