General Superstitions

It is unlucky to wash a baby's head for the first twelve months.

Washing a child's hand's before his first birthday will take away his riches and would live and die poor.

Nails should be bitten, not cut, for the same time, for that would make them thieves.

Hair at no age must be cut at the waning of the moon, that would prevent it growing luxuriantly.

Hair cut off should always be burned; it unlucky to throw shorn hair away; otherwise, birds might make a nest of your hair, weaving tightly, so that you would have difficulty rising on your last day.

Children's first lost teeth are burned in order to prevent snaggle teeth from coming in.

Coral necklaces are worn to ensure easy teething.

Coral beads are said to change color indicating whether the wearer is ill or well.

All locks in a house are unlocked at birthing to ensure an easy delivery.

Cornishmen of the west are born with tails; they drop off when the Tamar River is crossed.

When a boy is born under the waning moon, the next birth will be a girl, and vice versa.

When a child is born under a waxing moon, the next birth will be of the same sex.

A child born at the interval between the old and new moons is fated to die young.

Babies with blue veins across their noses will not live to see twenty-one.

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