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BS: Animals in Winter Folklore
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BS: Animals in Winter Folklore |
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Subject: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Sarah the flute Date: 03 Oct 02 - 07:45 AM Christmas display and quiz time beckins. I have got a whole load of free samples of dime bar nuggets featuring an aardvark and so we thought we would do a display on animals associated with the winter months. Does anyone out there know of any strange associations in countries other than the UK? I've managed to find a piece on Black Tigers representing the north and winter in China. Anything similar or just pointers would be great. Any folk tales associated with animals and birds and the winter months Thanks in advance Sarah |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: GUEST,Walking Eagle Date: 03 Oct 02 - 10:11 PM Bears represent Winter ( north ) in Tsa La Ghi ( Cherokee ) legends. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: katlaughing Date: 04 Oct 02 - 02:18 AM There's a wonderful little story in a book my grandmother used to use while teaching about why the evergreens keep their leaves in winter. It used to be that all trees kept their leaves in winter until... ...there was a small bird which was injured and so could not fly south with its flock. It went from tree to tree asking for shelter and food through the winter. Most of the trees were quite snooty about it, very rude and disdainful, refusing any respite. Finally, the little bird came to an evergreen and went through its spiel once more, begging for shelter. The tree was quite kind and said yes. The other evergreens clustered round to help shelter and feed the little bird even more. I'll have to look up who the benevolent Authority was in the story, I don't think it was Mother Nature. Anyway, upon hearing how kind the evergreens had been, the Authority said they should always keep their leaves, whilst the rude trees would always loose theirs in winter, from then on. Well, that wasn't too brief.:-) I'll look up the bits tomorrow, if you are interested. kat |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: katlaughing Date: 04 Oct 02 - 02:28 AM Forgot, Wooly Bear caterpillars' stripes are supposed to be an indication of how bad winter might be. Here's a folkish essay about them: please click here and, HERE is a picture of one with some more lore and a few facts. We used to love these when we were kids. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Sarah the flute Date: 04 Oct 02 - 03:29 AM Thanks katlaughing ... that's exactly the kind of stuff I'm after. Also the bears one as well - I'll go and look up the Native American books I've got (that was very PC!!!).Mudcat continues to triumph! Sarah |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Nigel Parsons Date: 04 Oct 02 - 05:47 AM see DTStudy: Cutty Wren for details of 'Wrenning' and its associated folklore Nigel |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Genie Date: 04 Oct 02 - 06:02 AM Well, there's the very old (ca. 12th C.) Christmas song "The Friendly Beasts" based on the legend that at midnight on the first Christmas eve (and all Christmas eves since) the animals could talk. Each tells of the "gift he gave Emmanuel." (Cf. forum threads on "Friendly Beasts.") There is also a legend I heard about a cat who attended the nativity. ("A cat may look at a king.") And a similar legend says that when Jesus was born no one could get him to go to sleep -- no one, that is, until a little tabby cat jumped upon the manger and purred him to sleep. Mary was so grateful that she kissed the tabby cat on the forehead. And to this day, all tabbies have an "M" on their foreheads. Genie |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: fretless Date: 04 Oct 02 - 10:17 AM Try to get a copy of Rhys Carpenter: Folktale, Fiction, and Saga in the Homeric Epics. Lots of info there about European and North Asian winter hibernation legends, i.e. bears, groundhogs, etc. Carpenter concludes that the Odyssey is really a bear-son legend, which isn't generally accepted, but his recounting of European, central Asian, and Siberian folklore is great. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Art Thieme Date: 04 Oct 02 - 12:02 PM Most just sleep through it. ;-) Art Thieme |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Sorcha Date: 04 Oct 02 - 01:21 PM There ought to be lots in Russian folktales, but I haven't got time to go digging. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: denise:^) Date: 04 Oct 02 - 02:20 PM There's the folktale "The Mitten," (Russian, I believe) about how animals burrow into a lost mitten to stay warm... It's available in about a zillion different editions, but the one by Jan Brett has lovely illustrations. If your kids are young (I've done kdg. and first grade), there are several activity books with patterns for mittens that you "sew" like sewing cards, and put the animal cutouts into. Don't know if that's what you're thinking of or not, but there it is! denise:^) |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Sarah the flute Date: 05 Oct 02 - 03:29 AM I think Art's approach is the best!!! Unfortunately the kids are 13-18 so it's got to be teenager friendly stuff ie either young, silly but cool or full of interesting facts you can impress your friends with. Then we've got to do a competition around it so that they can win the millions of packets of dime bar nuggets (OK hundreds!). This is great stuff. I think I'm veering towards mythology and folk tales about animals in winter rather than biological habits but the stranger and more obscure the tales the better. It's great hearing these snippets from other parts of the world Thanks so much everyone Sarah |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: denise:^) Date: 05 Oct 02 - 10:47 AM Oh! I see. Well, this story is: 1)definitely traditional; 2)difinitely silly; 3)might be cool if handled correctly! But, you said they need to make a display? I don't know if this kind of a folktale would lend itself to that, really... It's more likely that you could make a display about one of those "explaining naturaly phenomena" kind-of tales, like "How the Tiger Got His Stripes," (although I, personally, don't have any 'winter' ones to give you.) Good luck!! |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Sarah the flute Date: 07 Oct 02 - 03:22 AM Any more?????? |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Liz the Squeak Date: 08 Oct 02 - 02:56 AM There's that ghastly poem by Thomas Hardy about how at midnight on Christmas, all the animals in the barn kneel down. LTS |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: GUEST,Geordie Date: 09 Oct 02 - 10:54 AM I never thought the Hardy Poem was ghastly. Why do you thinks so LTS ?I really am interested to know. |
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Subject: RE: BS: Animals in Winter Folklore From: Kim C Date: 09 Oct 02 - 01:43 PM I really like John Gorka's "Winter Cows" song. Not exactly folklore, but something fun all the same. Ditto Genie on The Friendly Beasts. One of my most favorite Christmas songs. |