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Hi, Michelle —
This historical book about immigrants
says it's a somewhat superstitious
folk custom from peasants in southern
Italy:
It says the following on page 112 under the Chapter: Religion,
Supernaturalism, and Folk Medicine:
| In 1935 the peasants of Gaglianco in Southern Italy believed sprites to be the spirits of unbaptized children who had died. Palms from Palm Sunday, folded in half and placed over photographs, crucifixes, bed rails, and doorpost and under the mattress, were used to ward them off. |
I cannot vouch for the authenticity
of this book.
— RC
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