A RECENT survey conducted on behalf of a web site called Future.365.com has shown that, in spite of living in the 21st century, some two-thirds of us continue to be very superstitious.

We believe in things which might prevent bad luck, or which might attract good luck; we use lucky numbers for the lottery draws, we cross our fingers, we touch wood, we look for two magpies if we spot a single one, we don't walk under ladders, we don't like our house to bear the number 13, we don't welcome dinner tables with 13 guests, we don't like brides to wear green or to get married in May and we still present horseshoes to a bride, or hang horseshoes upon our walls.

There are thousands of other small ways in which we reveal our superstitious nature, even if we don't realise it at the time. I've come across footballers who always insist on putting on their right sock first, I've known men carry a rabbit's foot in their pockets to ensure good fortune at all times. I knew a motorist who would never buy a green car and a man who would always paint his front door green in the belief it would bring luck.

An old lady of my acquaintance always shooed away a robin which seemed tame enough to hop into her house - she said that a robin in the house was a sign that someone in that house would shortly die, and the same belief affected churches. If a robin flew into a church and sang there, it heralded a death in the parish.

One very persistent belief, even in this century, is that if a single crow or a single magpie settles on the roof of a house, then someone in that house will shortly die. On one occasion, a detective inspector entered the office in which I was then working, spotted a vase of snowdrops on the window sill, and immediately opened the window and threw them outside. When I questioned his actions, he said a bunch of snowdrops in a building was a sign of impending death for someone!

This is due, so it seems, to the shroud-like petals of the snowdrop, although in some areas, this omen of death is thought to apply to only a single snowdrop brought indoors.

It follows that the household was, and still is, a rich source of surviving superstitions. How many of us believe it is unlucky to cross another person on the stairs, or that a broken mirror brings seven years bad luck, or that a knife falling from the table heralds the visit of a male visitor while two knives which cross their blades on the table is a sign that quarrels will bedevil the household.

One very common belief is that one should never give knives as presents because they will result in a severance of a friendship. If one does wish to donate knives to a friend or family members, then something must be given in return, say a coin. Thus it is an exchange of items, not a gift, and so the evil magic is prevented.

Even now, I've heard it said that it is unlucky for a visitor to depart through the same door by which he or she arrived, and lots of husbands continue to carry their new brides across the threshold as means of ensuring a good and happy marriage.

Some people believe it is unlucky to enter a house with the left foot first, while others insist on opening doors if a person is dying in the house, or if a baby is being born.

If we believe we never heed superstitions, then consider the onset of Christmas, now less than four weeks away. This is one occasion when many of us make use of evergreens in the house, taking them inside for decorative purposes. They include twigs of holly and ivy and, of course, Christmas trees of either spruce or some other conifer.

Our ancient ancestors made use of evergreens because they represented eternal life, and so they were considered lucky plants. Even though our custom has pagan origins, we make use of these evergreens within our Christian churches, but if we look at the reason for bringing them into the house, we soon discover that holly, with red berries, has been brought indoors ever since Roman times.

The pagan Romans introduced greenery to their homes, perhaps because of its association with everlasting life, or perhaps they believed the dark leaves provided hospitality to spirits, and fairies who may need assistance in the winter period.

It is known that holly, bearing berries, has featured within Christian churches since around AD 200-220. Here in Britain, a holly tree growing near a house has long been thought an ideal protection against lightning as well as evil spirits and witches, while in some rural areas it was thought that chilblains could be cured by thrashing them with a branch of very prickly holly!

In addition to the holly, ivy and fir trees, other seasonal evergreens include box, yew, laurel and cypress while the herb rosemary was thought to conquer evil.

In Ripon Cathedral, choir boys would bring baskets of red apples topped by a sprig of rosemary. The apples were offered to the congregation in return for a few pence.

This weekend sees us entering Advent. As the nation becomes less Christian, it is perhaps worth reminding ourselves that this period marks the start of the church's year and also the official countdown to, and the beginning of, the preparations for the great Christian festival of Christmas.

No-one is completely sure when the season of Advent was instituted, but its official beginning is the Sunday nearest to the feast of St Andrew, November 30. December 3 is the start of this year's Advent.

One theory is that it was mentioned in a homily by Maximus Taurinensis in AD 450, and then in AD 524, an interdict was issued at the Council of Linda which forbade marriages during Advent. The general belief is that Advent was formally instituted at the great Council of Tours in AD 567 and it was observed by all the Christian churches with the exception of the Ethiopic church. Its advent began on November 11.

For some time, it was treated rather sombrely, like Lent, with fasting and lots of attendance at mass. The Council of Macon in AD 581 ordered fasting during Advent and later, marriages during Advent were forbidden by the Pope but as the centuries passed, the flavour of Advent become rather more cheerful and geared towards preparation for a great celebration.

Throughout the world, of course, those celebrations differed widely. Here in England, there used to be a curious custom which may have continued in remote places, even into fairly modern times.

Women, especially those from poor families, would tour the houses while carrying Advent dolls, or Advent images. These were two dolls, said to represent the infant Christ and the Virgin Mary, and the women would call at every house to display these dolls in return for a very small donation of cash.

This is thought to have been the forerunner of the modern crib which is often on display near churches or within households, although some believe that the custom of establishing the crib began on Christmas Eve, 1224, when St Francis of Assisi installed a grotto with figures in his church at Greccio in Italy. In his depiction, the stable was shown too, and animals were included beside the figures of Jesus, Mary and Joseph.

Derby daze

My notes about ramblers getting lost has prompted some correspondence. A reader from Swaledale tells of a party losing their way, and when they started to clamber across a dry stone wall, my correspondent hailed them. His desire was to show them the right path - to which they readily agreed - but not without some embarrassment to their leader, a very well known and high ranking politician. Recently, on my morning walk in the North York Moors, a couple of visitors in a car asked me the way to Derby, while in Whitby I was asked for the Italian Gardens.

My interrogator refused to believe there were none, saying: "I've been coming to Scarborough for years, I know they're here." I told him he was not in Scarborough at which he stormed off. Then there was the Malton woman driver who missed York due to the new bypass, shot past Tadcaster for the same reason and got hopelessly lost in Leeds before ending up at Osset 13 hours later. And all she'd wanted was a spot of shopping in York but no-one had told her about the new bypass