Cuckoo Day and Animal Sacrifice: Folklore of the Creatures of Spring
Spring is the herald of new life, and throughout the animal world, spring is a time to forecast the weather – and more – for the summer to come.
Bad Luck comes in Threes: Matches, Murderers or Mathematics
One installment in a series of common superstitions in the English speaking world: ‘Bad luck comes in threes.’
What’s Your Lucky Number?
Nearly everyone has a lucky number. It may well be seven but all the numbers associated with luck – and bad – have many different origins. Despite this, very many people will choose seven as the number they associate most with good fortune and choose 13 as their most unlucky digit.
British Folklore: The Traditional Jack-in-the-Green
The Jack-in-the-Green was (and indeed is) a traditional participant in May celebrations and May Day parades in the UK.
Passing Through & Under: A Ritual Healing in England
Until the 20th century, the inadequacies of orthodox medical services left a large proportion of the population dependent upon traditional folk medicine – essentially a mixture of common sense remedies based on the accumulated experience of nursing and midwifery, combined with inherited lore about the healing properties of plants.