Every country has their different beliefs and tales that have been passed down from generation to generation. I find some of the Mexican tales to be a bit strange and possibly silly, but then I started thinking about some of our own Wives' Tales and realized they too are funny.
Did you know that someone can give your child "ojo" just by walking down the street? "Ojo malo" or "the evil eye" means that someone has looked at you with a covetous or envious eye and it can cause your child to be sick, unhappy, or fussy. There is a simple cure for this. All you need is a uncooked egg and rub the egg all over the child that has "ojo." After rubbing the child with the egg you then fill a glass with water, and break the egg letting the yolk fall into the glass. If you see little white veins coming from the yolk then your child definitely had "ojo" and is now cured. I have been coming here for six years now and I am very familiar with this belief. At any time one of my children get fussy I expect to hear that they have "ojo" and then starts the juevo rub down. I have to say it works like a charm on Sofia. As soon as they start rubbing her with the egg she is totally distracted from whatever she was fussing about and then is focused on the fact that there is an egg being rubbed on her.
If you are pregnant and there is a full moon out you have to wear a safety pin near your belly button on your shirt. If you do not do this your baby most likely will be born with some kind of deformity.
Never, ever go outside wet in the cold after taking a shower. If you do, your mouth will get crooked and you will become locked jaw. I have always had a feeling that being wet outside in the cold wasn't a good idea and now I know why.
There are so many other tales that I could share, but these are just a few of the ones that I hear often. I am not a superstitious person but I do find the Old Wives' Tales very interesting. Most of the time I just smile and nod my head when being told what I should or shouldn't do here in Mexico. I mean, what does it hurt to have an egg rubbed on you?
I would love to hear some of the Wives' Tales that you grew up with passed down from your relatives.
If a woman's carrying low, it's a boy; if she's carrying high, it's a girl.
ReplyDeleteIf you cross your eyes, they'll stay that way.
ReplyDeletewhen your baby has hair, shave it off and rub a tomato all over the head and then they baby will grow to have beautiful, full, thick, healthy hair!
ReplyDeletemy aunt told me to wear 12 saftey pins just so incase some one who is jelous of the pregnancy wont harm the baby
ReplyDelete