Rag Trees, Blessed Fish and Blind Horses: Some Traditions around Holy Wells in Ireland
Ireland has at least 3,000 wells that are, or were at least up until recently, looked upon as holy or blessed.
Origins of Breaking the Wishbone: Horseshoes, Groins and Chicken Ouija Boards
‘Breaking the wishbone’ is a tradition around the world in the days after a Sunday roast, Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Seven Years Bad Luck? – Reflections, Romans, and Reckless Servants
Bad luck from breaking a mirror has a long history, and the ominous associations are pervasive around the world.
New Year Celebrations: Herrings in Bonnets at Hogmanay?
In a strange old custom, the Dundee dressed herring is dressed in a crepe paper skirt and bonnet combination in bright colours, tied to ribbons, and carried through the streets and into homes on Hogmanay night.
Piskies, Knockers and Tommyknockers – Cornwall’s Misunderstood Folklore
The Folklore of Cornwall: The Oral Tradition of a Celtic Nation addresses everything from piskies – south west Britain’s fairies – to mermaids, harvest festivals, a corpse visiting his betrothed, and the giants long noted for making the Cornish peninsula their home. And amid all this are the spirits of the mines – knockers together with the tommyknockers, their New World descendants.