Friday is the 13th of October
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
Superstitious people beware, Friday is the 13th day of October.
With that at top of mind, Farms.com collected a list of superstitions related to farming and food.
One superstition is to avoid anything having to do with the number 13 at all.
This includes pausing fieldwork on the 13th day of the month and raising livestock in numbers greater than or less than 13. But never 13 exactly.
Another belief relates to tool handles.
It’s believed witches used holly or hazel wood broomsticks to fly around on, therefore producers may want to refrain from using tools with those woods as handle material.
A plant disease is also named after witches’ brooms.
The disease causes dense clusters of twigs or thickened stems to develop on branches of woody plants and trees.
Apple, papaya and peach trees are susceptible to this disease.
Many farm families, especially during harvest time, are accustomed to eating meals in the field.
When it’s time to clean up, however, make sure to leave some crumbs behind.
One superstitious belief is that fairies are present in farm fields. And if food isn’t left for the fairies, they may get angry and bring bad luck to the farm.
Multiple superstitions surround the dairy industry.
One is when a cow produces no milk or has blood in its milk, and who may be responsible for this occurrence.
A belief is that witches placed a spell on the cow to steal the milk’s deliciousness and make it impossible to churn into butter.
Farmers can counteract this by placing a red-hot poker into a churn, sources say.
Another superstition is designed to keep pesky fairies away from dairy cows.
The belief is that if a farmer tied a piece of a blessed candle to the cow’s tail when she was calving, it would keep fairies from stealing butter.
Here are some other food and ag related superstitions to consider:
- Dreaming about eating garlic means you will uncover hidden secrets.
- In traditional Rwandan societies, women are advised against eating goat meat because it could make them grow a beard.
- It’s bad luck to move livestock without swearing.
- Sprinkling holy water on equipment will keep bad spirits away from the farm.
- Corn kernels on the road means company is on the way. If you brush the kernels away, the visitor will be a stranger.
- In Japan, as part of Setsubun celebrations, people throw soybeans at devil masks to drive away bad luck.
How did Friday the 13th become associated with spookiness anyway?
Multiple stories point to how this could have happened.
In Norse mythology, for example, 12 gods organized a dinner in Valhalla. Loki, the god of trickery, didn’t receive an invitation and arrived anyway as the 13th guest.
During the dinner, Loki tricked Höðr, the blind god associated with night and darkness, into shooting and killing Baldur, a god of light, wisdom and courage, with a mistletoe-dipped arrow.
And in Christianity, Judas Iscariot was the 13th disciple to arrive at the Last Supper. He went on to betray Jesus, which led to his crucifixion on Good Friday