These come and go, die away and are suddenly revived, only to fade away again. Ulster is richly endowed with them.
      Many relate to a specific day of the week. It is unlucky to empty the grate, pick flowers, have your hair cut or cut it yourself on a Sunday. For some reason this does not apply to shaving.
      Still remembered in many households is the old saying, "Never cut your nails on a Sabbath morn or you'll rue the day you ever were born."

To clean your windows on a Monday brings the rsk of ill luck for the rest of the week. It is looked on as unwise to start a new job, set out on a journey or begin a task on a Friday.
      Many people, when told they can leave hospital on a Saturday, will ask to be allowed to stay till Sunday. Saturday is also considered a day of ill omen on which to move house. The basis in each case is the belief that "a Saturday flit is a short sit."

To have a brush thrown after you when you set out to be interviewed for a new job is considered a good omen. One woman said, "When I left the house for an interview my husband threw a brush at me for luck and nearly broke my ankle. But I got the job."
      Another pre-interview custom is to put your left foot first when you set off.

To bring peacock feathers or hawthorn into the house is also to ask for trouble. Misfortune is in store if you persist in stirring your tea to the right. Good fortune is sure to follow if you turn around the coins in your pocket when you see a new moon.

It is asking for trouble for two people to look in a mirror at the same time, or to take a photograph of a relative's grave.
      The smell of roses is a certain cure for a headache and if a cat sneezes near a bride-to-be it means she will have a happy marriage.
      Putting a new pair of shoes on the table can bring disaster, as can opening an umbrella indoors. To allow a red-haired person to 'first-foot' you on New Year's morning also invites calamity.
      When visiting a friend who has moved house a present of salt should be brought and a few grains sprinkled in every room. This ensures "a happy flit".
      A useful precaution during lightning is to place all the knives, spoons and forks on the kitchen floor.
      Immediately someone dies the windows in the room in which they passed away should be opened to enable the spirit to depart.
      If you own a hen which isn't laying, a certain remedy is to place some red flannel in the nest.
      Still faithfully observed by many of today's bridge players is the custom of rising and walking round your chair as a remedy for bad hands. This was done in many rural areas by those who played less sophisticated domestic gates like whist or ludo.