nPostednon May 29, 2014
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Isnthis really a thing?
Isnthis really a thing?n
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nSeveralnwebsites talk about this holiday as if putting a pillow onto yournrefrigerator one day a year is something that a lot of people do. Inhave definitely never seen or heard of such a thing, myself – Inwonder how widespread the custom really is!
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nIfnyou, like me, don’t know about the whole pillow-on-the-fridge thing,nyou are probably wondering why anyone would do such a thing. It turnsnout, it’s supposed to bring people good luck and prosperity.
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| An old-fashioned larder. |
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nSomehow,nback in the mists of time, a custom got started of putting a cloth innthe larder every May 29 for good fortune. That was back when peoplenactually had larders – small rooms (or large cupboards) in whichnfood was stored. These larders were located in the shadiest, coolestnpart of the house—but of course near the kitchen, and they werenkept as cool and dry as possible so that food would keep as long asnpossible. n
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nNowadays,nsome of us are lucky enough to have walk-in pantries or at leastnlarge food-storage cupboards, but of course we all have refrigeratorsnas well. Many of the things people used to store in a larder –nvegetables and cheeses, meats and leftovers – we now store in thenfridge. So somehow the custom of putting a cloth INTO the lardernevolved into putting a pillow ONTO the refrigerator.
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Arenyour customs based on superstitions?
Arenyour customs based on superstitions?n
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nAnsuperstition is a belief that there will be some supernatural effectnof wearing, saying, or doing certain things in a certain way. Fornexample, a student might wear a “lucky” sweatshirt on test day,nor an athlete might eat chicken before every game. Apparentlynbasketball great Michael Jordan wore his University of North Carolinanpractice shorts under his Chicago Bulls uniform every game! In ordernto cover the UNC shorts, Jordan started wearing longer NBA shorts—andnhe inspired a style trend; now everybody wears longer shorts.
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nBasketball shorts before and after Michael Jordan.
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nThank goodness for Michael Jordan!
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| This is pretty gross: When I was a little girl, EVERYBODY (yes, even me) had a rabbit’s foot lucky charm. You could feel the little bones and toenails. Now it seems pretty horrifying! |
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nObviously,nthere is no evidence that a cloth in one’s larder or a pillow onnone’s refrigerator on a particular day in May makes any difference innone’s life. This is just a superstition. But a lot of things thatnstart off as superstitions—things that people believed really WOULDnbring good luck or ward off bad luck—become fun customs that peoplencontinue to do long after superstitious belief in their power hasnfaded. (For example, colored eggs were supposed to protect thenowner’s health or bring good luck—but these days, most of us whoncolor Easter eggs do it just for fun!)
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nAlsonon this date:
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nAnniversary of Rhode Island’s and Wisconsin’s statehood
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nPatternninventor Ebenezer Butterick’s birthdaynn
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nAnniversarynof a solar eclipse confirming the Theory of Relativity
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nAnniversarynof the first successful climb of Mount Everest
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nPlannahead:
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Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
Checknout my Pinterest boards for:
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nMayn holidays
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nMayn birthdays
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nHistoricaln anniversaries in May
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nAndnhere are my Pinterest boards for:
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nJunen holidays
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nJunen birthdays
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n Historicaln anniversaries in June
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