Salt has been an important element in people’s lives for
many centuries. It has the important function of being able to preserve food,
and was therefore vital in the days before refrigeration. Having access to salt
could make the difference between eating and starving, especially during the
winter when fresh food was hard to come by.
Salt acquired a value of its own and was even used in place
of currency in some parts of the world. We get our word “salary” from the Latin
for salt, not because Roman soldiers were paid in salt, as is sometimes
thought, but because they used most of their income to buy salt in order to
keep their food fresh. They were therefore paid their “salt money”.
It is not surprising that many superstitions have arisen
that concern salt, given its importance in the lives of people from ancient
times. These superstitions are mostly to do with salt bringing good luck and
averting evil.
Spilling salt was often regarded as an unlucky thing to do,
because it was such a precious thing. In North America the custom was to sweep
up any spillage and throw it on the fire, which had the added bonus of drying
up any tears that might be shed. Throwing salt on the fire, whether spilled or
not, was also supposed to undo the bad effects of some previous unwise action.
However, throwing salt over the left shoulder is supposed to
avert bad luck, and sprinkling it on the doorstep ensures that the unwelcome
visitor who has just left – the rent man for example – will not come back. That
sounds like wishful thinking in more ways than one!
Salt has long had an association with keeping witches and
evil spirits at bay, and this was probably behind the custom, when moving into
a new house, of getting a child to sprinkle salt on the hearth and in every
corner of every room. Another version of this custom was to take a bar of salt
into the house before any furniture was allowed to be moved in.
It is unlucky to borrow salt and then return any that has
not been used – so the lender must be sure not to let the salt-less person have
too much!
Most people who use salt these days do so to flavour their
food. However, it is very unlucky – so it is said – to add salt to someone
else’s food at the table. This has led to the saying: “Help me to salt, help me
to sorrow”.
It is also, of course, extremely unlucky to confuse your
salt and sugar dispensers. The number of people who have had a nasty experience
after enthusiastically salting their coffee is too many to count!
© John Welford
