Happy St. Patrick’s Day from The Heathers

Happy St Patrick's Day! While everyone may be talking about the Luck of the Irish, they are not the only people who feel lucky! We thought it would be fun to share some Scottish good luck traditions with our readers as well as some personal lucky charms of our residents and staff.

Handselling:

I’ll admit I had to look this one up when I first ran across it. Handselling is a token or gift often given at a new start or beginning for good fortune. This tradition is the practice of placing a silver coin in a newborn’s hand. This gesture was said to bring the child good fortune and wealth later on in life.

Heavenly Heather:

While purple heather is beautiful to behold and near to many Scots' hearts, white heather is supposed to be incredibly lucky. White heather was often carried by warriors in ancient battles to prevent harm and to bring victory. In modern society, white heather can often be seen in Scottish weddings. A groom will sport this flower in his boutonniere and a bride will be sure to include sprigs in her bouquet.

Follow the white rabbit: 

Like many cultures, Scots believe in the luck of a hare or a rabbit. Like white heather, a white rabbit is seen in Scotland as particularly lucky.

Closer to home, here at The Heathers, resident Gert considers her children’s birth dates to be lucky days. Lucky numbers are a common tradition in many cultures, but your children’s birthdays seem even luckier.

Executive Director John Apostle has a good luck icon of St. Marina. He considers her lucky because his birthday falls on her day of celebration.

As for me, I’m a huge fan of the saying ‘find a penny, pick it up, all day long you’ll have good luck.’ I don’t care whether it's heads or tails, just finding a shiny penny as I’m out and about always makes me feel like it will be a good day.

We hope you enjoyed our post on Scottish luck. We'd like to note that the following articles were used for reference:

-Heather Mythology and Folklore on Trees for Life (link)

-Unwrapping Scottish superstitions, traditions and customs on Visit Scotland (link)