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blessed a Cp EDD ~ ppl adj 'emphatic for good'; OED2
'worthy to be blessed by men'; JOYCE 196-7. Note: The term is of unusual frequency
in the region, esp applied to natural phenomena (sun, moon, sky, stars, rain, snow,
thunder, etc), or used in exclamatory phrases (e.g. 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph, look down
upon us this blessed day and night!'). A few examples are given below.
Comb blessed brand: the remains of wood used in Ash
Wednesday church ritual.
M 71-121 It was a custom on Ash Wednesday
for everyone to receive a piece of Blessed Bran. Wood was burned to make the ashes [and]
the wood that remained unbumt was called Blessed Bran. Each person had to clean out his
stove and lay a new fire with this piece of [wood] at the bottom. This...would protect
the house from fire for that year.
blessed bread: bread
over or on which the sign of the cross is made prior to baking in order to ensure rising.
M 71-114 Home-made bread was always [made with] the sign of the
cross on the dough. The bread was always referred to as blessed bread.
blessed virgin's leaf: lady's thumb (Polygonum
persicaria).
P 85-65 ~ a common weed with the likeness of a
thumb-print on the leaf. C 67-8 Any kind of bleeding can be stopped with the blessed
virgin's leaf, a locally known plant.
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