Churching

From Edwin Radford’s Encyclopedia of Superstitions: ‘A mother who, before she is churched [brought to church] after the birth of a child, enters any house other than her own will bring ill-luck on the house...It is believed also that, should a mother venture out from under her roof before churching, and be insulted or injured by neighbours, she had no remedy at law...However, in Ireland, the ill-luck of venturing out before churching could be evaded if a piece of thatch or a slate was pulled from the roof and worn on top of a new hat. With such a decoration, the mother could wander where she listed [because] she was still “under her own roof.”'