Today in History: For some, and in ancient folklore, December 28 is considered the unluckiest day on the Christian calendar. This day is traditionally celebrated as the Massacre of the Innocents (Childermass), an incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great orders the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
According to Francis Kildale's 1855 Glossary of Yorkshire Words and Phrases, says of December 28 "that the day of the week on which it falls is marked as a black day for the whole year to come...No important affair is taken in hand on Childermass Day, and the sailors are heedful not to leave their port in the way of beginning a voyage under any consideration."
In Legends and Superstitions of the County of Durham by William Brockie (1886) warns, "it is very unlucky to begin any work whatever on this day."
In Brand's Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, it is noted that "this day is of most unlucky omen. None ever marries on a Childermas Day."
In history, children fared badly on this of all days: "Up until the seventeenth century, it was believed that ritually beating a child with a stick at Childermass brought the beater good luck and reminded the child of both King Herod's viciousness and Jesus's suffering." Bad Santas and Other Creepy Christmas Characters by Paul Hawkins
This day held great meaning in the medieval world where most families had lost a child due to the very high rates of infant mortality. While it was customary to wear white through the whole Christmas season, on this one day you wore red.
The day was considered incredibly unlucky, the most common superstition stating that anything begun on the day would never be finished or would go disastrously wrong – even doing something as innocent as laundry would be certain to result in a death in the family! "It is related of Louis XI. of France, that he would debate no state matter, and resented every attempt to trouble him with business, on the day of the Innocents." Robert Chambers 1847
Today in History: For some, and in ancient folklore, December 28 is considered the unluckiest day on the Christian calendar. This day is traditionally celebrated as the Massacre of the Innocents (Childermass), an incident in the nativity narrative of the Gospel of Matthew (2:16–18) in which Herod the Great orders the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
According to Francis Kildale's 1855 Glossary of Yorkshire Words and Phrases, says of December 28 "that the day of the week on which it falls is marked as a black day for the whole year to come...No important affair is taken in hand on Childermass Day, and the sailors are heedful not to leave their port in the way of beginning a voyage under any consideration."
In Legends and Superstitions of the County of Durham by William Brockie (1886) warns, "it is very unlucky to begin any work whatever on this day."
In Brand's Popular Antiquities of Great Britain, it is noted that "this day is of most unlucky omen. None ever marries on a Childermas Day."
In history, children fared badly on this of all days: "Up until the seventeenth century, it was believed that ritually beating a child with a stick at Childermass brought the beater good luck and reminded the child of both King Herod's viciousness and Jesus's suffering." Bad Santas and Other Creepy Christmas Characters by Paul Hawkins
This day held great meaning in the medieval world where most families had lost a child due to the very high rates of infant mortality. While it was customary to wear white through the whole Christmas season, on this one day you wore red.
The day was considered incredibly unlucky, the most common superstition stating that anything begun on the day would never be finished or would go disastrously wrong – even doing something as innocent as laundry would be certain to result in a death in the family! "It is related of Louis XI. of France, that he would debate no state matter, and resented every attempt to trouble him with business, on the day of the Innocents." Robert Chambers 1847
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