There are many superstitions regarding shoes. You should never give shoes as a Christmas gift as you are giving the recipient the means to walk away from you. Wearing a new pair of shoes on Christmas day is said to bring unprecedented bad luck. If you are in Greece, you will burn an old pair of shoes to prevent any misfortunes in the approaching New Year. There is an English superstition that if you don't give a pair of shoes to a poor person at least once in your lifetime, you will enter the next world barefoot. This leads to an influx of shoes being donated to charity shops at Christmas time. Another one is that an unmarried girl throws a shoe over her shoulder towards a door at Christmas. If it lands with the toes pointing towards the door, she will marry within the next year.

There are also a lot of superstitions surrounding decorations. A candle should be lit on Christmas Eve and left to burn itself out. If the candle is disturbed or snuffed out, back luck will befall the household. Another superstition through Europe was that the Christmas tree should never be brought into the house before Christmas Eve. Any trees in the house before then were thought to have evil spirits hiding in them to invade the households. The trees that were left outdoors until Christmas Eve were purified by the holy night.

We all know the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe, yet did you know that it is thought to be unlucky to take it down? Therefore, the dead piece of twig is supposed to stay there until next Christmas when it is replaced. When the old piece was taken down, it then had to be burnt by an unmarried girl.

And when it comes to lighting candles, a steady flame is said to indicate a happy marriage and wedded bliss, a spluttering flame meant a bad tempered husband and a tempestuous relationship.

Whether you are superstitious or not, have a very happy Christmas.