Rituals & Traditions

According to the Havana Club website, Cuban bartenders always spill a few drops when they open a new bottle, "a los Santos"..."for the Saints" that watch over them. Which I did when I opened my first bottle of Havana Club...who am I to ignore that ritual?

Any other rituals/traditions/superstitions you've heard of?

Havana Club website, btw, is well-done and a blast to check out.
http://www.havana-club.com

Here is a charming ritual:

Before we had kids and my wife and I had acres of free time, we liked to go to the beach. My wife would open a bottle of wine, pour a glass, then splash a little wine onto the sand, all the while whispering strange, sweet words of praise and entreaty to King Neptune.

Then I would rip off her bikini and fall upon her like a wild animal.

I have read that the Norse Tradition of saying "Skol" stems from the Viking (a verb) tradition of drinking from the "Skul" of a vanquished foe. It's not a slap in the face, instead it's more of a tribute.

Sort of like, "Here's to the close calls we've gotten by so far"

Has anyone investigated the origin of "here's mud in yer eye"?

Shipwreckjoey wrote:

Has anyone investigated the origin of "here's mud in yer eye"?

Here's the two that are out there:

"The speaker is really congratulating himself, for the saying comes from the world of horse racing where the winning horse will kick mud into the eyes of those following."

"This toast was originally made in the muddy trenches of World War I, or in the cafes where English and American soldiers spent their leaves trying to forget them."