Lucky horseshoe beliefs trace back to St. Dunstan and the Devil

St. Dunstan and the Devil.

I was looking at my trusty Farmer’s Almanac the other day and saw where we have a lot to look forward to during the upcoming month.

Tomorrow (Friday) will mark the coming of May’s full moon, which is known as the Full Flower Moon. It’s called the Flower Moon because so many flowers bloom during the month of May. Indians called the May moon the Planting or Budding Moon while some called it the Hare Moon.

There will also be a penumbral lunar eclipse tomorrow night, but it won’t be visible from the United States. This type of eclipse occurs when the Sun, Earth and Moon imperfectly align, so that the Earth blocks some of the Sun’s light from reaching the Moon’s surface. The resulting shadow covers all or part of the moon.

Look for the planet Venus above the Moon on May 22 and below it on May 23. Also on May 23, the crescent Moon will float between Mars and Venus. At nightfall on May 31, Mars hovers to the upper left of Venus with both of Earth’s nearest neighbors having crossed into the constellation Leo.

The almanac also contains a good bit of weather folklore and sayings. According to the editors, a “wet May will fill a byre full of hay.” A “byre” is just a fancy British word for cow shed.

The almanac also points out that cranberries will be in bud by May 13. Cranberries grow decently well in Alabama, but they need lots of water. In fact, the more water the better, plus lots of sunshine.

St. Dunstan’s feast day falls on May 19, which falls on a Friday this year. St. Dunstan died on this day in the year 988, and he was accepted as a saint soon thereafter. For many years, this former Archbishop of Canterbury was the most popular saint in England.

Some readers may be familiar with the practice of nailing a horseshoe over a door for good luck. This practice goes back to St. Dunstan, who is said to have nailed a horseshoe to the Devil’s foot when Dunstan was asked to re-shoe the Devil’s cloven hoof. When St. Dunstan’s went to pounding nails into the Devil’s hoof, it caused him great pain.

The Devil begged Dunstan to remove the shoe, but Dunstan would agree to do so only if the Devil promised never to enter a place where a horseshoe is over the door. To this day, St. Dunstan remains the patron said of blacksmiths around the world.

Last, but not least, May 29 is Memorial Day. Not to be confused with Veterans Day, Memorial Day is the day we honor and mourn all service members who died while serving in the armed forces. Many also see this day as the unofficial start of summer.

Just about every family can claim someone who died while serving in the armed forces. By way of example, I always think about my long-dead uncle, James Leroy Burge, who died in 1918 while serving in the Army during World War I. He was buried at sea, but my grandfather and son were both named “James” in his memory.