Windy weather in each week,
And hard tempest, strong and thick.
The summer shall be good and dry,
Corn and beasts will multiply.
(k) Light Christmas, light wheatsheaf. ("Light" here refers to the full moon.)
(l) There is a firm belief that to leave Christmas decorations hanging beyond Twelfth-Night is to bring ill-luck to everybody in the house.
HOLY INNOCENTS' DAY.—December 28th was formerly reckoned as the most unlucky day of the whole year, and few had the temerity to begin any work or start any new undertaking then.
HOGMANAY.—In Scotland, the night of December 31st is known as Hogmanay. Then the fire is "rested," and on no account is it allowed to go out on the hearth, nor is the house swept, nor ashes nor water "thrown out," in case all the luck should be swept out. "Dirt bodes luck." It is lucky to give away food or money, to break a drinking glass accidentally, for a girl to see a man from her window on New Year's morning, and the birth of a child brings good luck to the entire family.
OTHER WEATHER PROPHECIES
A blustering night, a fair day.