Belief in ghosts was certainly widespread,
something noted in 1807 at Lancashire:
Scarcely a field, gate, or stile is without
its attendant spirit and in some of the houses
the noises these beings or shadows or sprites
or whatever they are are terrible beyond anything!
Ghosts were feared as being the restless spirits
of the dead, and in April 1810
the "Morning Post" reported on superstitious rites
that accompanies the burial of a suicide :
The officers appointed to execute the ceremony of
driving a stake through the dead body . . . he had cut
his own throat at a public house. . .in consequence
of which, the Coroner's Jury found a verdict of
self-murder, very properly delayed the business
until 12 noon when the deceased was buried in
the crossroads at the end of Blackmoore Street,
Clare Market.
A howling dog signified a death in the family,
a coal spitting out of a fire and landing at
someone's feet in the shape of a coffin foretold
their imminent demise. Tallow rising up the
wick of a candle was sometimes called a 'winding
sheet' and foretold a death in the family.
although Christmas was observed in Jane Austen's
era, it was not a major holiday. Houses were
decorated with greenery, usually Holly or Laurel.
The custom of giving servants and tradesmen
small gifts of money (Christmas boxes) was
growing but New Year was more often the time
for celebration and the exchange of gifts.
No comments:
Post a Comment