LL-L "Traditions" 2004.09.20 (06) [A/E/Yiddish]

Fri Sep 24 00:10:31 UTC 2004

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A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) N=Northumbrian
S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (ZeÃªuws)
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From: Global Moose Translations <globalmoose at t-online.de>
Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2004.09.23 (04) [E]

Thomas wrote:
> Coins figure in at least three pleasant customs, at least in the Edinburgh
> area of Scotland.
> A. The Wedding.  Local children hang around outside the houses of bride,
> groom, and relatives and as they leave by car for the ceremony the kids
run
> alongside yelling "Poor Oot, Poor Ooot !". People in the vehicle then
throw
> handfuls of coins out of the windows and a major scramble ensues as kids
> collect the largesse.

In Lower Saxony, bride and groom have to saw through a big log on a sawhorse
together in front of the church after the deed is done. Then, to buy free
passage, the groom has to toss handfuls of coins to the children who,
attracted by the bells, are lingering outside the church door.

Gabriele Kahn

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From: john feather <johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk>
Subject: Traditions

Tom wrote about coins.

Christian children are not 'innocent' but stuffed full of original sin.

If you give a purse as a present it must have a coin in it.

John Feather johnfeather at sceptic1.freeserve.co.uk

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From: Tom <jmaguire at pie.xtec.es>
Subject: LL-L "Traditions" 2004.09.23 (04) [E]

From: Thomas <t.mcrae at uq.net.au>

>Subject: Folklore: Coins and Customs in Scotland
>
>Coins figure in at least three pleasant customs, at least in the Edinburgh
>area of Scotland.
>A. The Wedding.  Local children hang around outside the houses of bride,
>groom, and relatives and as they leave by car for the ceremony the kids run
>alongside yelling "Poor Oot, Poor Ooot !". People in the vehicle then throw
>handfuls of coins out of the windows and a major scramble ensues as kids
>collect the largesse.
>B. The New Baby. Even now when I meet a new baby here in Oz I feel obliged
>to place a dollar coin in its hand in accordance with ancient custom back
>home. It's generally accepted that this symbolises an infant starting life
>with money in its hand it will never be short of it. A Ukranian colleague
>told me it was practised there as well.
>C. The Christening. When the family leave the house for church and baptism
>it is customary for 'A Christening Piece' to be made up. This consisted of
>lots of edible goodies and a generous amount of silver coins and was given
>by the mother to the first person she saw in the street. I do not believe
>this is an attemnpt to pass on any sins, after all the infant is innocent,
>but more a way of sharing good fortune.
>Do any of you in other countries have those lovely customs ? I hope the
>Scots still practise them.
>Regards
>Tom
>Tom Mc Rae PSOC
>
I remember the wait outside the Kirk for the groom to appear, get in the
car and throw the shower of coins...

Another coin custom practised in my generation in Scotland was putting a
silver coin - sixpence, shilling - under the pillow of a child whose
baby tooth had fallen out. The present was put there by a good fairy to
make up for the loss.

Regards,

Tom (Maguire)

--
Carpe Diem.
-Visit Nlp in Education  http://www.xtec.es/~jmaguire
-Join Nlp-Education  mailto:nlp-education-subscribe at yahoogroups.com

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From: Sandy Fleming <sandy at scotstext.org>
Subject: "Traditions" [E]

> From: Thomas <t.mcrae at uq.net.au>
> Subject: Folklore: Coins and Customs in Scotland
>
> Coins figure in at least three pleasant customs, at least in the Edinburgh
> area of Scotland.
> A. The Wedding.  Local children hang around outside the houses of bride,
> groom, and relatives and as they leave by car for the ceremony the kids
run
> alongside yelling "Poor Oot, Poor Ooot !". People in the vehicle then
throw
> handfuls of coins out of the windows and a major scramble ensues as kids
> collect the largesse.

I haven't seen a "poor oot" since I was a kid. I think one reason for this
is that with the sort of traffic we have these days it would just be too
dangerous to expect kids to scramble around for coins on the road. There may
also be a problem with the attitude of children themselves. One did
eventually get too old for such undignified behaviour and the value of the
sum likely to be collected had to be weighed against one's willingness to be
counted as one of the "wee anes". These days children grow up faster and
coins have diminished in value.

> B. The New Baby. Even now when I meet a new baby here in Oz I feel obliged
> to place a dollar coin in its hand in accordance with ancient custom back
> home. It's generally accepted that this symbolises an infant starting life
> with money in its hand it will never be short of it. A Ukranian colleague
> told me it was practised there as well.

It used to be the custom, when I was a child, to throw a half-crown into the
pram.  A half-crown was a large silver (or, later on, part-silver) coin with
considerable spending power, so it was an attractive and substantial gift.
Unfortunately we no longer have coins with any romanticism or significant
spending power. Even prams are rarely seen!

Well, everything passes away sooner or later.

Sandy
http://scotstext.org/

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From: John Baskind <jbaskind at mac.com>
Subject: "Traditions" [E]

Speaking as a quondam Jewish baby, and on behalf of Jewish male infants
everywhere, there's *one* day on which we'd all rather be Scots.

Jammer, vriende,  ek moes maar net!

On Sep 23, 2004, at 7:43 AM, Thomas wrote:

> B. The New Baby. Even now when I meet a new baby here in Oz I feel
> obliged
> to place a dollar coin in its hand in accordance with ancient custom
> back
> home.

-
John Baskind
jbaskind at mac.com

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Traditions

Gabriele (above):

> In Lower Saxony, bride and groom have to saw through a
> big log on a sawhorse together in front of the church after
> the deed is done.

Far be it from me to introduce or encourage suggestiveness on this list and
to cast a shadow onto the consistently sparkling humor coming from our
favorite rodent in the peanut gallery, but don't you think that "after the
deed is done" is just a tad unfortunately worded in this context?  However,
maybe it is true that you did not mean the marriage ceremony, in which case
one might react by marvelling, "Wow! Those Lower Saxons do know the meaning
of the word 'endurance'!"

Anyway, I knew that this was a custom in Southern Germany.  I did not know
it is found this far north.

Farther north, in the Lower Elbe region there is the _Pulter-Avend_ (LS) /
_Polterabend_ the night before a wedding.  People smash dishes (usually
china, not glass) in front of the door of the house in which the betrothed
couple has a party (originally and traditionally the in bride's parents'
house), and the young couple has to sweep up the mess together.  I'm not
sure about the origin and if there is any connection between this and the
groom smashing glass with his foot at a Jewish wedding (officially explained
as being symbolic for the Diaspora).

Tom (above):

> Another coin custom practised in my generation in Scotland was putting a
> silver coin - sixpence, shilling - under the pillow of a child whose
> baby tooth had fallen out. The present was put there by a good fairy to
> make up for the loss.

This is still a custom in North America.  A present from the Tooth Fairy.

Sandy (above):

> It used to be the custom, when I was a child, to throw a half-crown into
the pram.

Carefully, I take it.

> Speaking as a quondam Jewish baby, and on behalf of Jewish male
> infants everywhere, there's *one* day on which we'd all rather be Scots.

××±ØŒ ×’×°××œ×“ ×’×¢×©×¨×™×’×ŸØŒ ×ž×²Ö·×Ÿ ×˜×²Ö·×¢×¨×¢ ×¤×¨×²Ö·× ×“!
× ×™×˜ ×‘×œ×±×– ×¤××¨ ×™×™×“×™×©×¢ ×™×™× ×’×¢×œ××šØŒ ××œ× ××±×›×¢×˜ ×¤××¨
 ×¦×¤×•×ŸÖ¾××ž×¢×¨×™×§×× ×™×©×¢ ××•×Ÿ ××±×¡×˜×¨××œ×™×©×¢ ×§×¨×™×¡×˜×ŸÖ¾×¢×•×¤×¢×œ××š
 ××™×Ÿ ××•× ×“×–×¢×¨×¢ ×“×•×¨×•×ª.

Oy, gevald geÅ¡rign, mayn tayere fraynd!  Nit bloyz far yidiÅ¡e yingelax ele
oyxet far cofn-amerikaniÅ¡e un oystraliÅ¡e kristn-eyfelax in undzere doyres.

(Oh, gee, John! It's not only for Jewish boys but in our generations also
for Christian babies in North American and Australia.)

[Not sure what you get if you combine traditions. A one-time-only visit from
the Prepuce
Fairy?]

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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