More than one in 10 Brits are so superstitious that they will not wash their clothes on Christmas Day for fear of a run of bad luck. New data from Amazon employees showed that one in eight say they avoid doing any laundry until Boxing Day due to their festive superstitions.
Coventry is the UK’s most superstitious place, with a massive 80% of people in the West Midlands city holding superstitious beliefs. Coventrians’ most popular belief is that you need to “wear new clothes on New Year’s Day” for good luck, while 8% believe hearing a dog howl on Christmas Eve is bad luck – and that taking a bath on Christmas Day will make you sick.
Psychologist Jo Hemmings said: “Our superstitions and our traditions are inherited in the same way, and even the slightly crazy ones are often passed down through the generations. We are now such a multicultural society that different traditions and superstitions are all around us, and that is wonderful to see.”
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Some beliefs are just common sense. Across the UK, one in eight people (16%) believe ending this year in debt will condemn them to an entire 12 months of owing money. Yet others are more out there. Nearly two in 10 (18%) will avoid giving their loved ones a pair of scissors or knife at Christmas for fear that it might destroy their relationship. And forget an apple a day keeping the doctor away – 15% think eating a single apple on Christmas Eve will give you good health for a whole year.
While almost half of the adults surveyed (41%) said they believe that snow falling on Christmas Eve is a sign of good fortune to come.
The poll is part of Amazon’s Chatterbox series, which offers an insight into modern day UK from one of the largest workplaces in the country. Amazon has 75,000 staff across the country.
|
City |
Superstitions |
|
Coventry |
Wearing new clothes on New Year’s Day to symbolise new beginnings and prosperity (42%) |
|
Warrington |
Kissing someone you love at midnight on New Year’s Eve means those sentiments will continue for the next year (46%) |
|
Peterborough |
Snow on Christmas eve is good luck (54%) |
|
North London |
Putting Christmas decorations up before December is bad luck (23%) |
|
Sheffield |
Eating an apple on Christmas Eve means good health for the year (23%) |
|
Luton |
Cleaning the house before New Year’s Day to sweep away bad luck (34%) |
|
South London |
Eating 12 grapes at midnight, one for each chime of the clock, to bring good luck for each month of the coming year (24%) |
|
Manchester |
Lending anything on New Year’s Day is bad luck (28%) |
|
Bristol |
Washing clothes on New Year’s Day is bad luck – as you’ll be washing away a loved one (29%) |
|
Leicester |
Wearing new clothes on New Year’s Day to symbolise new beginnings and prosperity (39%) |