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Folklore
An Ancient Valentine’s Day Ritual Anyone Can Do
Valentine’s Day falls on February 14th and was originally started to celebrate love, fertility and new beginnings.
In modern times however, Valentine’s Day has become a commercially driven holiday that makes singles...
The Ancient Roman Love Holiday Before Valentine’s Day Was Called Lupercalia
Lupercalia is an ancient fertility Roman festival that was held February 13-15. The festival was held to both promote fertility along with purging the city of evil and illness. Although it...
Halloween Origins - Commemorates the Fall of Lemuria
Halloween is often considered the world's oldest human celebration as it has been traced back continuously to Celtic traditions a few thousand of years ago. But an oral tradition...
Halloween Origins - The Romans
Believe it or not, the origins of Halloween have a distinct Roman flavor. The explanation, however, requires some jumping around.
The month of May, for the Romans, was both a somber...
Saturnalia
The Carnaval Celebration that became Christmas & New Year'S Eve
In pagan Rome, the celebration of the Winter Solstice began on December 17 with the feast of Saturn -- also called...
Will-o'-the-wisp
Few mythical "creatures", if you can call this one, share the kind of worldwide mythology that the will-o'-the-wisp has. In different cultures around the world, this unexplained phenomenon is known...
Hansel and Gretel
Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm
Hansel and Gretel
Hard by a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel...
Rumpelstiltskin
A little Halloween fun for you … ;)
Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm
Rumpelstiltskin
By the side of a wood, in a country a long way off, ran a fine...
Original Irish Jack-O-Lanterns Were Truly Terrifying!
A far cry from the grinning pumpkins of Halloween today, the original Jack-o-Lanterns, named for Jack O’Lantern of the Irish myth, were actually quite terrifying.
They were carved from turnips or beets rather...
The Jack-O-Lantern
When we think of Jack-o-Lanterns today we think of the carved pumpkins with candles lighting them brightly from within; but did you know that the Jack-o-Lantern actually has deep historical...
The Pied Piper of Hamelin - A Fairy Tale or Is It?
Once upon a time on the banks of a great river in northern Germany there was a town called Hamelin. The citizens of Hamelin were honest and content. Many peaceful,...
The Witching Hour
By Sharon Day
You roll over in bed and force your eyes open, only to read the blurry red lights of the digital clock “3:15.”
Wikipedia refers to the witching hour this...
Magic and Folklore of the Blue Moon
A blue moon is what people call the second of two full Moons that appear during the same month. A second full Moon can appear within the same month because...
Folklore of the "Blue Moon"
There is a lot of folklore about the moon. Modern folklore has it that full moons make for better parties and higher booking rates at mental hospitals, but all the...
The Irish Banshee
The Banshee In Ireland
Banshee (bean-sidhe) means ‘Faerie woman’ or ‘woman of the Faerie mound. Many legends exist surrounding the Banshees and just how evil is she meant to be.
The Legends...
Bats - Myths, Folklore and Facts
Bats
“Suspicions amongst thoughts are like bats amongst birds, they ever fly by twilight” Francis Bacon (1561-1626)
Of all the creatures associated with the night, perhaps the most misaligned and misunderstood is the...
Spider Mythology and Lore
Spider
I’ve been walking in my neighborhood lately and have been admiring all of the Halloween decorations set about in people’s...
The Folklore and Mythology Surrounding Crickets
Crickets
"A Loud Cricket means Money is Coming"
When it comes to Chinese superstition, the cricket plays a critical role. Throughout history, they have resembled intelligence and good fortune. In fact, if...
