Superstitions of German-Russians, List of
Last Update 21 Aug 2003
Stories of Supernatural and Witchcraft told by German-Russians,
their Ancestors and their Descendants continued....
M
Mistletoe:
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People of magic use the berry to mix a love potion
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Wear it around your neck and it will protect you from spells of evil
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Use mistletoe to cure itches, sores, aches and epilepsy
Mole:
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Eat the heart of a mole before the sun rises and you will know the
future
N
NEW YEARS:
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To prevent illness through the year , eat smoked sausages on New Years
Day
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To bring "good luck" for the rest of the year, eat boiled cabbage
on New Years Day
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To bring "good luck" in good health, wealth and happiness, eat pork
and sauerkraut on New Years Day
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Never serve chicken on New year's Day, if you do you will have trouble
in your business the rest of the year
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If you change your underwear on New Year's, you will suffer boils during
the year
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See
News Years Eve and Day with the German Christmas Calendar with history and
superstitions.....
Numbers, Superstitions Connected
to
O
Opal's Story:
P
Peacock: The peacock has been part of the Remmick/Roemmich family
for many generations, therefore, I've always been interested in this particular
bird which seems to have held popularity in the east. After the
Crusades, the peacock had entered the European world. It's beautiful
feathers were given as tokens to those who had been heroes / served their
king well. But the popularity fell, perhaps people had grown tired of the
bird's noisy and very loud nature. The live bird didn't fall under the label
of being "bad luck, it the bird's feathers which came to represent that
of evil.. Some suggest it is the design of an eye an "evil eye" on
the tail feathers. In peacock's the tail feather there are, indeed,
hundreds of "eyes" shown in display by a male bird. My theory
is quite different. The eye design may have been part of the reason but I
think that so many heroes had died during the various wars and because their
coffins were draped with peacock feathers, the generations of young
people viewed the feathers as a signature of death so the peacock feather
would become the symbol of someone dying before their time which of course
was "bad luck". In Germany the bearer of the feather of a peacock
was given to a hero but many heroes took up the attitude of being
quite vain, arrogant and greedy, and upon their coffins were also draped
peacock feathers, then, in the 16th century a peacock feathers was given
to a person who had lied, cheated or was a traitor. Perhaps after the
German family of Roemmich/Remmick migrated. to Russia near Odessa, a Black
Sea port city in the early 1800s their attitude toward the peacock
and the feather changed, again. The peacock is from India, Persia and the
Mediterranean region and looked upon as "good luck". My grandfather
Edward Remick [Roemmich] said they had many peacocks for good luck in Russia
and later in North Dakota.
Remmick.Roemmich, Remig Families
My folks have peacocks and have named their farm Peacock Acres.
Perhaps the change of attitude was created because of the eastern
cultures found in Russia and they learned it's feathers were not "bad
luck" and were able to enjoy this beautiful bird.
-
Place peacock feathers in the shape of the V and it will bring you good
luck /ward off disease...
Q
R
Rabbit:
Regine, nee Hess, Hein
S
Sewing, :Superstitions Connected To
Spoons, Forks, Knives,
Stories about Superstitions At The Dinner Table
Solstice....- Longest Day of the Year:
21 June is the Summer Solstice and the shortest days of the year are
21 to 23 Dec is the Winter Solstice
Sunflower:
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Sleep with a sunflower under your pillow and you will learn the truth
of whatever it is you want to know
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To make fill yourself with virtue, eat the juice created from the plant
of the sunflower
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The face of the sunflower is like the sun and teh bearer of it's seed
will protect you from evil
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Sunflower seed when crushed and eaten will make a woman fertile
T
Tableware: See Spoons, Forks, Knives,
Stories about Superstitions At The Dinner Table
Time Warp
Trees, Superstitions Connected
To
U
V
W
WEATHER
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Red sky in the evening, a sailor's delight; red sky in the morning,
sailors take warning
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If rain is needed take a broom, bang it against a river or lake then
shake it in the air. Do this three times.
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If rain is needed take frogs and place them into a pitcher full of water
than pour it upon your neighbors field / yard.
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If it's raining cats and dogs it means it is pouring rain like cat's
being chased by the "dog" which is strong gusts of wind
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Always lay something aside for a rainy day
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If a cat crosses it's paws and sleeps upside down, rain will arrive
the following day
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When a wife sleeps with her leg sticking out from under the bed covers,
in the morning it is time to begin the planting of corn
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Whatever the weather is like on the fifth day of each month is what
the weather will be like for most of that month
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Rain in the early morning last as long as an old man can dance
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If a rooster crows from the top of a fence after sunrise, there
will be rain all day
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To bring fair weather, a girl / woman must gather oak leaves in their
aprons or in a man's shirt and tie it with a string with three knots and
then hang it from a tree
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Throw a lock of hair into the sea to stop a storm from coming
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To bring a storm, a person must dip a cloth into the stream/river/ ocean
and then beat the cloth three times against a rock and utter the verse:
Rise up wind in God's name and bring to us poor creatures a storm from
god and not from the devil
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To bring rain carry a string with three knots. If a longer rain
is needed loosen the knot....
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Boil hog bristles to summon rain
Weddings, Superstitions Connected
to
WOLF, Superstitions Connected to
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Never drink the blood of a wolf or you will go mad
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Bearer of a wolf's right eye will will protection and victory
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Bearer of a wolf's eye tooth will prevent madness /hallucinations
Woods, Superstitions Connected
to
X
Y
Z
See
My Web Site: German-Russian Mythology
