Old Wives' Tales

Honey, you need garlic around your neck.

It's bad luck to walk under a ladder!

Feed a cold; starve a fever.

Don't touch that frog, sweetie; you'll get warts.

An Old Wives' Tale

is a belief

or superstition

not necessarily based on fact.

Plato, well-known Greek philosopher, first used this phrase around 300 B.C.  It first appeared in English in the 1300s.  The "old wives" refer to people in the olden days who gave advice based on superstitions.

Other tales include:

*drinking warm milk makes you sleepy {make mine chocolate}

*an apple a day keeps the doctor away {does apple pie count?}

*long labor?  must be a boy {true in our family}

*eat carrots to see better in the dark {do I need to be up that late?}

*gain a child, lose a tooth {I don't know about losing a tooth, but my dental bill was astronomical}

*chicken soup fights a cold {and makes you feel good no matter what}

It seems that the "old wives"

from generation to generation

continue to come up with "tales."

For example, I don't believe that elderly wives from Plato's era
picked at their daughters-in-law to--

never open the door when 
baking a souffle or  
watch out for foods with mayonnaise--they
spoil faster.

I wish my own mother had know the old-wives tale of
chocolate relieves menstrual cramps.
It would have eliminated much suffering.

I used to brush my hair 100 strokes before bedtime, that is, until I got tired of counting-- and washed it until squeaky clean.  With wisdom comes age, sometimes, and I now know that washing your hair until it squeaks strips the hair shafts of essential oils.


Just recently, I over-heard a lady with long spirals state that she rarely uses shampoo--only conditioner.  And, get this, she only "finger-combs" so as not to cause split ends.

No shampoo?  You are kidding, right?

And while we're on the subject of hair-care, you CAN go outside when your hair is wet and NOT catch a cold.  The researchers tell us that getting chilled does not cause a cold--at least not under laboratory conditions.



Out of all the afore-mentioned "old wives' tales," it seems that the only ones with validity are--

Chocolate helps relieve pre-menstrual cramps.

{It contains mood-boosting chemicals--dark chocolate works best.}

Chicken soup will cure your cold.

{Maybe not cure but does reduce inflammation in lungs.}

Fish IS brain food.

{Fish oils are are critical for lots of things including brain function.}

Unless you do not care for chocolate, chicken soup or fish, you're in luck

The most recent "tale" I've heard is... drum-role, please.... this may be a new one to you:

Take me to bed with you...

Soap, at the foot of the bed, cures night-time leg cramps.

The medical community says no.
However, it seems to work for some people.
If you're a believer, replace the soap bar every few months
   or rejuvenate by shaving some of it off.
If you're a skeptic... the believers feel there is a yet unidentified molecule present in the soap...

This takes us back to "old wives" tales and their definition:  a belief not necessarily based on fact....

Hmmmmm.... 

One of the phrases my parents often used was 

The Golden Rule:

Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. 

This is not an "old-wives"tale, however.

It is found in the scriptures of nearly every religion and is in straight-forward language.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

Leviticus 19:18

Whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.

Matthew 7:12

One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.

African Yoruba Proverb, Nigeria

When asked "Teacher which is the great commandment in the law?"

Jesus said to him, 

"You shall love the Lord Your God. . . 

This is the great and first commandment.  

And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 

Peter M. Marty in his article, "Passing the Peace," in LUTHERAN magazine shared the following story....

 

I have a pastoral friend in the Baptist tradition who established a delightful liturgical practice in his congregation.  When passing the peace, worshipers enjoy a weekly ritual.  Instead of saying, "Peace be with you," worshipers turn to one another and say:

I love you.

And there is nothing

you can do about it."

Gutzy!

                                                    This week--enjoy your dark chocolate, 

your chicken noodle soup, 

your favorite fish, 

stick a bar of soap in bed with you,

and treat others with love...

every day....
just like you would like to be treated.

Next week's blog:
poetry?