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Country sayings

Posted by Shae on September 01, 2003

In Reply to: Country sayings posted by ESC on September 01, 2003

: : I heard this one recently are you familliar with it?
: : Its about blackberry picking.

: : never pick a blackberry after 31 Sept.On that night the withes wee on them.

: :
: : It's a new one to me

: New to me also. Is it "witches wee"? What country are we talking?

Should the date be 31 October (Sept doesn't have 31 days)? There's a folk tradition here in Ireland that any nuts and fruit remaining unharvested on 31 October are the 'due' of the fairies who do indeed pee on blackberries (brambleberries) that have not been picked by then. Scottish and Irish folklore have many parallels, so I suspect the belief may have been held in Scotland too.

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