Thursday 10 April 2008

Mountain Hare



Sailors considered hares so unlucky they could not be mentioned at sea.
In some places a hare crossing the path was unlucky, especially for a pregnant woman who would miscarry or give birth to a child with a hare-lip.
A hare's foot was carried as a charm to avert this, preferably from the left rear leg; losing the charm would prove very unfortunate.
A hare's foot was said to avert rheumatism and cramps and help actors perform, or was carried as a good luck charm.
Hare fat burned in a lamp was thought to make all present merry.
Its brain was taken in wine before bed to prevent oversleeping.
The genitals were used in aphrodisiac potions.
In Cambridgeshire a hare running through the streets is a sign that a fire is about to break out.
A Cornish superstition says a young girl who dies after being abandoned by her lover will turn into a white hare in order to pursue her faithless love.
In agricultural lore, the hare has entered into the language of reaping corn. They often hide in cornfields during the reaping and the last sheaf is often called 'the hare' and its cutting called 'killing the hare', 'cutting the hare' or 'cutting the hare's tail off'. In some places the reapers would all stand around and throw their sickles at the 'hare'.
Hare today Gone Tomorrow

8 comments:

dot said...

Interesting superstitions and great pictures! I don't think I've heard any of these before.

Rose said...

That poor hare is blamed for everything!

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Peter: That was a (hare) raising experience to read this post. That was a lovely picture of the hare and I learned a few new sayings.

Anonymous said...

Boy this post brings back a lot of childhood memories. We used to hunt rabbits when I was young and during World War II. Mom and I had no meat to eat so a rabbit was a worthy treat. I shot them with a sling shot and bow and arrow because we didn't have a gun. Mostly with a sling shot.

These are nice photos, Pete.

Abraham Lincoln in Brookville, Ohio.

Texas Travelers said...

.
This is a great post.

Very well done.

Troy

Suzi-k said...

goodness, poor little bunny has all those heavy superstitions attached to it! That top photo is a breathtaker, wow! The whole thing, form, colour, hare, grass, but especially those spectacular rocks... a WINNER!

DeeMom said...

Very interesting

nonizamboni said...

I have only heard and read about hares. These photos are so interesting as is the lore.
Nice post!