Blackberry season is at its peak right now with people lining the hedgerows, filling their buckets and turning their mouths purple. Humans have been eating blackberries as far back as 8000 years ago according to archaeological evidence. Their place in mainstream culture is firmly established.
For that reason we thought we'd look into some of the stranger things people have written about this ubiquitous fruit...
Don't eat blackberries after 29th September
The story goes that Lucifer was chucked out of heaven on this day - Michaelmas day; also sometimes said to be on Old Michaelmas Day; 11th October - and he had the misfortune of landing in a big patch of brambles. He cursed the brambles from that date on by - depending on what countries' folklore you subscribe to - scorching them, spitting on them, wagging his tail at them or throwing his cloak on them. He swore that they who ate blackberries after that date would become cursed or ill.
'Baby's not well - it's blackberry time'
The idea that blackberry season coincided with a period where babies, cats and horses all felt unwell. This was a firmly held belief in Dorset, whereas in other parts of the country babies who suffered from whooping cough were passed under an arch of brambles seven times to cure them; believing that the illness would be transferred to the bush; 'in bramble, out cough, here I leave the whooping cough'.
Leave the first blackberries of the season to the fairy folk
This is Manx folklore, and is a relatively common theme of leaving the first (and sometimes last) fruits on trees to the fairies; referred to as the 'pixie or fairy harvest'. It is said if it not listened to then the rest of the berries you pick will be full of grubs. At the same time in Cornwall it was said that to eat the first blackberry of the season would cure your warts, so the information is a bit muddled...
Lets end on a positive... records show that during the American Civil War temporary truces were put in place so that both Union and Confederate soldiers could forage for blackberries; often from the same bush. The berries would then be used to make teas to cure dysentery and other illnesses. The power of blackberries is evident in our culture; not only to make us feel better but also to bring us together...