Nursery rhymes, or "Mother Goose" rhymes, are traditional poems or songs meant for children specifically. They originated in the mid-16th century, & while most prominent in Britain, have originated from many different countries. Here are some of my favorites! 1/ #FairyTaleTuesday
Down at the station, early in the morning,
See the little puffer-billies all in a row;
See the engine driver pull his little lever-
Puff puff, peep peep, off we go! #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Rosemary Wells
Warm hands, warm,
The men are gone to plow,
If you want to warm your hands,
Warm your hands now. #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Rosemary Wells
Sing a song of sixpence,
A pocket full of rye;
Four and twenty blackbirds
Baked in a pie.
When the pie was opened,
The birds began to sing;
Wasn't that a dainty dish
To set before the king? #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Margaret Tarrant
If I had a donkey that wouldn't go,
D'you think I'd beat him?
Oh, no, no.
I'd put him in a barn and give him some corn,
The best little donkey that ever was born. #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: A.E. Kennedy
One for sorrow
Two for joy
Three for a girl
Four for a boy
Five for silver
Six for gold
Seven for a secret
Ne'er to be told #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Fatima Ronquillo
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
Bless the bed that I lie on.
Four angels round my bed;
Two of them stand at my head,
Two of them stand at my feet,
All will watch me while I sleep. #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Isobel Lilian Gloag
The man in the moon
Came down too soon,
And asked his way to Norwich;
He went by the south
And burnt his mouth
With supping cold plum porridge. #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Rev. Timothy Harley
The wind, the wind, the wind blows high,
The rain comes scattering down the sky.
She is handsome, she is pretty,
She is the girl of the golden city.
She goes a-courting, one, two, three,
Please and tell me who is she. #FairyTaleTuesday
🖼: Rosemary Wells
I had a little nut tree, nothing would it bear
But a silver nutmeg & a golden pear.
The king of Spain's daughter came to visit me,
& all for the sake of my little nut tree.
I skipped over the water, I danced over sea,
& all the birds in the air couldn't catch me #FairyTaleTuesday
The Carpathian Mountains are a European mountain range full of myths and folklore, most notably from Romanians and Hutsul people (between Romania and Ukraine). I'm going to share with you a few of these legends and myths today! #FaustianFriday 1/
A 16th century legend said dwarves in the Carpathian Mountains had cursed the ore to make miners contract a fatal respiratory illness termed "the mountain disease". They discovered later that the culprit was the radioactive pitchblende produced from mining. #FaustianFriday 2/
The Carpathian Mountains are also the home of two Romanian legends of the same name, Baba Dochia, used to explain the Babele rock formation. The legends concern a woman named Baba Dochia who is very different in both stories. #FaustianFriday 3/
Lady Isabel & the Elf Knight (Child #4, Roud #21) is a large class of European ballads where a young woman defeats a man who tries to murder her. There are a number of variants, categorized below. 1/ #WyrdWednesday
In the variant Child's A "The Gowans Sae Gae", Lady Isabel meets an Elf Knight who leads her to the Greenwood intending to kill her, as she discovers. Isabel tricks him into falling asleep, usually either with a charm or by singing & kills him with his own dirk. 2/ #WyrdWednesday
"The Gowans Sae Gae" variant of this song can be heard here: or here: 3/
Happy International Labor Day! Enjoy this thread about labor related folk tales and songs! I encourage you today to think about all the things we can accomplish when we join together and demand what is ours. #FolkloreSunday
"A Miner's Life" (Roud 3510) is an American union folk song. It's aimed at rallying miners to unionize. It advises workers "union miners, stand together. Do not heed the coal board's tale. Keep your hand upon your wages and your eye upon the scale"
Music has an important history in labor organizing. The Industrial Workers of the World, for example published multiple editions of "The Little Red Song Book" throughout the years full of songs they used in their organizing efforts.
Happy New Year's! I'm here to tell you about a New Year's Eve tradition called "Sitting Out," where some people would try and catch elves to ask them about their future. This practice originated in Norway and was originally on Christmas Eve, but was later moved. 1/
Originally in Norway, this was practiced deep in the forest or on elf-mounds. This practice was later outlawed as witchcraft in Norway, but it persisted later in Iceland, where the designated location was at crossroads where all 4 directions lead directly to churches. 2/
In order to "sit out" on New Year's Eve, the reputed "moving day" for the elves, in Iceland you'll bring a grey cat & lay on top of a sheepskin, cover yourself completely with the hide of a seal or elderly ox, & stare at the edge of an axe blade, being in place by midnight. 3/
The Arabian Nights is a fascinating collection of folklore with a rich & enthralling history. The history and discourse around the translation of the Nights is also incredibly fascinating. In this thread I will share a bit about each of the main translators! #FairyTaleTuesday 1/
First, it is important to note that there are two main versions of the Arabian Nights: the Syrian & the Egyptian. The Syrian manuscripts are much shorter, but older & more "authentic." The Egyptian manuscripts are much longer with many more tales added later. #FairyTaleTuesday 2/
Antoine Galland was the first translator of the Arabian Nights to bring it to a Western audience, and was the one who popularized it in the West. I have already made a mini-thread about him, which you can view below. #FairyTaleTuesday 3/
Alchemy is an ancient practice that can be understood as a meeting of science & magic. While famed for being a predecessor of chemistry, alchemy was also undeniably spiritual in nature, believing everything, including metals, to have a spirit & be alive. 1/7 #MythologyMonday
Alchemists believed the world to be comprised of 4 elements: water, earth, air, & fire. Major goals of alchemy included creating an elixir of immortality, universal healing potion, & most famously turning metals into gold, regarded as the most perfect metal. 2/7 #MythologyMonday
Alchemical goals can be viewed both on physical & spiritual levels. While a goal would be to turn physical lead to gold, for example, this can also be viewed on spiritual terms with lead symbolizing a sinful & evil person & gold representing spiritual beauty. 3/7 #MythologyMonday