Note 401 — Chapter V · LUNAR SUPERSTITIONS AND FESTIVALS

Above, p. 134. During a solar eclipse Swabian peasants totally abandon their usual occupations and shut up their cattle in the stalls (A. Birlinger, Volksthümliches aus Schwaben, Freiburg-i.-B., 1861-1862, i, 189). In Ober-Pfalz and Bohemia at such a time it is believed to be dangerous to eat anything or even to go outside the house, unless one’s mouth is securely covered with a cloth (Wuttke-Meyer, op. cit., p. 302).