Christmas Superstitions to Find Love This Holiday Season

If you are a single lady who hasn't yet found that special someone, holidays can be a headache. It is not just because you don't have a significant other- most of us can deal with being single for some time- but suddenly you are surrounded by advertisements that seem to put relationships front and center, non-single friends shopping for their mates, and family members who enjoy concerning themselves with your personal life.

While Christmas may seem to be working against you, maybe you can squeeze some good from it, especially if you're looking for a partner. There are a number of Christmas superstitions that claim to use the power of the holiday to help people find love. I know, I know; you're probably not superstitious, but hey, it couldn't hurt to know what they are, right?

Find out if you'll marry within the next year using twigs: There are two Czech practices to determine whether the New Year will bring you marriage. The first, the Cherry Twig Method, works as follows: on December 4^th, cut a twig off a cherry tree and place it in a vase of water. Keep an eye on it until Christmas Eve, and if it blooms by then, you'll get married. If not, I guess the next year will be about the same as this one.

Find out if you'll marry within the next year using shoes: So maybe you don't have a cherry tree handy or maybe you're too poor a gardener to let your love life rely on growing a plant; it's cool. There's another option. According to the second Czech tradition on this list, you can throw a shoe over your shoulder, towards a door. If it lands with the toe pointing toward the door, you'll be married in a year. Try to keep the do-overs to a minimum.

See who you'll marry in a dream using holly leaves: The first way to do this seems like something teenage school girls would do on a sleepover, and the other is a little crazy. Still, if you're willing to try anything, here you go:

For the first method, you should take three holly leaves, prick the initials of three guys you have a crush on into the leaves, giggle with your girlfriends (optional), and place them under your pillow on Christmas Eve. Have a dream, and you'll know your future husband. Pretty simple, right?

The second way involves borrowing someone's wedding ring (try coming up with an excuse for that without looking completely nuts), wearing it on your third finger of your left hand, and sewing nine holly leaves on your pajamas (again, nuts). Go to bed like this on Christmas Eve, and in the morning, you'll know your future husband. Just remember to change pajamas if you're staying with family for the holidays to avoid any inquiries about your fashion choices at the breakfast table.

Don't give any potential mates shoes for Christmas: While shoes may work in your favor when you throw them at doors, they'll make terrible Christmas gifts for anyone with whom you'd like to be romantically involved. According to one superstition, giving a person shoes will allow them to walk out of your life in the near future. I don't care if he's a marathon runner and you own a shoe store; give him a watch!

Stir the Christmas pudding if you want to be married in the New Year: Apparently, it is a British tradition to serve a magical, wish-granting plum pudding on Christmas. After stirring the mixture three times, you can make a wish for anything, even love! While I understand that we in the States tend not to have this pudding, I don't think the instant Jell-O stuff is going to suffice. If you want to go about finding love (or world domination; it's your wish) through pudding, you should probably look up a recipe for the real deal.

So there you have it; five ways to ask the Christmas spirits to take pity on you and send you a mate by proving you're willing to try anything. Or you could just embrace the single life for now, treat yourself to something nice, and let love come naturally without appealing to supernatural forces. Either way you go, have a very merry Christmas.

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