252 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the Celtic May-day ceremonials and customs were of quite differ- 

 ent origin from those of England, and in many small supersti- 

 tions concerning May-day we find among the Irish peasantry fre- 

 quent hints at sun-worship or of the worship of fire, the symbol 

 of the sun. It is still believed to be unsafe or even profane to 

 carry fire from one house to another on May-day ; and on that day, 

 when evil-minded persons or witches have special power, the but- 

 ter in the churn may be protected from bewitchment by placing a 

 live coal under the churn. 



Undoubtedly the most remarkable survivals of sun-worshiping 

 festivals in modern Europe are the Christmas rejoicings, which 

 are but a Christianized relic of the old Yule celebration, marking 

 the occurrence of the midwinter solstice, and the merrymaking 

 on St. John's eve, which is merely an adaptation of the midsum- 

 mer fire-festival of pagan times. In our own country the latter 

 occasion passes unnoticed, but Christmas is sufficiently observed. 



It is a general popular belief throughout the United States 

 that in making cake the eggs, or indeed the whole mixture, must 

 be stirred or beaten from beginning to end in the same direction 

 in which the stirring began, or the cake will not be light, and that 

 a custard will curdle if the stirring motion is reversed. 



This superstition is still current even in households where a 

 patent egg-beater is used, which is so constructed that its loops 

 of wire revolve in opposite ways at the same time ; and, although 

 the result is most satisfactory, the belief in the old rule of stir- 

 ring "only one way," or in a dextral direction, is unshaken. 

 Often it is said that the stirring must be sunwise, the popular ex- 

 pression for this dextral motion being " with the sun." The same 

 notion is found in Newfoundland ; and a woman from Aberdeen, 

 Scotland, tells me that it' is a general belief among her country- 

 women that, to succeed in any household work where either stir- 

 ring or rubbing is involved, the movement should always be " with 

 the sun." Some matrons in northern Ohio say that to insure 

 good bread the dough should be stirred " with the sun," and that 

 yeast should be made as near sunrise as possible to secure light- 

 ness. It is also a common saying that if, after turning the crank 

 of a churn for a time sunwise (the most natural way for a right- 

 handed person), it be turned backward, all the work done will be 

 undone. The same superstition is found in Newfoundland. In 

 southern Sweden cooks will tell you that, in beating butter to a 

 froth or in making gravy, the stirring must continue as begun, 

 to secure good results ; and in eastern Massachusetts I find that 

 the superstition extends even to the processes of making ice-cream 

 and molasses candy. The notion that lye soap will not "come" 

 i. e., saponify unless it is stirred " with the sun " is more or less 

 current in localities where this old-fashioned industry is yet car- 



