Written by Zachary Dalton
Winter is here- not officially, but the temperature has dropped and the air is certainly crisper. As the promise of snow starts to rise, the more superstitions begin to appear. Growing up one of the best feelings was waiting in the morning to see if your school was closed due to snow…at least here in the south where we aren’t prepared for snow, unlike many Northerners. There were many tricks that began to circulate on how to get the snow to cancel. Of course, there is no evidence proving that these tricks definitely work, but they sure are fun and definitely weird.
Pajamas on Inside Out AND Backwards.
This one seems to be the most universal of these tricks involves taking your pajamas and flipping them inside out. I personally did this all throughout elementary school because even my teachers were telling us it would work. When are they ever wrong, right? Well it turns out the weather doesn’t pay attention to how we wear our pajamas.
Spoon Under Your Pillow (or in Your Freezer)
This is a superstition I’ve only heard about from other people. The whole idea behind it is pretty simple. A person takes the spoon and places under their pillow to stay overnight. I believe the spoon acted as an antenna to transmit the children’s dreams of a snow day to the weather in hopes to persuade it to snow a lot. The idea behind the spoon is to radiate cold into the air to prep it for snow.
Flushing Ice Cubes Down the Toilet
This is one I’ve read about, and I’m not entirely sure what the logic is behind it. My theory is that some kids just liked flushing things down toilets and tried ice cubes one night. That next day it snowed a lot and school was canceled; honestly, it was just fortunate timing.
A Glass of Orange Juice by the Window
This superstition is one that I’m pretty sure only I do. Much like the kid who flushed ice cubes down the toilet, I too experience very fortunate luck. One night before going to bed I was enjoying a nice cup of O.J. (before brushing my teeth, I’m not that metal). I left the half-drank- cup by the windowsill while I changed into my pajamas. Since I was just a kid, I promptly forgot about the glass and left it there overnight. That next morning I woke up to a winter wonderland and to this day believe 100% it was because of that orange juice…that eight hours old, still cold, slightly rank cup of orange juice.
