Baby Lore

Babies born at three, six, nine, or twelve o'clock are said to be exceptionally lucky. When they are grown up it is declared that they will be gifted with considerably more insight and ingenuity than the average person. If a child is born with teeth there is a superstition that it will become extremely selfish. For a child to be born with an open hand, however, is a sign of great generosity. Superstition also declares that if a moon is shining at the time of birth, the child will be a male; no moon at all indicates a girl. When a baby leaves its mother's room for the first time, it should be carried upstairs before it is carried downstairs, in order to ensure its success in the world. For the child to cry at the christening is considered a fortunate sign, for people in the olden days thought that evil spirits were then leaving the baby's body A baby that is born in a caul will have good things of life will come to him easily. Also, a person who was born in a caul will never meet his death by drowning. A baby's tooth, set in a ring or brooch, was sometimes worn in order to bring good luck It is unlucky to wash a baby's head for the first twelve months. Washing a child's hand's before his first birthday will take away his riches and would live and die poor. Children's first lost teeth are burned in order to prevent snaggle teeth from coming in. When a boy is born under the waning moon, the next birth will be a girl, and vice versa. When a child is born under a waxing moon, the next birth will be of the same sex. A child born at the interval between the old and new moons is fated to die young. Babies with blue veins across their noses will not live to see twenty-one. Coral necklaces are worn to ensure easy teething. All locks in a house are unlocked at birthing to ensure an easy delivery. Cornishmen of the west are born with tails; they drop off when the Tamar River is crossed If the finger or toe nails of an infant are cut previous to the age of 12 months, it will prove a thief in mature age.

Last updated: December 31, 1969

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