by Antonia Williams

Created on: January 11, 2011

Trees have been the subject of superstitions since time immemorial. Their size, their fruits, their age and their medicinal properties are subjects that have fascinated human beings all over the world.

APPLE trees are associated with the stories of the Garden of Eden and some people still consider it bad luck to burn apple logs for firewood. Other beliefs are that if the sun shines through apple trees on Christmas day, there will be a good crop of apples the next year, and that if an apple remains on the tree until the spring, then a member of the family owning the tree will die.

Many superstitions have grown up around the OAK tree. For example, in England, oak trees and their acorns were believed to have magical powers. It is thought that standing beneath an oak tree during a thunderstorm would give protection from being struck by lightning. If you take a few acorns from a tree which has been struck by lightning into your home and place them on the windowsill, that will protect the home from being struck by lightning itself. This superstition arose from a legend that the Norse god, Thor, sheltered under an oak tree during a storm and was protected.

The Welsh believe in the medicinal properties of oak trees. If you have a sore or a cut on your skin, rub a piece of bark from an oak tree onto it for rapid healing. Hugging and oak tree will cure hernias and even infertility.

In Cornwall, you don’t even have to touch the tree, just hammer a nail into the trunk of an oak tree and that will cure your toothache. The most powerful oak trees are those planted at crossroads.

Also in England, young lovers can predict the outcome of their relationship with acorns. They are advised to place two acorns in a bowl of water; if the acorns drift together, the couple will have a long and happy relationship; if the acorns drift apart, the couple will not stay together.

As oak trees are very long-lived, it is thought that they can help people live to an old age. You just have to carry a few acorns around in your pocket.

Some of these superstitions might have come from the fact that the Roman goddess Diana is often depicted with a string of acorns around her neck. Bad luck will come to anyone who cuts down an oak tree. Similar superstitions are linked with the cutting down of an ELDER tree. The elder tree is also said to ward off evil spirits or bad luck - see further details here.

In Thailand, people believe that certain trees are unlucky and will not plant them near the

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