Never Walk Down Stairs Naked On a Horse

Welcome to the Queen's Meme #67. 

It's called The Strange January Meme.

There are some strange traditions associated with this month, many of those noted here  are British customs, however, strange customs hail from every corner of the globe. Help me decipher the January mysteries of the Universe below. And I sincerely hope you remembered to bake a cake for the cow.

1. January usually has ample amounts of snowfall in parts of the world. Did you ever make snow cream as a kid?

All the time. It was the best part of snow days home from school. My mother poured in a gallon of vanilla flavoring, sugar and milk. It was just like ice cream but better. Click here for a word about snow cream from wikipedia.

2. January is the first month of the year in the Gregorian calendar. The name comes from the Latin word ianua meaning door and is named after the god of the doorway, Janus.

Is there a particular door you'd like to step through this year? 

No. I am not Casper The Ghost. I prefer to open doors first before I step. Gee. 
Who wrote these illogical questions?

3. January is one of the months with 31 days. What are you going to do with that extra day? 

Pretend it's my birthday with John, Paul, George, Ringo and go shopping. You thought I'd say something else?

4. In medieval times superstition dictated that the 1st day of January was significant for prosperity, or lack of it, in a person's life. Farmers put a flat cake on the horns of a cow and they danced and sang songs around the cow until the cake was thrown to the ground. If it fell in front of the cow that meant good luck; it if fell behind the cow that meant bad luck for the rest of the year.

Do you have strange New Year customs in your household?

I make memes. That's about as strange as it gets. And besides, NO one would be lucky if I baked a cake. Think about it....

5. Did you know that it's unlucky to see the first new moon of the year through a window? You should, instead, look through a new silk handkerchief! Did you remember to do this?

I did indeed. But the handkerchief was soiled and all I saw was the man in the moon with a bad case of acne. I was so frightened I went back inside to look through the window for better luck. 

This lady has a nice skirt for handkerchief-ing activities. I would like to borrow it. 

Sans the pistol.

 6. On January 14, 1986 motorists were required for the first time to wear seat belts? 

Do you always buckle up? Why or why not?

Always always always. In airplanes, space shuttles, elevators, roller coasters and dentist chairs. I'm the one in the orange suit.

7.   If you are single and want to find a mate, legend has it that on January 20th you should walk backwards up the stairs to bed.  If you don't have a staircase you should recite The Lord's Prayer while transferring pins from a pin cushion to your sleeve.
I couldn't find a male ritual to attract women. 
Make one up.

I tried this last night before bed. In order to walk backwards up the stairs I first had to walk down the stairs in order to get back up backwards. Got that? Unfortunately I read the directions wrong and walked down backwards. Never do this on stairs. Especially while naked on a fantasy horse.
It was so cold in the dungeon last night.


Europa and the Bull by Gustave Moreau, watercolour, c. 1869. Public domain