29 April: World Wish Day

Today is World Wish Day. Here are 10 things you can make a wish on, and why we do it.

1. Stars. This might be a falling star, or meteorite, or the first star to appear in the evening. Ptolemy, Greco-Egyptian writer and astronomer, believed that shooting stars meant the gods were looking down and listening to people's wishes. You must see the shooting star yourself. If wishing on the first star to shine in the evening, recite this rhyme: "Star light, star bright, First star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, Have the wish I wish tonight."
2. Candles. The ancient Greeks believed that smoke was a means of conveying prayers to the gods, which is the origin of wishing on candles. You can wish on a candle which goes out by itself before burning all the way down, but the best known candle magic is wishing on birthday candles as they are blown out. You have to burn all the candles out in one breath for your wish to come true.
3. Wishbones. Wishing on the tailbone of a cooked fowl dates back to the Etruscans, an ancient Italian civilization. They believed Chickens had prophetic powers and you could divine the future according to the location of grains a rooster chose to peck at. When a chicken was killed, people would leave the wishbone out in the sun to dry. People believed the bone retained the power of the prophetic chicken and that their wishes would be granted if they touched it. It was the ancient Romans who added the idea of two people pulling the bone apart and the person who got the larger bit of bone being the one whose wish would come true.
4. Dandelions. Dandelions which had gone to seed were commonly used by girls in the 19th century to divine whether or not the object of their affection returned their love. If they could blow off all the seeds with one breath, then he did. This tradition evolved to encompass any kind of wish, not just the romantic kind.
5. Wishing wells. For ancient pagans, the well was a source of a much needed commodity and they would frequently place statues of their gods beside a well to protect it. This led to the idea that the gods watched over wells in general. A coin thrown into a well was an offering to the gods in the hope the gods would grant the wish. While the belief that gods are watching over wells, fountains or any other man-made pool of Water, it's still believed that the bigger the denomination of the coin thrown in, the more likely the wish will come true. There's also a rule that the coin should be of the currency of the country you are in - so chucking in your left over holiday coins won't work.
6. Eyelashes. More 19th century folklore. When an eyelash falls out there are several things you can do with it - place it on your fingertip, on the back of your hand, or on the tip of your nose. Then blow it off. If you succeed in blowing the eyelash off on the first go, your wish will come true.
7. Ladybirds (or ladybugs). These insects are so called after the Virgin Mary, who was often portrayed in a Red cloak in medieval times. Back then, the appearance of ladybirds on crops was taken as a sign of a good harvest to come. Although we know today that's probably because the ladybirds are eating the things that eat the crops, the idea that it's lucky to have one land on you has survived.
8. White Horses have been seen as sacred in numerous religions and mythologies. There are numerous traditions stating that if you see a white horse you can make a wish on it. There are some rules and caveats attached in some traditions, such as, you can only wish before you can see the horse's tail, or that your wish will only come true if, after you make it, you can see a red-haired woman. In other traditions, it was necessary to count White horses and your wish would only come true after you'd seen a hundred of them. Another horse related wish superstition is that if you see a jockey wearing racing silks away from a race track, you can make a wish.
9. If you happen to be standing under an Oak tree when an acorn falls, pick it up, turn around three times and then make your wish. To further ensure your wish comes true, take the acorn home with you and keep it on your windowsill for three days. This one probably derives from the fact that Druids believe the oak tree is sacred, or an old Norse belief that keeping an acorn in your window prevents your house from being struck by Lightning. Carrying an acorn around was once believed to stop a woman from ageing.
10. A fairy ring is a circle of Mushrooms or other fungi, or may simply be a ring of grass which is greener than that around it, for no apparent reason. They have long been seen as places of supernatural significance which in various legends mean they're dangerous and you must stay away, or they are lucky. It's said if you stand in the middle and turn around three times, you can make a wish. If the fairy ring is still there after three days, you can wish on it again.

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