Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 15, 1904.djvu/238

 2 14 Collectanea.

happens to fall on the two front feet you are sure to die like a dog. If two fowls put their heads together for some time they are said to be talking, and this signifies the arrival of strange visitors. If your dogs howl at night there are ghosts in your yard, and if you do not wish them to come in the house put some grains or pebbles on your step ; they will try to count them, but can never count beyond three. Another most ridiculous is that if you do not throw out some of your punch at Christmas you will be stoned by angry ghosts.

D.

{To be cflntifiued.)

Greek and Cretan Epiphany Customs.

At Epiphany a priest goes in procession to a spring, river, cis- tern, or to the sea, and immerses a cross three times. At the same time a white dove is released. The cross is fetched out by a man who dives for it. The whole custom is now explained as a commemoration of Christ's baptism in Jordan.

In an Epiphany song recorded in ''Evyypafif^a Uepio^LKoy, ix., 341, the water with which Christ is baptised is regarded as con- nected with rain magic, and we may probably interpret the custom above mentioned as a rain charm.

In Crete the cross is covered with leaves and flowers {cf. Abbott, Macedjnian Folklore^ p. 119), but it is only used for making the sign of the cross over the sea, a silver cross being actually im- mersed.

R. M. Dawkins.