For other traditions of Christmas, go here.
For your soul’s sake go here.
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If Christmas day on Tuesday
be,
That year shall many women die, (boo!)
And that winter grow great marvels;
Ships shall be in great perils; (boo!)
That year shall kings and lords be slain,
And many other people near them. (probably body-guards)
A dry summer that year shall be, (a good thing)
As all that are born therein may see;
They shall be strong and covetous. (that’s not nice)
If thou steal aught, thou losest thy life, (rather draconian)
For thou shalt die through sword or knife; (well, at least it’s not guns)
But if thou fall sick, 't is certain,
Thou shall turn to life again. (comforting…)
That year shall many women die, (boo!)
And that winter grow great marvels;
Ships shall be in great perils; (boo!)
That year shall kings and lords be slain,
And many other people near them. (probably body-guards)
A dry summer that year shall be, (a good thing)
As all that are born therein may see;
They shall be strong and covetous. (that’s not nice)
If thou steal aught, thou losest thy life, (rather draconian)
For thou shalt die through sword or knife; (well, at least it’s not guns)
But if thou fall sick, 't is certain,
Thou shall turn to life again. (comforting…)
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If the sun shines clear and
bright on Christmas day, it promises a peaceful year, free from clamors and
strife, and foretells a plentiful year.
however
A green Christmas makes a
fat churchyard.
So many hours of sun on
Christmas Day,
So many frosts in the month
of May.
If the sun shines through an
apple tree on Christmas, there will be an abundant crop of apples in the coming
year.
A warm Christmas, a cold
Easter; A green Christmas, a white Easter.
Easter in snow, Christmas in
mud; Christmas in snow, Easter in mud.
If it rains on Christmas,
there will be four weeks with no sun.
The wind at the end of Midnight
Mass will be the dominant wind in the coming year [i.e., an east wind, a north
wind, etc.]
A windy Christmas is a sign
of a good year to come.
A windy Christmas and a calm
Candlemas are signs of a good year.
If there is much wind on
Christmas Day, trees will bear much fruit.
If the wind grows stormy
before sunset on Christmas, it betokens sickness in the coming spring and
autumn. [Well, there’s an easy bet,
whether it is stormy or not!]
A green Christmas, a good
harvest.
on the other hand
If it snows during Christmas
night, the crops will do well.
and
If it snows on Christmas
night, there will be a good crop of hops next year [and hops make beer, and beer makes the Widow’s heart merry. This may be the only time I hope for
snow.]
If at Christmas, ice hangs
on the willow, then clover may be cut at Easter [i.e. early Spring, and
pasturage for the animals]
Light Christmas, light
wheatsheaf;
Dark Christmas, heavy
wheatsheaf.
and
A bright Christmas foretells
that hens will lay well.
on the other hand
A dark Christmas foretells
that cows will give much milk.
When Christmas day cometh
while the moon waxeth, it shall be a very good year, and the nearer it cometh
to the full moon, the better shall that year be. If it cometh when the moon decreaseth, it shall be a hard year,
and the nearer to the latter end, the worse and harder shall the year be. [And
the moon waxeth greatly, and is only three days from full. Shall we look forward to a good year?]
On Christmas day, place
twelve onions in a row, each with a pinch of salt on the top, The first onion
on the left represents January, the next February, and so on.
On Epiphany, check the
onions. If the salt has melted on
any one of them, the corresponding month will be wet; where the salt remains,
that month will be dry.
