The theme for February Wicked Wednesdays is Wishing. I think we all make wishes when we blow out birthday candles (a tradition that may have gone the way of the dodo thanks to the pandemic). And we all know to wish upon a star. What other objects or situations does your family or friend group wish upon?
I’m giving away an Advance Reader Copy of Shucked Apart to one person who answers the same question below.
Edith/Maddie: Gosh, I’m not sure I have any others. No, wait. I think this came from my ex-husband’s family. When the car goes over a bump, if you are the first one to both touch the car ceiling and say, “Pudiddle,” you get to make a wish. Sorry, that’s all I got!
Jessie: I love this topic, Barb! I have lots of wishing traditions but one that I particularly like is to blow a wish into a a bottle once the contents are emptied. I always do it with seltzer bottles and wine bottles and especially bottles of champagne. I didn’t think anyone else did until I hosted a dinner party that included friends from Russia. They were surprised to see me do it and said it is something they did in their home country!
Liz: Barb, love this – and just like in the picture above, when I was a kid we had tons of dandelions that grew in my back yard. I used to think they were so pretty and bright even though everyone called them weeds. And when the flowers fell off and it dried up, if you blew the dried petals away, we used to make a wish.
Sherry: I’m not around many fountains these days, but we always used to wish when we threw a coin in a fountain. And there’s been a few times in my life when we’d wish on a wishbone.
Julie: I haven’t thought about this in a long time. We were dandelion blowers, and also buttercup believers (if someone held a buttercup under your chin and saw yellow you got your wish). Wishbone pullers. Coin tossers. I love the idea of wishing into an empty bottle. I still wish on a full moon.
Barb: I never heard of wishing on a full moon! Or Edith’s Pudiddle. We were wishing people too–wishbones carefully dried, dandelions, buttercups. We haven’t mentioned the one where if you lose an eyelash you put it on your finger and blow it away and get to make a wish.
Edith/Maddie: Chiming back in to say I wish I’d waited to contribute! Of course we wished on dandelions and coins and wishbones. I just couldn’t think of any of those on the spot. *forehead slap*
Readers: What about you? What wishing traditions does your family practice?