Dare we call them 'Old Wives Tales'...

Lift your feet crossing over railrad tracks for good luck?...we use to do that one.

One of the reasons I serve beef over Chrisrmas..is because the broth was known to keep the body healthiuer over winter and save lives of the weakness of abattling the winter season. In fact I have an pioneer receipe for it.  the Native Americans had their own redition of this also...they lined their tipi's on the outside with buffalo hides that were not completley scraped clean of the gelatin in the hair...then covered them with certain kinds of bark. If they ran out of food before planting season/spring or couldn't find anything to hunt because of an snow storm...they boiled the hide for the beef gelatin to keep them alive and the bark..for coffee. It often sufficed them with corn cakes and roasted nuts for an meal..as they waited out the growing of Springtime vegetation and more of the animals came out of hybernation.

Find a penny, pick it up, and all day you'll have good luck.

I always pick up a penny and recite this to myself, while thinking of my mum. 

If I remember rightly you had to do the same if you saw a pin! Sue

Then there was throwing a pinch of spilled salt over your shoulder!

I seem to recall James that the same rule as you mentioned for pork applied also to pheasants and the like and wild game.  It had something to do with flies laying eggs in the carcass as it hung to cure! 

If I see an penny it goes into jars for the grandkids for next Christmas..much of my loose change goes to them also. I just presented them with iindiviual plastic bags for $7 each from my yearly loose change. Summertime I keep it in my purse for garage sales...then transfer it on to them come winter.

I like being flamboyant, so I like the one about the salt...and tossing it over your shoulder for good luck....just don't stand behind me though when doing it...you might ended up feeling "pickled" in the process.