I remember growing up a "haint" was a creepy/old/haunted house. Thats how I knew the answer to that one. lol IIRC though we used it to describe an evil type of ghost as well. I think like alot of words in the south we use the same one to describe things that are similar. A haint could be the house the ghost is in or the actual ghost itself.
FYI, "Haint" is an old school name for ghosts. My parents (both born in 1936) grew up in Northeast Tennessee and they said everyone was terrified of haints. They said the locals had no folklore about monsters (like Bigfoot or such), but countless ones about haints. I was dying laughing when that question came up because to me the answer was obvious, but I bet that's a word people rarely use anymore
The reason all the panelists knew some of these, but only a few knew others, is that some of these customs are very local, while others are known all over the South. For example, the “Haint blue” practice is strongest in the Savannah area and lowland South Carolina. Making “bottle trees” is a Mississippi custom, although it extends somewhat to the states bordering Mississippi. But eating black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is something the vast majority of Southerners do, or at least know about. My family (in Texas) isn’t much for following superstitions, but we never miss our New Year’s black-eyed-peas.
This and don't give anybody a knife as a gift bc it cuts the friendship. Tried to give my grandpa a knife one year and he refused it. Very superstitious man.
@@samanthacable5966 my sweet little granny (she'll be 96 in May) always makes us give a penny if we get a knife as a gift as "payment to ward off severed ties"
@@downhomewithsarah7443 you know, now that I really think about it, I believe that's actually what he ended up doing!! He didn't want to hurt my feelings, but the superstition was too strong. Ha!! Yep, he gave me a penny and I never tried to give him another knife. Thank you for bringing that up!!
@@samanthacable5966 our family, if you give someone a knife they have to give you a coin for it so it's not a gift. My husband got irritated that I wouldn't close a knife if he handed it to me already opened. Now he wont close a knife someone else opened either.
The one my dad told me about was that my great grandmother would put a broom in front of the door anytime she heard a screech owl during the night. Apparently, the sound of the screech owl meant the devil was coming to get someone in the house (someone in the house would die) and the broom was to block his entry. She was concerned for her kids. They were from Mississippi.
@@esmeraldagreengate4354 you forgot about the blue paint and glass bottles, protection bags in corners, burying iron on all 4 corners, bells on the door, keeping the windows shut at night, covering mirrors, oh and salt poured over the thresholds...it's an anti haint cocktail....a Haint Julep if you will...😵💫
When we'd move into a new to us house mom would open the windows start sweeping And praying in tongues until she got to the front door. Then she'd take out her annouinting Oil and anoint the door and window openings.
Haint blue is actually a color in historical registries. It not only wards off evil spirits, but in the South, a lot of people use it on their porch ceilings because in addition to spirits, it’s supposed to attract flying insects up and away from you and your guests while y’all sit on the porch visitin’.
What I heard was that it would keep birds from nesting in the eaves under your porch roof. They perceive it as the sky and and will go somewhere else to nest.
Neither of these beliefs are true, but I've heard both...my back porch ceiling is sky blue, it doesn't get insects away from you, & I've gotta do away with bird nests every year...
"you can eat stale bread, honey, I ain't gonna tell nobody, that's your business." 😂🤣😂🤣😂 This woman has me LOLing... She is like the EPITOME of a southern woman lol
I cackled when she said it. The hint she isn’t really southern though is that apparently in her world bread goes stale before it molds. In my world, I have 3 days max to enjoy fresh bread. And then it’s entirely covered in mold. Humidity sucks.
Even though I live in Ohio; I have some distant relatives in Kentucky and my mother gave me a tip that keeps me from wasting money on bread: keep it in the refrigerator.
My whole family on my dad's side were southern farmers...needless to say I knew all the superstitions. And the palm thing, the left hand is receiving and the right hand is giving wealth, any kind, not just monetary (abundant crops, family visits, giving to a neighbor in need, etc.). And the May thing, my granny washed her hair from the rain water she collected from said rain. She had the best hair I've ever seen on a 96 year old when she passed. 🤷♀️
Vendors in my country would receive money with their left and give you your change with the right...and just incase someone put a spell on you you won't lose your money. They would also put peas, corn and a lime in there too.
I'm from the mountains of North Carolina, and my granny always said, "If your right palm itches, you're going to shake hands with a stranger. If your left palm itches, you're going to get some money."
My father says if you give someone a knife as a gift, you must also give some money (even a penny), or the knife will “cut your love in two” (I’m not sure what that means, but it must be bad). I suppose that must descend from some ancient practice of making an offering to the knife.
I keep black-eyed peas in the cupboard _year round_ just in case I don't get to the store for New Years. And the first bite is always while giving remembrance to my departed mother. You do not mess around with the power of the pea.
@@larrysouthern5098 What"s the three peas rule? It sounds like something I ought to be doing but nobody told me. Edit: Nevermind, I figured it out: If you don't like blackeyed peas just eat three. No problem for me, I like 'em.
I make sure to get some when I do holiday shopping in November, always have a can laying around and dried - Hubby likes them. My kids didn't like them and as an adult my daughter still doesn't, but rule of the house - ya gotta eat peaS , so eat 2 :)
Supposedly evil spirits can't travel through water. Haint blue is a shade that resembles water, and that is why they use it. People used to also put a glass of water , a clear bowl or vase full of flowers (and water) on the window ledges to keep spirits at bay.
I was only aware of one, of eating black-eyed peas and greens at New Year's. Here's one they didn't mention: my granny used to believe that if you swept the floor at night, you'd sweep all the good luck out the door. EDIT: Oops, forgot one. The aforementioned granny, when she gave my mom the family pecan pie recipe, said, "Now, there's a curse on this recipe--if you give it to someone outside the family, it will not come out right...." And you know what, folks? The curse works! When my mom gave the recipe to friends, the Karo syrup in the pie would always fail to set, and they'd end up with sticky-sweet soup. Every single time.
I remember my grandma had a rule about sweeping the floor but I couldn't remember why 👍 she said something about sweeping it over the threshold after dark.
Love it!! Yes, glass bottles in the trees, specifically cobalt blue bottles in the trees, it attracts and traps the spirits inside the bottles before they can get into your house. You can also use pretty blown glass balls called witches balls for the same purpose, hang them in your windows or right outside your front door.
My daughter and her fiancé, a New Yorker, moved to New Orleans and just bought a house. It was not quite finished when they first looked at it, but the porch ceiling was already painted Haint Blue!
That, Mobile, Biloxi, Bay St Louis is where the custom spread from into Dixie. It is a French Catholic custom. Haint Blue (light blue turquoise) is the color associated with The Virgin Mary. Inland south after 1780 not being Catholic, tends to forget or change "the reason" but keep the practice. In Pinocchio (original novel) the Blue Fairy was symbolic of Mary.
I knew a lot of these and I’m from MD. Our family has always said seeing a bird means passed loved ones are saying hello. Technically, seeing a crow means impending death, but hummingbirds and sociable finches are more of a comforting visit thereof
I grew up in the Northeast and my grandmother totally believed in the bird superstition. Though we learned it as “A bird in the house means death in the family”. Anytime we tried to rescue a bird, we had to keep in the garage or grandma would have a fit.
Haint blue is also thought to keep bugs away too. Supposably it reduces the amount of spiders and wasp around your porch. God knows you don't want any wasp around your porch.
Personally, I "negotiate" with the wasps to relocate. Wasps prey on caterpillars and other garden pests. They are a natural pest control, just better located away from where people frequent. Don't spray 'em; relocate 'em. Besides when you spray insecticide you will likely kill pollinators and they have enough problems.
Yellow Jackets... dead Hornets... dead Murder Hornets... burn down the house and call State Farm Mud Dobbers.... let 'em be Bees... friend of me Mason Bees.... stay away from my rose bushes. Carpenter Bees have always been harmless but scared the crap out of me as a kid.
It's true! You paint the inside roof of your porch haint blue and the bugs think it's the sky and don't build their nests there. We moved and I am currently midfight with my husband who refuses to paint our porch ceiling. No bad spirits, no wasps.
Never place a hat on the bed. Its supposedly super bad luck. Not that a lot of people still wear hats, but if you do, keep it off the bed, unless you're trying to kill somebody.
In prison if you sweep someone’s feet it means they’ll come back... big NO NO!! Heard this from a friend. Lol!! If you’re walking with someone and you split a pole, pillar...etc you have to say “bread & butter”. Lol!!
I got them all right so my Southern card is secure 😊 I was kind of surprised that people missed the haint blue question because my family is from rural Alabama and for us the word “haint” means ghost. So I could just guess based on the name. I’ve seen colored bottles hanging in trees lots of times. I don’t eat the ends of bread. Nasty.
I always thought that hain't meant is not , you know, like you hain't living. And we alls know that ain't isn't a word either. So nows we knows that if you ain't, are you really hain't? Just too confusing both hain't and ain't being words. Really? p.s., I always thought they were the same words. Just for fun, en Espenol, estes is to be just as etre is to be en Francais. Hain't is just another way of say "I was". Engleske is so conjugated that who can really make sense of it? Did she give me that "come hither" look and did her daddy really have a shotgun? Who knows? ;)
I grew up in a large family. You learned to eat what others wouldn’t if you wanted to eat. The ends of the loaf are my favorites. My wife’s grandmother was beside herself when I married into the family because I ate them. It literally took her a year of Sunday dinners to realize and stop asking.
I'm from Western KY. You eat the ends of a loaf of bread when the rest of the bread is gone. The ends help protect the bread from spoiling. And spin the open end of the bread sack before you put the twist tie back on. Like you do a garbage sack.
My family is from Louisville (I live in Southern California) When newly married my husband observed that everyone in my family ate the loaf ends last, and that we twisted the wrapper; his family did not.
I think also it depended on what direction the utensil fell was the direction you would receive a visitor from. Also never go out the door you came in.
I have even seen the blue bottles in yards in NH. Must be people who were from the south? I never understood it - just assumed they REALLY liked blue bottles.
When I was young I heard that when you have looked all over your home for a favorite item and just can’t find it, say something out loud so that a deceased loved one will bring it back. For many years I didn’t even try this but finally when I couldn’t find a favorite ring, I thought ‘what harm can it do’? So when I was alone, I politely asked for the item back. The next day it was in plain view in its spot in the jewelry dresser drawer that I had emptied several times looking for it. By the way, when I told this to my husband, well..........he was very doubtful. Yet he tried it and got the same results, ha!!
Catholic friends tell me if you lose something, you can pray to Saint Anthony, and he’ll find it for you. Once you have recovered it, your end of the bargain is to make a donation to the church or give to the poor as a gesture of thanks.
@@censusgaryI heard a funny story about it. Someone was looking for something for a long time and got frustrated. She said, annoyed: FFS, St Anthony, will you let me find it or not and she tripped taking the next step. The thing she was looking for was under the bed. With one trip the punishment for cussing and the help was delivered…
Don't know about the bird inside the house but when my dad died an owl flew up to a tree outside the house in the daytime. Same thing happened when my grandmother and grandfather passed. Big owl, in broad daylight in the tree.
Owls move between worlds like many other winged animals. When my dogs died, I saw butterflies fly around close to them on both separate days of their deaths. I know my dogs are in heaven.
My parents looked at a house one time and there was a dead bird inside it. My mom decided if we moved in that we would all die because of the bird superstition so I can verify that is definitely a thing. I was surprised not more people on the panel knew it.
I swear I though I was the only one that knew about the dish cloth. My family also added that if you dropped the dish cloth, either lock or unlock the door for the guests, depending on whether or not the house was clean. 😂
Salt was a precious commodity all over the world (sugar too) and salt was locked up in a “Salt Cellar” (box). Masters & mistresses told servants that to spill salt was bad luck - that way the servants were afraid to spill it. Same with a broken mirror - seven years bad luck: only rich people could afford a “looking glass”.
Lord…we Texans use all of these! Y’all, southern pride is a real thing. Love it! Oh! I did GUESS on the hair washing question though. Got it right, so obviously my brain is VERY southern.
When I was growing up, no-one wanted the ‘heels’ (begin and end pieces in the loaf) because they usually were the driest (mom had to shop at the store for what was called the day old bread and baked items). We ate a lot of dried beans/bean soup growing up and I liked those ‘heels’ of bread to dip into the beans (it softened them up).
Yes, my father-in-law told me that. Apparently, you’ll accidentally move some bad juju along with the broom. Also, when you sweep the floor, you aren’t supposed to throw the sweepings out the back door, or maybe it’s the front door. I guess you might throw out your good luck, or something like that. Som people say if you sweep a person with a broom, even accidentally, you’ll cause them bad luck.
Of course. You don't want your old house spirit hitching a ride. The old house won't have a spirit, and will fall apart, and the new house will be in chaos because house spirits don't get along. Makes perfect sense.
My grandmother used to say if your left palm itches rub it on your left butt cheek to receive money. My theory on the left cheek is that is were many men kept/keep their wallet.
I thought it was that you had to touch wood near a graveyard. Often people also touched a button because sometimes they were made of wood. You hold your breath on i-10 going through the Wallace Tunnel in Mobile, Alabama, or honk your horn because it echoes.
History lesson here!! The reason we eat black eyed peas and collard has a sad story to it. During the war between the states the yankees came down and destroyed crops and homes. They left only the black eyed peas and collard cause they didn't know what they were. So for a year that's all the people had to eat. Hence we believe they bring good luck!!
Sherman's bummers left nothing! Sherman claimed that he did no harm to widows and single mothers but his bummers took or killed everything my widowed great-grandmother, her two toddlers, and my widowed great, great grandmother had on their poor farm in Brightsville, SC in April 1865. They were left with nothing! I can fully appreciate the story of having only dried black-eyed peas and greens for survival; many had less after Sherman waged his war on women, children, and the infirm. Those who in the South who had dried peas and fresh green on New Years 1866 were the fortunate few. No student of history should have any doubt why Sherman is to this day despised by Southerners of heritage!
Thanks to my Grandma from Mississippi, I knew almost all of these. And a wild bird flying into your house is supposed to be a harbinger of impending death for someone in the household. The bird does not cause the death, but is supposed to be a warning as I understand that superstition.
Don't forget the hog jowl to go with the black-eyed peas and greens. Black-eyed peas are for luck, greens are for money, and hog jowl is for a good year, health, and prosperity.
The only one I’d never heard of, after being born and bred in deep Appalachia, is the first rain of May thing. But I’m still sitting here happy on my haint blue porch watching the bottles in the tree.
I completely forgot about the glass bottles in the tree until I saw the multi-choice answer and instantly remembered why they did that. Thank all y'all for reminding me of that
Now we need a skit of all of these. I've heard the bird one with a variation. It's supposed to be a black bird (usually a crow or raven) as it would signify as the Grim Reaper entering your home to claim the soul it came for.
Yes, that is what I was told by relatives in Kentucky. Most people said that the black bird had to be a raven (that was why kids grew up fearing them).
My grandmother always tells us that if an owl hoots near a window of your home, there will be a death in the family. Birds are messengers because they can fly the closest to the sun and hear the secrets the creator whispers to them. Diff birds, diff meanings.
Supersition: Once a loved one has passed onto heaven they will leave little trinkets for you when they are thinking/watching of you. Proof: For my family, it is dimes. Shortly after her mother's death, my grandmother, who was just a kid, found a single dime in her mother's purse, which hadn't been used in years. Fast forward to September 2020, my grandmother passed away. Shortly after, everyone in our family started to find dimes in the oddest places. I found one right behind a quilt box that used to be hers the night before I left my apartment to go home for the funeral. I am unsure if this is truly a Southern superstition or not, but I do believe it.
The same thing happens to me since my father passed away. The morning I was getting ready to leave for his funneral I put on high top tennis shoes and was packing my car when I realized something was in my shoe. I took my shoe off and there were three dimes in it, I am the oldest of three sisters. On the way from Iowa to Texas dimes just kept appearing in the oddest places, he has been gone almost 8 years and it still happens all the time. My dad collected dimes for years so I guess he had a collection to use on the other side.
My family's superstition on that (idk if it is more than my family) is that Robin's perching in your yard are people visiting you from the dead. And gender matches. Since my grandma passed away back in 2015 whenever a robin perches in my mom's yard for some reason it is always a female robin so she literally looks right at it and says "hi mom, how are you doing today" and has a little conversation with the robin. It is kinda sweet.
Ha! So fun to do this! I think that I may have scored an "A" on this one, as I have heard most of them growing up. The haint colored porches, glass bottles in the tree, New Years Day cuisine, itchy/ chilly body parts (itchy palms: coming into money, chills down your back: someone is walking over your grave). If you're wondering about the meaning of the New Year's Day food, here is what I was taught growing up in Tennessee: Greens: Cash Money Black-eyed peas: Coin money Golden Cornbread: Gold Ham: Wealth (since a cured meat product is a "value-added" food, and only the wealthy could afford it at one time, this was a "luxury". But, growing up in Tennessee, we had country hams coming out of our ears.)
I am from the Midwest. My southern family explained never show your wife $100 bills. Their magical powers will make them disappear. And never say a word.
I am not superstitious; but I have heard these my whole life growing up in South Louisiana. We were told black eyed peas and cabbage. If your left hand was itching, you received money. If your right hand was itching, you had to give money. Or vice versa! People here make bottle trees on a post with pretty bottles. You paint the porch ceiling blue to help with flies. May Jesus continue to bless you and your family!
I always ate (and still do) eat the ends of a loaf of bread. Used to freak my mom out and I had no idea why til I was older. I knew most of these superstitions and I wonder just how common they are with regional variations. (I guessed at the black eyed peas and greens). I have an Irish/Scottish ancestry. Along with a plethora of other superstitions we have 'First Footer' on New Year's Day. The first one to cross the threshold to come in on New Year's Day must be dark headed. My dad was a red head. My Gran would not let him in from New Years Eve parties until one of his brothers got home. Lot of chilly nights for him. There is one thing I know about palms itching that I didn't see mentioned. If your right palm itches it means money is coming in. If your left palm itches it means money is going out. That's one from my Scottish aunt.
My poor dad would bake fresh bread, and if I was over, I would eat Both end pieces. If he made two loaves, I ate them from both loaves. Poor dad would just have this look of astonishment that I had managed it in the few minutes they were in the counter.😅 I LUV the ends.... totally my favorite.
If the bird is an owl or a bat, it’s very bad luck for you. If you see an owl in the daytime near your house, someone you know will die soon, and if you hear an owl hooting near your house at night…ditto, someone you know will die soon. Could be you too. I have totally experienced this. Every time I hear or see an owl, I freak out.
I just got chills! Not a week ago, I was driving home after dark and saw a woman sweeping her porch. I had no idea a why, but I said out loud, "No, girl! Get back in the house, now!" How did l know that superstition?
I got not only don't sweep porch at night but don't toss the inside sweepings outside at night cause it invites the devil in dump them the next morning
Benny Hill skit: Benny: "What does it mean when your palm itches?" Jackie: "It means you're going to have company." Benny: "What does it mean when your whole body itches?" Jackie: "It means they've shown up!"
@@rachelelizabethcharfauros847 Both my parents were born and raised in North GA (near Rome). I live in the northern most part of this state. Must be a northern thing. 🙄
I’ve heard all of them (except the haint blue paint) and many more. Tell Kevin that a bird in the house means death, but not necessarily his. It may be someone you know. Also, death usually comes in threes. Often when one person you know passes, there will be at two more in the near future.
All bad things in threes. And the bird thing actually kinda made sense when you figure in how many disease they carry and the fact that some of them travel way more than the average human
The bird thing is because people used to think they were what are called "psychopomps". Comes from a Greek belief originally. Since birds can fly, it was thought they would carry or shepherd newly departed souls to the afterlife.
im kinda amazed that i knew the correct answer to every question even though i have not been back to the South for 25+ years. its amazing what impressions from your childhood that still hold up emember to this day. even though i move a long , long time ago from The South(region of the U.S.) i seem to still kept this(and other "lessons") in my mind no matter where i am or how its been since sat out on my back porch in a rocker having me some sweet tea, fanning ourselves to try to deal wit the humid hheat.
I love how the race of the Southerner doesn't matter. I was taught all this since I was a child. The one I expected and didn't see was, don't drink milk and eat fish at the same time. My grandmother would never let us do that.
Never heard the bird one, but my grandmother would and still does tear into us if we ever even look like we’re about to set a hat down on the bed. She swears that invites death into the house.
From what I've read the Haint Blue comes from the Carolinas and the glass bottles are from further south, Southern Louisiana and Mississippi. The itching thing was what I grew up on definitely. The black eyed peas, greens and cornbread was a requirement for New Years. Also red brick dust on the door and window frames keep out evil spirits. So does salt. There is also dead snakes in trees is supposed to bring rain. Then there is a whole list of herb related superstitions.
You should write a book before these fascinating superstitions are lost to the ages. I believe there is some wisdom, lost knowledge, in all superstitions.
I was taught to paint the roof of your porch light blue in the South because then birds will not try to build nests in the eaves or rafters of the porch. To these birds it looks like the sky is above them and they feel they are not “under cover”…..they feel their nests are exposed to predators. If you have ever had to deal with birds building nests of mud, moss and grasses on your porch right above your head, ( and the poop ) and the baby bird’s food and poop all over the porch, you will want to paint your porch ceilings light blue.
Eat the heels of bread ? My parents were products of the depression, "waste not, want not, always have plenty", was drummed into my head, and I follow that philosophy to this day, and I'm well into my 70's. I love heels ! Rock on.
My mother used to tell us that bread crusts had more vitamins than the white part of the bread, and the heels were the most nutritious of all. My father, like one of the people here, thought you should eat the heels last, because they somehow kept the rest of the loaf from drying out or getting moldy. But neither of them would ever let any bread go to waste.
This is so weird!! I am russian and we TOO have the superstition that if a bird gets into your house there soon is going to be a death in the family. Wow.
In Downtown Charleston the old houses have the haint blue. The story behind it was that the spirits didn't come during the day only at night. So the people would paint that buildings and porches blue like the sky.
by the color of the sky (red). But what they miss in this video is: Porch ceilings are painted light blue or aqua to keep the mosquitoes from gathering underneath. The color confuses them.