Augustus Hare (1834-1903) was an English writer and painter of the Victorian era.
In his autobiography The Story of My Life (aka Peculiar People) Hare recounts a troubling incident on Christmas Eve 1866:
When the Mother and Lea were both ill last week, our Italian servants Clementina and (her daughter) Louisa groaned incessantly; and when Clementina was taken ill on the following night, Louisa gave up all hope at once, and sent for her other children to take leave of her. This depression of spirits has gone on ever since Christmas, and it turns out now that they think a terrible omen has come to the house. No omen is worse than an upset of oil, but, if this occurs on Christmas Eve, it is absolutely fatal, and on Christmas Eve my mother upset her little table with the great moderator lamp upon it. The oil was spilt all over her gown and the lamp broken to pieces on the floor, with great cries of ‘O santissimo diavolo’ from the servants. ‘Only one thing can save us now,’ says Louisa; ‘if Providence would mercifully permit that someone should break a bottle of wine here by accident, that would bring back luck to the house, but nothing else can.’