In 1777, John Brand, an English folklorist, published Observations on Popular Antiquities. In it, he described the customs of the people of England that might not be known among the upper classes of that nation.
In one passage, he wrote about a custom in which a newborn child is passed through a hole cut in the center of a wheel of cheese on the day of the child's christening. In some villages, the cheese is then cut and distributed to women as an aphrodisiac.
As with previous viral stories about history, my librarian spidey senses alerted to a potential fraud. I can say that Brand may have been incorrect, but he did actually describe this custom in his book.
-via Old European Culture
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