Needle and Thread during Pregnancy

Title: Needle and Thread during Pregnancy

General Information about Item:

  • Genre and Sub Genre
    • Customary Folklore: Superstition
  • Language: n/a
  • Country where Item is from: Greece

Informant Data:

Two informants shared this superstition with us, Mary Wallenmeyer and Katie Spanos.

  • Mary Wallenmeyer is a 55 year-old woman from Shermans Dale, PA. Both of her parents, her two sisters, and her one brother were born in Greece. Her parents were raised in a small village in the mountains of central Greece. Her father came to the U.S. first and worked for two years so he could bring the rest of the family to America. She was born a year after her parents were reunited in the U.S., and her younger brother was born seven years later. Her father and his siblings are deceased, but she still have cousins from his side of the family that live in Greece. Her mother has six siblings still living in Greece along with their families.  Growing up, Mary and her family spoke Greek at home and attended Greek classes. Her husband and children do not speak the language fluently, but they do understand some of it. Her family belongs to the Greek Orthodox church, which she says “ helps keep the ‘Greek’ alive in [their] lives.” Their family still prays in Greek and cooks many Greek foods. They are very proud of their Greek heritage.
  • Katie Spanos is a ’20 student at Dartmouth College. She is from Hummelstown, PA. Her dad is Greek, but her mom is not. Her dad’s family comes from a small village called Neohori, and she still has a lot of family there as well as some in other parts of Greece. Katie and her siblings do not speak Greek, but her dad, aunts and uncles will speak Greek with her Yia-Yia. Their family follows most Greek customs and holidays, mainly because her entire family is Greek Orthodox.

Contextual Data:

  • Social Context: Extended family will practice this on a pregnant woman to guess the baby’s gender, the woman can also hold the tread herself. The superstition is passed down through families and practiced on pregnant women by family members and close friends. It is often done before a baby’s gender can be determined by doctors as a fun way to predict a baby’s gender.
  • Cultural Context: This superstition began before ultrasounds were used during pregnancy as a way to predict a baby’s gender. The practice is now more of a fun way to predict gender and bring family together.

Item:

  • When a woman is pregnant, a needle hung from thread is held over the pregnant woman’s palm. If the needle settles into a circular motion then the baby is a girl. If it swings back and forth, then the baby is a boy. The thread can be held by the woman herself, or by someone else.

 

  • Associated file (a video, audio, or image file):

    A pregnant woman holds a thread with a needle attached over her palm to predict the gender of her baby. A circular motion indicates a girl, while a linear motion indicates a boy.

Informant’s Comments:

  • None

Collector’s Comments:

  • Katie Spanos was interviewed in person and Mary Wallenmeyer was interviewed over FaceTime.

Collector’s Name:  Interviews conducted by Katie Spanos and Jess Valvano. Webpage published by Ellen Pattinson.

Tags/Keywords:

  • Needle and Thread gender predictor, Greek Superstitions, Pregnancy, Customary Folklore

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