This October we’re exploring the historical superstitions and traditions from across the British Isles and Ireland. Here, we’ve compiled 30 of the most intriguing historical superstitions, sourced from our newspaper collection. From the more well-known superstitions, for example, not passing underneath a ladder, or throwing spilled salt over your shoulder, to those you may not have heard of, like giving a knife along with a penny, anyone?), without any further ado, here are 30 fascinating superstitions from history for you …
Cultural history
In the 1940s the jitterbug, a type of swing dancing that was pioneered by African American communities in New York during the early twentieth century, took the United Kingdom by storm. The energetic dance, which featured elements of the jive, the charleston, and other swing dances, divided Britain, with it being embraced by those who flocked to dancehalls up and down the country, whilst others viewed it as a morally dangerous American import. In this special blog, using newspapers from …
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This week at The Archive we are delighted to welcome three wonderful and brand new Welsh language newspapers to our collection, alongside 75,422 brand new pages. Meanwhile, from Holborn to Hornsey, from Nelson to North Middlesex, we’ve updated six of our existing titles from Scotland and England. So read on to discover more about our new and updated titles of the week, as well as to learn about the National Eisteddfod of Wales in 1891, the largest of several eisteddfodau …
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In this very special blog, Jessie O’Hara, from our sister site Findmypast, takes a fascinating look at astrology through the pages of our newspapers. Featuring articles all the way from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century, she traces the development of attitudes towards astrology across three centuries, from scepticism to horoscopes being a mainstay of mainstream media. Register with us today and see what stories you can discover Believer or non-believer, agnostic or sceptic, there is no denying that …