SOME SUPERSTITIONS.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXIX, Issue 12187, 3 October 1903, Page 3 (Supplement)

SOME SUPERSTITIONS.

The eclipse pi the moon is full of portent to the Macedonian Mohammedans. It in- - dicates bloodshed. It is met with reports of firearms and the imams call from the minarets the faithful to public prayers in the mosques. This recalls in a striking manner 'the practices of many savage and barbaric nations. The great nations of Asia, such as the Hindoos and the Chinese, still cling to the belief in the eclipse monster. The latter meet it with prayers, like the Turks. But even in civilised Europe, both ancient and modern, one finds numerous proofs of this superstition. The Romans came to the succour of the afflicted' moon by flinging firebrands into the air by the blare of. trumpets and the clang of brazen pots. The superstition survived through the Middle Ages into a very late period. France, Wales and Ireland offer many instances as late as the seventeenth century. He or she who enters a house for the first v time is supposed in the Balkan countries to bring it good or bad luck for the whole twelvemonth. This belief gives rise to a curious observance. The visitor before crossing the threshold picks up a stone (token of strength) or a green twig (emblem of health and fruitfulness) and lays it on the hearth. He also brings with him some grains of salt, which he casts into the flames, and then, squatting by the fireside, ] wishes his hosts "a prosperous year, a plentiful crop and many blessings." Then, as the grains of salt burst and crackle in the fire, he utters' the following quaint formula: "As I am sitting even so may sit the hen; and warm the eggs. As this salt splits even 30 may split the eggs of the clucking hen and the chickens come forth." A sneeze may mean various things in some parts of Turkey. It is regarded as a confirmation of what the person has just said. In thatWase he interrupts himself in order to address the sneezer as follows: ' j "Health be to thee, for thou has proved

that I am speaking the truth." It is sometimes taken as a sign that absent enemies are speaking ill of the sneezer, and the bystanders express the pious wish that those individuals, whoever they be, "may split." Sneezing-is also considered as an indication of health, especially if the sneezer is just recovering from an illness."