IS IT bad luck to sing Christmas carols out of season? Only last week, I chastised a chap in Launceston for whistling Deck The Halls . You take your decorations down on Twelfth Night, so surely carols should be well off the agenda by now.

Even if you celebrate Christmas until Candlemas - February 2, 40 days after the big day - that’s long gone too. Legend has it that decs left up after Candlemas Eve would be possessed by goblins.

Classic FM deems carol humming in March to be “in poor taste” at the very least – although to be fair to the poor bloke, his whistling was very tuneful, so he is 100 per cent forgiven. And in truth, I’m not all that superstitious.

Every day, Daughter comes home from school and settles down in front of the TV with a mug of hot chocolate to watch Deal Or No Deal. I try and ignore it but invariably get sucked in, and wind up yelling at the screen because someone has chosen a box to open based on a “feeling” or their “favourite number” or a “connection” with the person behind it.

“Calm down, Mum,” says Daughter with a well-practised eyeroll. But it’s no good. I’m too far gone.

Feelings, connections, favourites: what a load of tosh. It’s a gamble. It’s either blue or it’s red, high or low, 50/50. You have no idea until you’ve made your choice. It’s pure chance.

And yet, a new survey of 2500 Brits (appropriately, by gambling company Slotozilla) reveals that for all our modern understanding of how things work, a surprising number of us still adhere to old wives' tales, with 81% of respondents admitting to following at least one traditional belief.

For example, 73 per cent avoid smashing mirrors at all costs for fear of seven years’ bad luck. This stems from the ancient Romans, who believed that our physical and spiritual selves renewed every seven years; breaking a mirror disrupted the cycle, leading to a prolonged period of misfortune.

Be honest with yourself – it just makes a mess, and the splinters are pretty bloody sharp if you step on them.

A similar number of folk refuse to risk opening an umbrella indoors. This superstition dates back to ancient Egypt, where umbrellas were used to protect people from the sun, and opening one indoors was seen as an insult to the sun god Ra.

Taking someone’s eye out with a spoke really would be unlucky, I suppose.

Ditto walking under ladders, thought to be based on the ancient Egyptian practice of leaving ladders in tombs for the dead to climb up. In reality, health and safety would have a fit at the idea of ladders being jogged, people falling off and items landing on heads.

A significant 63 per cent still knock on wood to ward off misfortune. Apparently, pagans believed malevolent spirits inhabited wood, and touching or knocking on it would prevent them from hearing and subverting your hopes for the future.

I’ve never heard the saying that itchy palms mean money is on the way, and yet just over half of Brits believe this, an ancient Indian superstition that the left hand represents receiving and storing wealth (scratching not advised – you might lose the dosh).

“Feed a cold, starve a fever” is another new one on me, but it’s been around since the Middle Ages, and 21 per cent of us swear by this old-fashioned remedy. Maybe there’s some truth in it; as recently as 2002, a Dutch study (of six people, mind) found that eating boosted the immune response that destroys the viruses responsible for colds, while fasting stimulated the response that tackles the bacterial infections that cause fevers.

OH can’t bear to see crossed cutlery. In Ireland, this meant a fight was going to happen soon; in Italy, it was considered an insult to the symbol of the cross. This latter was a powerful thing: crossing your fingers dates to pre-Christian times, when it was thought a concentration of good spirits resided in the intersection, and would anchor a wish until it could come true.

Of course, I have crossed my fingers countless times. I also say “Good morning Mr Magpie,” learned from my mother-in-law - one for sorrow, and all that. A male friend admitted saluting them, even pretending to scratch his head in company to avoid embarrassment.

And Daughter has just told me that even in her teens, she is scared monsters lurk under her cabin bed and has to jump up in a particular way when she goes to the loo in the night.

For all our 21st-century nous, as culture analyst Kim Ejdowaski says: “People still find comfort in these small rituals, which often serve as reminders of family traditions and community wisdom.”

Which ones did your granny teach you? Be sure to let me know.