Thursday, January 24, 2013

Scissors! Who Knew??

I found the following while browsing the web and thought you'd be interested too!
 
It is not surprising that modern cross-bladed scissors would have many superstitions surround them since most household items that have been in parts of our history as far back as early 100 AD hold some imagined ideas with them.  Here is a list of some of those beliefs:

Hope you didn’t use your scissors this past New Year as you might have “cut off” your fortune or wealth for the year.
Decrease the likelihood that your house will be struck by lightning in a storm by putting your scissors away.

Placing a pair of scissors under your pillow may help a variety of pains. It is said that a woman in labor can “cut her pain in half” by doing so. Likewise it would halve the discomfort of any others in bed ridden pain. Some believe that putting an open pair of scissors is a way to sleep better even if you are cursed.

Dropping a pair of scissors is said to warn that a lover is being unfaithful.

Breaking one blade is an omen of quarrel, while breaking both blades is a sign of an impending disaster.

Do not give scissors as a gift or the friendship will be “cut in half”. To subdue this superstition a little money should be exchanged for the scissors as buying them doesn’t count.

Ward off evil and witches with a pair of scissors nailed above a door in the ‘open’ position, so they somewhat resemble a cross.

The cross-bladed scissors origins point to Rome but have a widespread place in international cultural superstitions as well which can be specific to a region.

    • To curse a bridegroom in North Africa wait until he is on horseback, then hold an open pair of scissors while calling his name. If he answers you, snap the scissors closed and he will not be able to consummate the marriage.
    • It is bad luck to idly open and close scissors without a purpose in Pakistan.
    • It is held in some Eastern Europe countries that leaving scissors open causes disagreements and discord within a household.
Good luck with those scissors!

5 comments:

Sandra said...

How interesting Deb. I really enjoyed that.
Sandra
Homespun Elegance

Anonymous said...

How interesting.

Cyndi G.

MelissaD said...

Funny - I'd never heard of that until I got married 26 years ago. My Italian mother-in-law has always made a gift recipient of any sort of blade - scissors, cooking knives, etc. give coins to the person they received them from so as not to sever the relationship.
I just do it out of habit now and don't think about why.
thanks for the interesting info!

Anonymous said...

Very interesting. I had heard something a long time ago that you should not give a gift of knives to someone but could give a penny in exchange. Maybe it was actually the scissors that started that?? Thanks for the enlightening. I won't play with my scissors anymore. Never know who I will be hurting or jinxing or cursing :)

beckyben03 said...

And, never, ever run with them..I hear deb does this.