Catholic folk legends from before Vatican II

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HashemEchad

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(I wasn’t sure where to post this, I hope this forum is alright.)

My late mother had been a Catholic as a child (she converted to Judaism in 1944). Hence, her only involvement with Catholicism was long before the modernizations.

When I used to ask her about her former faith, she told me many things, but also, she shared with me some of the folk legends (not sure what else to call them) she’d heard in Catholic school, and from family members, friends, etc. I’m curious to know if anyone else is also familiar with them, and if you know the origins of them, as well as what ethnic groups they started with (if any).

Here are the ones I can remember (DISCLAIMER: I do not believe in any of these, and my mother didn’t either…I’m just repeating what I was told):
  1. Anyone who dies during Holy Week goes straight to heaven.
  2. The reason Gypsies wander the earth is because they made the nails that crucified Christ.
  3. It always rains on Good Friday, esp. during the hours of 12 noon and 3 PM
  4. Jews wander the earth because they crucified Christ.
 
The only one of these I am familiar with is #3. There were two explanations and a third more logical. The first was that it was God weeping for His Son. The second was that the Gospels state that the curtain of the Temple was split (The crucifixion scene in Ben Hur comes to mind).

The logical explanation is that thunderstorms pop up in the Gulf of Mexico and hit New Orleans between 12 and 3 on any given day in the spring and summer. 😃
 
The old Wall Street legend goes that it always closes on Good Friday because the one year it did not was the year of the Crash.
 
There’s a medieval folk legend in England that if it rains on the feast of St Swithin it will rain for 40 days straight after that. We could do with St Swithin’s help here I reckon 😦
 
LilyM said:
There’s a medieval folk legend in England that if it rains on the feast of St Swithin it will rain for 40 days straight after that. We could do with St Swithin’s help here I reckon 😦
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Hi Lily! I’ve heard that one too.!
 
brotherhrolf said:
The logical explanation is that thunderstorms pop up in the Gulf of Mexico and hit New Orleans between 12 and 3 on any given day in the spring and summer. 😃
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That was going to be Charleton Heston’s next movie. 😃
 
LilyM said:
There’s a medieval folk legend in England that if it rains on the feast of St Swithin it will rain for 40 days straight after that. We could do with St Swithin’s help here I reckon 😦
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Yes, but who’ll protect us from all the mosquitoes? 🙂
 
brotherhrolf said:
Hi Lily! I’ve heard that one too.!
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Having said that, it’s raining fairly heavily here today, so maybe he heard me! :crossrc: Thank you St Swithin! Give us good but slow and steady rain, especially out in the country where the farming folks need it!
 
Re
  1. Jews wander the earth because they crucified Christ.
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There was a legend of The Wandering Jew [a single person]. As I recall he either refused hospitality to the Holy Family, or he refused to let Jesus rest before his shop on the way to His execution. As a result he is condemned to wander the earth until Jesus returns. [An earlier form of The Flying Dutchman maybe ;)]

My memory is fuzzy so I may have details wrong.
 
I’ve heard of #2 also. I’ve thought that #3 was just what I’d personally noticed (not necessarily just between noon and 3pm tho’ and not absolutely always). Another thing I’d noticed was it seemed that in my memory Easter was always fair weather - then it rained this last Easter.:rolleyes:
 
  1. Anyone who dies during Holy Week goes straight to heaven.
In the Orthodox Church, it’s those who die during BRIGHT WEEK (week after Pascha/Easter) go straight to heaven.
  1. The reason Gypsies wander the earth is because they made the nails that crucified Christ.
Since most Gypsies claim to be Orthodox, I heard they had the right to steal anything they wish because they stole one of the nails intended to be used at the Crucifixion.
  1. It always rains on Good Friday, esp. during the hours of 12 noon and 3 PM
That sure doesn’t apply to Arizona! Or, in my experience to either Western or Eastern Good Friday.
  1. Jews wander the earth because they crucified Christ.
Most Jews I know have been settled where they’ve been living for generations.
 
bpbasilphx said:
  1. The reason Gypsies wander the earth is because they made the nails that crucified Christ.
Since most Gypsies claim to be Orthodox, I heard they had the right to steal anything they wish because they stole one of the nails intended to be used at the Crucifixion.
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Looks like the Romans had more than enough left to do the job 😦 Maybe the gypsies aren’t as good at stealing as they think they are? 😃
 
HashemEchad said:
  1. The reason Gypsies wander the earth is because they made the nails that crucified Christ.
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I never heard this one but I did hear a variation. I heard that there were four nails forged but a gypsy stole one before they were delivered. For thus saving the Savior the pain of that nail, the gypsies were granted the right to steal.

It was never portrayed in my experience as a Catholic tale.

JSA+
 
Here’s some more:

I’ve read about this long ago but I can’t remember from where. It explains where fairies come from:

When the fallen angels were cast out of heaven, the ones that fell into the depths of the earth became demons. The ones that fell in the forests became the elves and fairies. And the ones that fell into the sea became the sea monsters and merpeople.

The next one is a local folk legend but I’m not sure where it originally came from:

Be careful not to do anything reckless during Good Friday. Your Guardian Angel is said to be weeping heavily on that day and if you do something that could lead to an accident, he might not be able to watch out for you properly.
 
bpbasilphx said:
  1. The reason Gypsies wander the earth is because they made the nails that crucified Christ.
Since most Gypsies claim to be Orthodox, I heard they had the right to steal anything they wish because they stole one of the nails intended to be used at the Crucifixion.
Click to expand...
And since Gypsies found thier origins in India, I wonder how they made it to the Holy Land in time to steal them?
😃
 
How about the dogwood tree was the tree that Christ was crucified on and has the marks of Christ on its blooms?
Or, mane coon cats have an ‘M’ on their heads because Mary blessed the cat who cuddled up to the baby Jesus in the manger (this one i’d like to believe).
 
Remembered another one. You do not plant anything on Good Friday here in Louisiana because you have to dig in the ground to plant. Our Lord was planted in the ground on Good Friday.
 
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