The James T. Callow Folklore Archive

When my mother was growing up she lived with her
parents and her grandparents. Her grandparents
had come from Malta and still kept close ties to
the country. Hundreds of years ago the Turks
attacked Malta and destroyed almost everything.
When it rained out my mother would often see her
grandparents looking out the window. If the sun
happened to be out while it was raining they
would say, very negatively, "another Turk." In
this way she was taught that for every time it
rained while the sun was out, a Turkish child was
born and therefore it was a bad day. Because this
happens more rarely, they could be happy that there
were less Turks in the world.

Submitter comment: This is usually said as a derogatory statement,
usually in disgust. My grandmother and mother
never say this because they believe that it is
unfair to hold this grudge today.

Where learned: MICHIGAN ; DETROIT

Date learned: 00001950S