The leprechaun is a fairy shoemaker eagerly sought by people who like to get rich quick. If the mortal who meets him will only keep his eyes fixed upon the fairy, the little chap will have to disclose the hiding place of a certain crock of gold. But the leprechaun is so full of tricks to make people look away from him, that few of those who have met him have got rich at his expense.

Here’s a poem about this tricksy little guy….

The Leprechaun
By Denis Aloysius McCarthy
 

O summer is the time to see the little leprechaun;

He haunts the Irish hedges at the very peep o’ dawn;

You hear a little hammer going rap-a-tap-a-tap —

And then you know he’s close at hand, the foxy fairy chap.

And, faith, the little leprechaun has knowledge of a place

Where lies a crock o’ fairy gold — the hoarding of his race;

And, if you keep your eye on him, you have him in your power,

And he must tell you where ’tis hid, that golden fairy dower.

But, ah! beware the leprechaun, for he has tricks to blind,

And if you look away from him he’ll vanish like the wind.

And sure ’tis I that know it, for I flung away my chance

Of ever being wealthy by one fatal, fleeting glance.

For once at early morning, ere the sun had drunk the dew,

I came upon the leprechaun at work upon a shoe;

At work upon a fairy shoe, the crabbed little elf,

And, O, so very busy that he didn’t see myself.

"Good morning to your honor, sir," all flustered like, I said.

"Good morning kindly, sir," said he, and hardly raised his head.

‘Twas coolly he replied to me, betraying no surprise;

In fact, I thought I saw a roguish twinkle in his eyes.

"Tis early you are up," said I, not knowing what to say.

"Ah, yes," said he, "but that’s because I’m rather rushed to-day.

But, though I rise so early, yet I honestly declare

I’m never up so early as my neighbor over there."

With that he jerked his head a bit, and, thinking to behold

Another fairy cobbler with another crock of gold,

I looked away a moment — in that moment he was gone,

And vanished all my fortune with the tricksy leprechaun!

Many thanks to Gracie Gralike for sharing her Leprechaun drawing!

The Leprechaun,—the omadhaun*!—that lives in County Clare,

Is one foot wide and three foot high without an inch to spare.

He winks the sea-blue eye of him, like other saucy rogues,

And underneath the blackthorn-bush he sits to clout his brogues.

Then, if you catch the Leprechaun and never loose your hold,

He’s bound to show you where he’s hid a pot of yellow gold,

And give you, too, a fairy purse with tassels down the end,

That’s never bare, but always full, no matter what you spend.

‘Tis I would catch the Leprechaun;—and then what would I do?

I’d take the yellow gold, machree**, and give it all to you!

*An Omadhaun is a simpleton or fool (Irish word)
**Machree means "my dear" in Irish English.

Irish Blessing

May your pockets be heavy

And your heart be light.

May good luck pursue you

Each morning and night.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

-Mama Lisa

Leprechauns are known to be shoemakers.  At the end of the work day, they hide away the money they earned in a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

Song of The Leprechaun or Fairy Shoemaker is a perfect poem for St. Patrick’s Day.  You can hear it sung in the mp3 below.

MP3 of Song of the Leprechaun

Song of The Leprechaun or

Fairy Shoemaker

Tip-tap, rip-rap,

Tick-a- tack-too!

Scarlet leather, sewn together,

This will make a shoe.

Left, right, pull it tight;

Summer days are warm;

Underground in Winter.

Laughing at the storm!

Big boots a-hunting,

Sandals in the hall,

White for a wedding-feast.

Pink for a ball.

This way, that way.

So we make a shoe;

Getting rich every stitch,

Tick-a-tack-too!

Rip-rap, tip-tap,

Tick-a-tack-too!

(A grasshopper on my cap!

Away the moth flew!)

Buskins for a Fairy Prince,

Brogues for his son, —

Pay me well, pay me well.

When the job is done!

Sung by Julia Niedermaier.

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa

When my son was born, my husband’s grandmother asked if she could tie a red ribbon to the bottom of his crib.  This was to ward off the "evil eye" and keep away bad luck.

Some people wear a red string or bracelet on their left hand to ward off the "evil eye" too.  The red bracelet is called a roite bindele in Yiddish,  The idea of a red ribbon warding off evil comes from old Jewish folklore and is associated with Judaism’s Kabbalah. The Kabbalah is a mystical doctrine, not religious in nature. 

The "evil eye" in Judaism is connected to other people’s envy having the potential to cause evil.  Where newborns are concerned, there seems to be a connection with the mythological figure of Lilith.  In some stories, Lilith was Adam’s first wife (before Eve).  She became known as a demonic woman who was blamed for the deaths of infants. She’s also known as a baby-stealer.  Talismans are worn to ward off her "evil eye". 

The tradition of using a red string to ward off evil is associated with Rachel, the wife of Jacob in the Bible.  Rachel is considered to be the "eternal mother" who watches over children. 

There is a ritual that is still performed at Rachel’s Tomb.  It involves wrapping a red string around her tombstone seven times while a Rabbi recites a prayer. 

People wear a piece of the string as a charm to ward off evil and to protect the person wearing it from danger.

Please feel free to share any traditions you know about talismans to ward off evil and to protect babies in the comments below.

-Mama Lisa

Image: Rachel and Jacob by William Dyce (1806–1864)

Towards the end of WWI two cousins, young girls, took photos with fairies they said they had met.  Later they admitted they faked the photos.   Yet many people at the time believed they were real, including the author of the Sherlock Holmes stores, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

The fairies came to be called the "Cottingley Fairies".  They appear in a series of five photographs taken by the two cousins, Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths (photo at the right) who were living in Cottingley, England. The 1st two were taken in 1917, when Elsie was 16 years old and Frances was 10.

The cousins used to go to the stream at the end of their garden.  Frances would often fall in the stream and come home wet.  Finally, one time her mother asked her why she came back wet all the time.  Frances claimed she was talking to the fairies.  To back up Frances’ story, her older cousin Elsie took out her father’s camera and created the first photo of Frances with the fairies (the 1st photo at top).

A month later they photographed the 2nd photo of Elsie with a  Gnome, shown below.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, author of the Sherlock Holmes detective stories, was amazed by these 2 photos and took them to be evidence of the supernatural. His wife had died in 1906 and his son, his brother, his two nephews and two brothers-in-law had all died in the years around WWI.  He desperately wanted to believe in supernatural spirits and life after death. 

Doyle wrote about and published the two photos in The Strand Magazine in 1920.  He told the world they were real.  Some people believed they were and some didn’t.

Doyle was able to procure a camera for the girls to take more photos.  They took the next three photos.  Francis and the Leaping Fairy…

Fairy Offering Posy Flowers to Elsie…

And the last photo, Fairies and Their Sun-Bath…

Doyle also wrote a book called, "The Coming of the Fairies" (1922) giving his arguments why he thought the photos were real. 

Doyle died in 1930.  Yet for years after his death the girls continued to claim the photos were real. 

In 1982, Geoffrey Crawley, editor of the British Journal of Photography decided to do a scientific study to see if the photos were real.  He determined that the camera the girls said they used to take the photo couldn’t have produced a picture with that quality.  From that it was determined that the image wasn’t the original print.  On the negative plate, he found evidence that the picture was manipulated.

Finally in 1983, after Crowley published his findings, the cousins admitted the photos had been faked. 

They said they created them after being teased by the adults about claiming to see fairies. Here’s what they did: Elsie copied an illustration of fairies (see below) onto cardboard from a book called Princess Mary’s Gift Book (1914). She added wings to the fairies.  Then she cut out the figures and stood them up in the grass with hatpins to take Frances’ picture with them.  The idea was that the adults would have to stop teasing them about fairies after seeing the photo.

The girls couldn’t believe people actually believed they were real.  Perhaps people wanted to believe they were real. 

Once Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put his support behind the photos, the cousins felt they couldn’t debunk the story. 

Here you can see part of an interview of the cousins about the pictures….

Even though the cousins admitted the photos were fake, Frances still believed there were fairies at the bottom of the garden near the stream.

Photography was new in those days so it was harder to prove fake photography.  If people want to believe something, I guess they’ll find ways to justify it.  It’s just so amazing that two girls were able to fool so many people, including the supposedly analytical creator of Sherlock Holmes!

PS Perhaps the girls were influenced by the poem called Fairies by Rose Fyleman.

Fatima wrote yesterday from Iran, "It’s Yalda night ceremony (the longest night of the year).  Iranian people eat nuts, walnuts, pomegranate, and watermelon for Yalda."

Yaldā is an ancient Persian Winter Solstice celebration. People used to stay up for most of the night to ward off misfortune.  Nowadays, families mainly gather together for a nice meal.  Fruits and nuts are usually part of the meal.

Thanks for sharing Fatima!

Mama Lisa

Photo: Wikipedia

Barmbrack is an Irish fruit bread that’s served for Halloween and for Samhain, a similar holiday celebrated on November 1st.

Barmbrack has traditionally been cooked with objects inside that are used for “fortune-telling”.  Below are some objects used.  Whoever receives the slice with that object is supposed to have the corresponding fortune in the upcoming year:

A Toy Coin: That person will get rich.
A Piece of Fabric or a Bean:  Poverty
A Matchstick:  An unhappy marriage with fighting.
Gold Ring: Marriage
A Button: Bachelorhood
A Thimble: Spinsterhood
A Pea: That person will not get married in the upcoming year.

Nowadays, barmbrack is sold in stores with only a toy ring baked inside. The person who gets the ring is supposed to be the one who will get married.

Barmbrack comes from the Gaelic term for the bread which is “bairín breac”.  This translates to speckled bread.  It’s speckled because there’s dried fruit in it. 

There’s an Irish Gaelic song with Barmbrack mentioned in it called Oíche Shamhna (Halloween).  It’s sung to the tune of Frère Jacques.

There’s also a recipe for Barmbrack online!

Image: Wikipedia

This version of the Nénette and Rintintin dolls won’t have a tuft of hair at the top of the head. They’ll have the string to hang the doll up with instead:

Supplies

Yarn (including a red or pink piece for the mouth)
5 inch piece of cardboard
3 inch piece of cardboard
Scissors
Yarn Needle
Black Embroidery Thread & Needle

1.  Wind yarn around a 5 inch piece of cardboard 50 times.

2.  Next get 3 equal length pieces of yarn – about 18 to 24 inches each. Line them up together to make the string.  Put them through the top of the loop of yarn leaving an equal amount of string on either side of the loop.  Then tie one knot with the strings right at the top of the loop. You’ll braid all of them later.

3.  Wind another piece of yarn around a 3 inch piece of cardboard about 20 to 30 times.  This piece of yarn can be a different color if you’d like. 

4.  Then take this yarn off the cardboard: these are the dolls arms; tie a piece of yarn around each “wrist” and cut off the tip to make the hands.

5.  Slip the arms between the “body” yarn (from step 1 above) and the cardboard.  Then take the “body” yarn off the cardboard while holding the “arms” in place.

6.  Tie a piece of yarn above the “arms” – at neck height to form the head.  Then tie another piece of yarn below the arms to form the waist.

7.  You can now braid the strings at the top.  You’ll have two braids – one on each side of the knot you made in step 2.  Tie a little knot into the top of each braid.  Then use the top of the two braids to make a bow.

8.  Cut the bottom of the 5” loop to free the yarn.

9.  To make the boy doll Nénette, separate the bottom “clump” of yarn into two equal parts.  Then tie each of the two “legs” near the bottom with a string of yarn to make each “leg”.

10.  To sew on the mouth use a big yarn needle.  Take red or pink yarn and pass the needle around twice to make the upper and lower lips.

To sew on the eyes, use a regular sewing needle with thick black thread to shape the eyes as shown in the photo below.

11.  To make the girl doll Rintintin, follow all the steps above.  After you’ve made the legs as shown in step 9, cut off the outer pieces of yarn around the perimeter of each leg to make a skirt.  Make sure not to cut the inner yarn – you want the doll to still have “legs”.

I hope you enjoy making French lucky charm dolls!  You’re taking part in a tradition that dates back to WWI.

-Mama Lisa

Many thanks to Monique Palomares who works with me on the French version of Mama Lisa’s World for sharing the photos and instructions for making these good luck yarn dolls.

Supplies

Some Yarn (including a piece of red or pink yarn for the mouth) 
5 inch piece of cardboard 
Scissors
Yarn Needle
Black Embroidery Thread & Needle

1.  Wind yarn around a 5 inch piece of cardboard 50 times.

2.  Carefully take the yarn off the cardboard.  While keeping it in its “loop” form, tie it with a piece of yarn near the top.  Then tie another piece of yarn a little below the top.  This will eventually form the doll’s “hair” and “head”.

3.  Cut the top loop and the bottom loop to “free” the yarn.

4.  Take 7 or 8 strings of yarn from each side of the doll to make the arms.  Tie a piece of yarn around the middle of each “arm”. Cut off most of the yarn below where it was tied to make the “hands”.

Then tie a piece of yarn around the middle of the “body” (not too low down) to make the waist.

5. To make the boy doll Nénette, separate the bottom “clump” of yarn into two equal parts.  Then tie them near the bottom with a string of yarn to make each “leg”.

6.  To make the girl doll Rintintin, follow all of the directions above including making the legs in step 5.  Then cut off the outer pieces of yarn around the perimeter of each leg to make a skirt .  Make sure not to cut the inner yarn so the doll still has “legs”.

7.  To sew on the mouth use a big yarn needle.  Take red or pink yarn and pass the needle around twice to make the upper and lower lips.

To sew on the eyes, use a regular sewing needle with black thread to shape the eyes as shown in the photo below.

Enjoy making French lucky charm dolls!  You’ll be taking part in a tradition that’s nearly 100 years old.

-Mama Lisa

Many thanks to Monique Palomares who works with me on the French version of Mama Lisa’s World for sharing the photos and instructions for making these good luck yarn dolls.

When WWI came, people started making little Nénette et Rintintin dolls out of yarn.  They were given to soldiers as good luck charms.  They were also worn by Parisians to protect them during air raids.

These dolls were little -only about an inch tall – so they could be pinned onto clothes, worn on hats, in buttonholes or around the neck like a necklace.  They could be found in all different colors… Yet they were often made in the blue, white and red of the flag.  Eventually, you could find these dolls made out of different materials too like straw and silk.

Monique wrote from France, “I remember now making those dolls. I remember sewing eyes and a mouth on the face, but it’s so long ago.”  When she was making them it was well after the war, in the late 50’s or early 60’s. 

Monique wrote, “I remember making the dolls bigger than 1” tall since by the time I was making them it wasn’t about being a good luck charm, but just about making some doll and keeping us busy! Ours were made to be about 3 or 4 inches tall.”

Interestingly, the name of the dog in the old TV show Rintintin comes from these dolls.  Here’s how that came about: An American soldier named Lee Duncan found a litter of live pups in a bombed out kennel in Lorraine a couple of months before the war ended.  He kept two of the pups and named them after the good luck charms Nénette and Rintintin.  When he returned home to California he taught Rintintin tricks.  The dog was able to leap to very great heights.  His friend filmed the dog jumping 11 feet and Duncan decided to get him into a career in Hollywood.  The rest of Rintintin’s story is history!

There’s a French rhyme about Nenette et Rintintin that you can learn on Mama Lisa’s World’s French song pages.

P.S. We posted instructions for making Nénette and Rintintin Yarn Dolls here.

Photo Credits:
Photo of soldier is from “Popular Mechanics Magazine”, Volume 30 from 1918.
Photo of the Poulbot Pair Nénette et Rintintin is courtesy of SLHDolls on eBay.

In real life, Fairy Rings are a naturally occurring phenomena where mushrooms grow in a circle.

In folklore, Fairy Rings are an enchanted place where fairies gather at night and dance under the moonlight.

John Milton mentioned dancing Fairy Elves in the first Book of Paradise Lost…

Fairy Elves
Whose midnight revels, by a forest side
Or fountain some belated peasant sees,
Or dreams he sees, while over-head the Moon
Sits arbitress, and nearer to the earth
Wheels her pale course, they, on their mirth and dance Intent, with jocund music charm his ear;
At once with joy and fear his heart rebounds.

MP3 Recording of Fairy Elves

It’s not hard to see how man would come up with a supernatural reason for Fairy Rings.  They are so unusual!

The text is from a book called “The Illustrated London Magazine” from 1855…

“The month of May is quite an old-maid’s garden; filled with all varieties of superstitions, some of which may be classed as weeds and the others as flowers, but most of which have but little root in the well-known cheerful character of the month… for May is not considered a favourable month for happy marriages. Thus, also, to bathe the face in dew that lies upon the morning grass was considered on the First of May to be as beneficial as the bath of beauty in the fairy tales… 

Various divinations are in several counties practiced during this month. In Northumberland, for instance, they fish with a ladle for a wedding-ring that has been dropt into a bowl of syllabub [a thick English dessert, see photo]… and whoever is the fortunate angler will, as sure as there are gudgeons in the sea, be married first.

A slower kind of divination is, also, practiced with snails – a curious team to harness to the fortuneteller’s chariot. The process is best described in the’ following pastoral revelation, that smacks very strong, we must say, of the gooseberry…”

Last May-day fair I search’d to find a snail
That might my secret lover’s name reveal:
Upon a gooseberry bush a snail I found,
For always snails near sweetest fruit abound.
I seiz’d the vermin; home I quickly sped,
And on the hearth the milk-white embers spread.
Slow crawl’d the snail, and it I right can spell,
In the soft ashes ink’d a curious L:
Oh! may this wondrous omen lucky prove!
For L is found in Luberkin and Love.
With my sharp heel I three times mark the ground,
And turn me thrice around, around, around.

Sweet!  Have a Merry Month of May!

Mama Lisa

Wedding Superstitions

The old rhyme that had to do with the days of the week still holds considerable power in the choice of the wedding day in some districts. In Scotland one seldom hears of a Saturday wedding, while in both France and Ireland Sunday is the favorite day. The Romans considered Wednesday the luckiest of the week, and the old rhyme referred to carries out the same idea. It runs…

"Monday for health.
Tuesday for wealth,
Wednesday the best day of all;
Thursday for crosses,
Friday for losses,
And Saturday no luck at all!"

Just what luck followed Sunday’s bride tradition sayeth not.

A January bride will be a good housekeeper, good-tempered and thrifty.

A February bride will prove an affectionate wife and good mother.

A March bride will turn out a frivolous chatterbox, given to mischief-making and quarreling.

An April bride will be inconstant; not very intelligent, but fairly good-looking.

A May bride is handsome, amiable and likely to make others happy.

A June bride will be sunny-tempered, impetuous and generous.

A July bride is likely to prove quick tempered, though ready to forgive and forget.

An August bride is usually practical, clever and a good housekeeper.

A September bride is said to be affable, discreet and well liked by all.

An October bride will be pretty, coquettish, loving, but intensely jealous.

A November bride is liberal and kind, but of a wild disposition.

A December bride is extravagant, fond of novelty and entertaining.

The old superstitions anent [about] the wedding gown have been rhymed to suit almost every country and every class of wearer. The rhyme announces:

"Married in white, you’ve chosen all right.
Married in blue, you will be true.
Married in yellow, ashamed of the fellow.
Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in gray, you’ll live faraway.
Married in brown, you’ll live in the town.
Married In red, you’ll wish yourself dead.
Married in black, for luck you’ll lack."

Illustrations from the Ladies’ Home Journal (1921).

Where The Bee Sucks (Shakespeare)

Where the bee sucks, there suck I:

In a cowslip’s bell I lie;
There I couch when owls do cry.
On the bat’s back I do fly
After summer merrily:
Merrily, merrily, shall I live now,
Under the blossom that hangs on the bough.
 

MP3 Recordings of Where the Bee Sucks (Recited by Little Tee) 

MP3 of Where the Bee Sucks (Sung by Ruth Golding)

Cowslip

Marsha wrote to me about the rhyme that was chanted by her grandmother:

“I’ve been trying to find the source of a chant my grandmother taught me.  My mother (who is 86) has some memory of it but doesn’t know where it came from.  My grandmother came from southern Indiana and had mostly English ancestry.  Since I’ve never seen it written, I can only write it as I remember hearing it.  Can you help me?  I can not find anyone who has heard this.”

Eenie, rorie, rickry Ann
Filosy, falosy, Nicholas, John.
Kreevy, kravy, English Navy
Stinklum, stanklum, buck.

-Marsha Marcuson

There are many variations of this rhyme that can be found from long ago.  Harry Bolton wrote in his book, “The Counting-out Rhymes of Children” (1888), that these rhymes had their origins in a magical spell in a Romany language of the gypsies:

We have referred to a single case in which a current doggerel has been traced to its source—a magical spell; the following rhyme, notable for its senseless combination of uncouth words and jingling rhythm, is well known to most adults and many children in the United States, especially in New England.

One-ery, two-ery, ickery, Ann;
Fillicy, fallacy, Nicholas John;
Queever, quaver, Irish Mary,
Stinclum, stanclum, buck.

On the authority of Mr. Charles G. Leland, author of several works on the gypsies and their language, the above rhyme differs little from a Romany stanza, which is virtually a gypsy magic spell. The Romany is as follows :—

‘Ekkeri, akai-ri, you kair-an,
Fillisin, follasy, Nicholas ja’n;
Kivi, kavi, Irishman,
Stini, stani, buck.

This is chiefly nonsense, but can be translated in part:—

First—here—you begin
Castle—gloves. You don’t play. Go on.
Kivi, kettle, How are you?
Stini—buck—buck.

Leland remarks that "Ekkeri, akai-ri" literally translated gives the familiar "One-ery, two-ery" and this is etymologically analogous to "Hickory, dickory" in the nursery rhyme…

Here’s a “One-ery, two-ery” rhyme from Bolton’s book that’s more similar to Marsha’s rhyme:

One-ery, two-ery, ickery, Ann,
Fillison, follison, Nicholas John;
Quevy, quavy, English navy,
Stincktum, stancktum, buck!

(Index., Tex., Mo., Ia., Kan.)

Here’s another that I think comes even closer to the sound in Marsha’s rhyme:

Ery, iry, ickery, Ann,
Fillisy, follosy, Nicholas John;
Quevy, quavy, English navy,
Stinkulum, stankulum, buck!

Hartford, 1860.

Whether or not these rhymes really come from an old gypsy spell seems dubious…  Either way, they’ve been used by children as counting-out rhymes in many, many variations over the past couple of centuries.  That makes them intriguing enough in their own right!

-Mama Lisa 

Painting: Van Gogh’s “The Caravans – Gypsy Camp near Arles”

MP3 Recording of The Sandman

 

The Sandman
By Margaret Vandergrift

 

The rosy clouds float overhead,

The sun is going down;

And now the sandman’s gentle tread

Comes stealing through the town.

"White sand, white sand," he softly cries,

And as he shakes his hand,

Straightway there lies on babies’ eyes

His gift of shining sand.

Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,

As shuts the rose, they softly close,

When he goes through the town.

 

From sunny beaches far away—

Yes, in another land—

He gathers up at break of day

His store of shining sand.

No tempests beat that shore remote,

No ships may sail that way;

His little boat alone may float

Within that lovely bay.

Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,

As shuts the rose, they softly close,

When he goes through the town.

 

He smiles to see the eyelids close

Above the happy eyes;

And every child right well he knows,

Oh, he is very wise!

But, if as he goes through the land,

A naughty baby cries,

His other hand takes dull gray sand

To close the wakeful eyes.

Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,

As shuts the rose, they softly close,

When he goes through the town.

 

So when you hear the sandman’s song

Sound through the twilight sweet,

Be sure you do not keep him long

A-waiting on the street.

Lie softly down, dear little head,

Rest quiet, busy hands,

Till, by your bed his good-night said,

He strews the shining sands.

Blue eyes, gray eyes, black eyes, and brown,

As shuts the rose, they softly close,

When he goes through the town.

Many thanks to Lila Pomerantz for reciting this poem for us!

-Mama Lisa

Hello Lisa, 

Today is December 28th. and I found a very pretty Kizuna kamaboko photo in our paper.

Kamaboko is our traditional fish paste food, which is used in New Year’s foods too.   In the pic, Kizuna letters were put on heart shaped kamaboko. It was made at Tohoku, a tsunami area. It looks really pretty.

Hope you like my pic.

Ayako

Thanks for sharing Ayako!  I read on Wikipedia that, "Red-skinned and white kamaboko are typically served at celebratory and holiday meals, as red and white are considered to bring good luck."

I have had kamaboko here in the US.  We often eat soba soup at a Japanese restaurant.  They put a slice of kamaboko on top of the soup with a piece of shrimp tempura.  Ayako told me soba noodle soup is traditional to eat for the New Year in Japan.  It’s called toshikoshi soba noodles, meaning "crossing into the new year noodles".  I found a recipe for toshikoshi here.

Here’s wishing you good luck in the New Year!

Mama Lisa

Ayako wrote from Japan about unlucky numbers there: "In Japan, 4 and 9 are unhappiness numbers.  They sound the same as "death" or "suffering"… so people hate the room number 49 in hotels! I don’t like it, either.  It sounds not so good!"

You’ll find more about lucky and unlucky numbers around the world in the comments below.

What numbers do you think are lucky or unlucky in your country? Let us know by commenting below…

1. Hard boil eggs and dye them red.  In Greece, it’s traditional to dye eggs red for Easter.

2. Two players pick an egg.  Player one clacks (taps) her egg on the top of player two’s egg. 

3.  Both players turn over their eggs. 

4.  Player 2 clacks his egg on the top on player one’s egg.

5.  You can continue the game with other players.

5.  Whichever player has the egg that didn’t crack, or that cracked the least has the lucky egg!  They will have luck all year long!

Watch how it’s done below…

My sister-in-law Dale told me how some people will buy a wooden egg that looks like a real egg dyed red.  Then the person will use it in the game as a joke – because their wooden egg will always win against a real egg!

Many thanks to Dale and Corrina for sharing this tradition with us!

Enjoy!

Mama Lisa