Christmas day supersitions

A very merry Christmas to you! You have come here to learn some wonderful traditional superstitions of Christmas day.

Superstitions played a huge role in Christmas festivities in the middle ages. Christmas traditions normally come from religion and religious celebrations rather than superstitions themselves. There are a number of Christmas superstitions that have been around for many centuries. The celebrations of christmas are often focused on many different superstitions - all across the world. There was a lack of knowledge and understanding of when the actual date of Jesus was born. Thus, a commemoration date was reached - the 25th of December. This has remained the date since. The winter months have historically been a spiritual time. The Christmas traditions have also come from the winter solstice. These superstitions began as seen as ways to protect and bring luck to the future - ensuring that evil spirits are not affecting the luck of the coming year.

There have been many poems of ancient superstitions of Christmas time. Such as “Merrie Christmas, in spite of hail and rain, sleet and snow the blustering of old Boreas and the shadow of Jack Frost” Jack frost is a personification of frost itself. Representing cold weather. A man going around the world causing frost and cold weather. Leaving patterns on windows. This character is fictions but appears to be sinister. This superstition comes from Anglo -Saxon times. Some shows he was depicted as a villain and appears to be somewhat mischievous. It was traditional for the Christmas meal to consist of roast beef and plum pudding rather than Turkey. Some of the superstitions during Christmas time have originated from the Druid or pagan traditions. Many of these superstitions are no longer practiced but here is a list of popular Christmas superstitions:

Here are some Christmas superstitions:

Open to door on Christmas day at 6am to let our any ghosts. Don’t wash and iron a Christmas present before giving it or good luck will be washed out of it and bad luck put into it. When the clock strikes 12:00 on Christmas Eve remember to try to eat an apple for great fortune for the year to come. Christmas day there is a famous saying: The sun rises twice, the water flows back and the trees sigh.

Any charcoal saved from the Yule log will offer a great deal of protection the coming year. One important element of the yule log is that fact that the next year’s kindling fire needs to be from it’s remains there was a famous song sang about this “with the last year’s brand,, light the new block, and for good success in spending. On your psalteries play, that sweet luck may come while the log is a trending. A Christian version of this superstition is that the yule log needs to burn over the twelve days of Christmas in order to ensure that the person has great luck. This provided a fire to cook over and was a symbolic manifestation of how the family would ensure harvest and prosperity for the forthcoming year

If a husband brings holly into the home on Christmas day he will rule that house for the forthcoming year. A mean should run away from a woman with red hair on Christmas day. (There are many superstitions about red headed people. Either bad luck or running away, at least nowadays these superstitions are not taken seriously) A man should drink wine with his meal on Christmas day. The first person that should come into the home should have: black hair and cole in their hand on christmas day.

A cat meowing on Christmas day is bad luck. A fire that goes out (log fire) means that evil spirits will be with you all year long. Here are some more wonderful supersitions:

Christmas day superstitions

• To see a women on Christmas day that is unknown is bad luck.
• If someone does not kiss another under the mistletoe (avoids this) then both parties will have bad luck all year.
• To sing Christmas carols during the year (outside December) is considered unlucky.
• A apple should be eaten on Christmas day to prevent illness the coming year.
• An old log from the Christmas before should be burned on the fire to ensure protection against fire and bring fortune to the home.
• A famous Greek superstition is to burn clothes and shoes at Christmas to ensure luck in the new year.
• If a baby is born on Christmas day they will be lucky in life.
• After the 12th night of Christmas all decorations should be removed or bad luck will enter the home.
• If the wind blows strong on Christmas day luck and happiness will shower the community.
• Holly wreaths on the door were intended to protect against witches.
• Giving shoes to someone as a gift means they will walk out on you in the future.
• Not giving carol singers a gift is bad fortune.
• Taking decorations down before the 6th of January can endanger the prosperity in the coming year.
• Keeping a sprig of evergreen for the new year will result in prosperity and good fortune.
• Any remaining evergreen decorations should be burned on a fire.
• The volume of mince pies consumed on Christmas day would indicate the happiness of the same number of months of the year the eater will be happy.
• Christmas day dish needed to include nine courses to bring good fortune. 
• Fish scales placed under the dinner on Christmas day was lucky.
• The Christmas cake should only be eaten on Christmas eve and not on Christmas day.
• Do not bring mistletoe into the home before New Year's Day as it is unlucky.
• The mistletoe twigs should be left above the door for the next new year or burned by an unmarried women.
• On the twelve days of Christmas each day note the weather. This is suppose to represent the weather of the coming year. Each day signifies the type of weather per month of the coming year.
• To touch a football on Christmas day is a positive omen.
• To see the moon on Christmas evening and touch a glass window is bad luck.
• To sit at the corner of the table on Christmas day if your a women means you will not marry.
• To put the bag of gifts on the floor by the dinner table on Christmas day denotes bad luck for the rest of the year.
• It is lucky to take a bath on Christmas day.
• Christmas cake should only be eaten on Christmas eve or Christmas day to bring luck.
• To have a Christmas birthday in Poland they believed they would turn into a werewolf.
• A Christmas Birthday can also indicate that the person may see ghosts in life as those born on this day are considered lucky.
• Wish someone a merry Christmas before putting on shoes and socks is considered lucky.
• To eat morning breakfast by candlelight is considered good luck on Christmas day.
• Kissing the oldest person in the house is considered lucky on Christmas day.
• Holly represents eternal life and bringing this into one's home is considered lucky.
• A candle taken to church is a positive sign, it denotes happy times, especially when left in church.
• To blow out a candle on Christmas day is bad luck always make sure you pinch a candle with your fingers.
• Farmers sometimes cut their animals and make them bleed on boxing day as they believed this would bring luck all year long. (crazy idea now in our modern world)
• Ending a year in debt means a lack of money all year long.
• There is a huge focus on burning of the Yule log in the superstitions. If we look back finding the yule log was the task of the males in the house. They would go into the woods on Christmas day to find wood - bringing back the largest chunks then cutting these into logs.
• Make sure a yule log that burns the ashes of that burn should be planted with the seeds of spring time to denote a good harvest.
• Evil spirits will be removed from the home if mistletoe is placed around the door.
• On New year's day a superstition is that a person that the first person that visits the door with red hair should be turned away.
• No work should be done on Christmas day.
• The fire must not be stirred during Christmas.
• A dog that barks all night on Christmas eve through to Christmas day will die the coming year.
• Do not cut any Christmas cake before Christmas eve.
• A candle or lamp should be lit all night long to bring good luck.
• Having no tree in the home denotes ill luck in the coming year.
• Never throw a Christmas tree away without burning it - all Christmas trees should be burned to bring great luck.
• To leave the oven empty on Christmas day is an unlucky sign and should always be full.
• To see swans flying in the air on Christmas day means that good weather is ahead.
• An old tradition is that santa felt sorry for three sisters at Christmas time and he got three coins. These were thrown down the chimney. Each coin managed to land on the stocking. From this the superstition of putting silver in one's shoes on Christmas day is good luck.

Other Christmas traditions

The Christmas season has become somewhat commercial and these superstitions have faded, Christmas use to be simple and consist of a few small presents, but now in our modern world Christmas has become a huge affair. The Christmas decorations and Christmas tree have many superstitions surrounding them. Decorating the tree in our modern world is an ancient tradition. We now decorate with modern plastic decorations but ancient tradition.

The Christmas pudding superstitions come from the west. Most Christmas puddings now come from the supermarket but a long time ago we use to make these ourselves. If a woman was in the kitchen when the Christmas pudding was being cooked - and that woman was single she would have to stir the mixture in order to ensure she met her true love the following year. Superstition indicates that if the women does not stir the Christmas pudding mixture then she will not be wearing a bridal veil for another year. Let’s now look more closely at superstitions that have survived! the tradition was to put a silver coin in the mix of the pudding. The person that found the coin in their serving of the pudding - would be extremely lucky all year long.

The winter solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that states it is the shortest day and longest night of the year. There are many superstitions surrounding the winter solstice. This day which falls on the 21st of December is known as many names Midwinter, yule or the longest night. The winter solstice specifically marks the ending of autumn and beginning of winter. The Druids, Aztecs, and Mayans celebrated this day with ancient rituals. An old belief was that the sun would sink into the ground and only singing would make the sun rise again. The greenness played an important role on this day. The greens of plants were used in the front of houses to prevent evil spirits. Holly that prickles someone on the hand is a negative omen. Druids looked in the fields for mistletoe and took this into their homes. Pagans celebrated this day with various traditions and superstitions. Obviously, this also overlaps Christmas superstitions. One important tradition was to leave food out on winter solstice for this food to be consumed by family members that have passed away. In Scotland, a sun wheel was started.

Christmas tree superstitions

Obviously, Christmas day would not be the same without a wonderful Christmas tree, decorated with the finest decorations. This derives from pragmatic history - from the pagans. Bringing a small evergreen tree inside the house for Christmas day was traditional. We have a specific section on Christmas trees. Generally, the tradition that we have already mentioned is that all decorations should be taken down on the twelfth day of Christmas. The tree has many superstitions and it was traditionally taken into the house from the garden then planted back outside to grow the following year.