Superstitions or Facts? Just what ARE the Truths in these old sayings?
Let’s take a look at old wife’s tales, just how much truth can we find in them?
There is a saying
“If towards the end of autumn the leaves are still on the trees then prepare for a cold winter”
Did I get to think just how much truth is there in this old saying, and all the others?
It was a dark dank November day, the rain fell in sheets and this time it blew in from the east,
When the wind is in the east, tis neither good for man nor beast.
which meant in was going to be cold, an east wind blowing from Northern Europe is always cold and often brings sleet storms and snow,
I fear our westerly winds bringing warm air in from the Atlantic, had bid farewell and given into the winter easterly winds.
So there is an element of truth in it.
Red sky
How about all the other old saying that had an element of truth in them
Let’s take
- Sky red in the morning, is a shepherd warning; Sky red at night is the shepherd’s delight.
so how true is this?
Well, this saying go’s back a long long time, in fact, one of the earliest accounts of old wife’s tales, it date from as early as 1395.
So let’s look at the facts.
As most of the weather in the UK comes in from the west if the sky is red or pink it means the light spectrum is bouncing on clouds coming our way,” Shepherds Warning.”
Conversely red sky at night the clouds will be in the east and have already passed us by, giving a good chance of clear skies and fine weather, ” shepherds delight.”
The First of the Month
As I am writing this article on the first of November, another saying came to mind,
- Pinch Punch the first of the month.
In old England people thought that witches existed (Come to think of it some still think that way) and that salt could make them weak, so a “pinch” was a pinch of salt that you could throw onto the witches, and of course as soon as the witches were weak, people could punch them away. (They had a bad time those witches)
And finally before I get too boring, remember.
- A pig gathering leaves and straw means a storm is coming
- See a dog eating grass expect rain
- Dandelion blossoms close before a storm
- And if towards the end of autumn the leaves are still on the trees then prepare for a cold winter
- If cows lie down and refuse to go to pasture, you can expect a storm to blow up soon.
I will leave you to wonder if there is any truth in these. Do you know any more?