Britain's Strangest Traditions.

Añadido: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]Here are some of Britain's weirdest superstitions and traditions. Some are still in practice today. Others thankfully are not. If you love all things mythology and folklore, please subscribe so that you don't miss any videos. And please carry out the ancient ritual of hitting the like button. Now, I wasn't sure whether to start with this one because it's a little bit gross, but I did promise you weird superstitions.

[00:00:25]So, here we go. Many animals were used in folk medicine throughout British history, but it seems that none was more prized or more favored than the humble mole. I'm sure you've heard of a rabbit's foot for good luck, but how about a mole's foot to cure a toothache or even arthritis? It could be worn around the neck or it could just be kept in your pocket. It depends how much you wanted to show it off. I suppose the belief actually has ancient roots dating back to the Roman writer Plenny the Elder who 2,000 years ago prescribed moles feet for toothache. So we can blame the Romans for this cruelty, I guess. Sadly, it doesn't end there for the poor moles. It was widely believed that the feet must be taken while the mole was still alive. The mole would then be set free and left to expire in its own time. Poor little thing, honestly. But if you were feeling extra insane, you could let the mole pass away in your hands, which would then give you the magical power of healing. Mole's blood was also used as medicine for epilepsy. But don't worry, the moles had their revenge because they were also seen as an omen of doom. So there was a belief recorded in Wales in 1909 that if a mole burrows under the wash house or the dairy, the mistress of the house will pass away. And if a molehill is found amongst the cabbage, then the master of the house will pass away. So the poor little moles, they could put the fear of God into people at least for a little while until they were presumably caught. There are so many animals and birds which foretell of misfortune probably because up until very recently it was very common place for people to pass away seemingly without any explanation. The moles amongst many others as you'll see got the blame. Are you all still with me?

[00:02:21]Now I promise they aren't all as nasty as that. I love thinking about some modern witch on Tik Tok with their crystals and dream catcher coming across what real folk magic actually look like.

[00:02:33]It's not quite as cute as uh as they make you believe. Now, what do you do when you lose a tooth? Well, you put it under the pillow for the tooth fairy, of course, but that belief has only been around since the 1920s. And of course, this only applies to children, as far as I know. An adult putting a tooth under their pillow is quite creepy. But what did people do prior to this? Well, they burnt them. Now, these were not just milk teeth, but teeth that were removed or came out through an accident or bad dental hygiene. The tooth was covered in salt before being thrown onto the fire.

[00:03:11]Why? Well, salt was seen as a type of protection against bad magic, particularly against witches, but also against fairies. In some countries, teeth were buried to prevent witches from stealing them and using them to control or to curse someone. Now, some say that the tooth fairy is a modern invention, and in its current form, it certainly is. But teeth in folk magic are often seen as an extension of oneself and therefore having magical properties. The burning of teeth was generally considered good luck. Possibly stemming from the belief that to burn it would mean that you were safe from any bad magic. Yeah, I like the idea of burning teeth. Not sure why it's so appealing. The tooth fairy is a little bit twe, isn't it? You know what? While we're on the subject of talking about teeth, I'm going to discuss another weird superstition. I'm not obsessed with teeth and this this is the last tooth adjacent superstition. I promise.

[00:04:10]We all know the famous words abracadabra. But before it came a phrase used by stage magicians, it was used as a charm against our old friend toothache. This video is sponsored by Colgate. Nah, I'm just kidding. They don't want to be associated with violence against moles. Apparently, Abracadabra was also used as a cure against fevers. John Aubry tells us that it was a practice when you would write on a piece of parchment and place it around your neck. It was written in a kind of triangle which would help increase its magical properties. The words first appear in a Latin poem in the year 200 AD, so it's pretty ancient.

[00:04:51]It's not entirely British, but then as someone once said, good artists copy, great artists steal. Can't remember who said that. Anyone any ideas? I want to say Paul McCartney. Anyway, let's have a talk about gingers. I have nothing against them. I'm not so shallow, but unfortunately for them, they've been the victim of a long campaign of hate. And when I say long, I mean long. Now, this is from a poem called The Proverbs of Alfred, which is around 900 years old.

[00:05:22]And it warns the reader to avoid the red man, not to choose him as a friend because red-headed people are quarrelome, thieving, and unchased. Now, this kind of bigotry persisted across a millennia. It was considered bad luck to cross paths with a red-haired woman first thing in the morning, and you can imagine people were genuinely gutted if they saw a ginger woman first thing. It was also believed that red-haired children were the result of infidelity or the descendants of the Danes who, as we all know, were evil. Judas was ginger and so was Cain. This is all biblical folklore, of course, but that kind of proves that gingers were are actually evil. Not evil. I mean, ah, it's 2026.

[00:06:09]We need to do better. Need to get rid of these horrible, horrible stereotypes.

[00:06:13]Now, gingers enjoyed a short period of glory during the reign of Henry VIII, but this didn't last. It didn't take long for us to slip back into our old ways. And it's bad luck that one of the most famous gingers ever turned out to be an awful person. I don't think there's a more famous Ginger than Henry.

[00:06:32]I can't think of one off the top of my head, but he's really he's done them some damage, I think. I wonder if gingers are still being bullied at school today because I' I'd genuinely like to know because if this bullying dies out, we're losing a centuries old tradition, which which is a shame. One famous British tradition is that of the cheese roll, but have you ever heard of the groaning cheese? Now, this is one of the most unusual and frankly mysterious traditions from Britain, and it's really well attested for. It's first mentioned in 1620, which is far earlier than most traditions. The only strange thing is that I can't find any information surrounding the belief behind it. It's done in several different ways, but this is the gist of it. So, when a mother goes into labor, the husband goes out and buys a wheel of cheese. She's groaning and the cheese is well cheese, hence the name. Then, according to which source you ask, the cheese is then eaten from the inside out, leaving a ring which the baby is then passed through.

[00:07:36]In some traditions, the cheese is bought during the pregnancy and eaten during the labor by the family. In other traditions, the cheese is eaten at the christristening. Now, what on earth is going on here? One source suggests that it was for good luck, which is quite straightforward, but I'm not sure what cheese has to do with luck. A couple of cheese mongers revived this tradition a few years ago. It's quite a tight squeeze. You got to respect it. I wonder if his baby's really lucky. Anyway, there are loads of other more widely practiced superstitions in Britain and I think the most common are probably saluting solitary magpies. Now, this wards off any bad luck or sorrow that the magpie brings. The other is knocking on or touching wood and no new shoes on the table is still quite common. And there used to be a tradition of throwing old shoes at the bride and groom as they were leaving the church following their wedding. Now, this is something I could also get behind because I went to a wedding the other day and the confetti doesn't fly very well. So, a nice shoe would be great. Oh, and you can't throw rice cuz that's bad for pigeons. And by the way, pigeons were also seen as bad luck. And that just goes to show how widespread apparent bad luck must have been and why there are so many ways to try and counter it. Now, if there are any little superstitions or traditions that you keep up or that you remember hearing as a child, let me know in the comments. I've collected some really great stories so far from all over the world. So, please feel free to share anything, no matter how small it may feel. And please remember to like, hype, and subscribe. And I will see you next