TALES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

TALES FROM OTHER COUNTRIES

I always find it so interesting to read tales from other countries about Christmas and snow. I recently enjoyed one from Sweden (part of my heritage) and one from Russia.

The story of Lucia is a fascinating Swedish story. My grandparents were both Swedish on my father's side, so my siblings and I grew up surrounded by lots of Swedish decor, food, and of course, the story of how at Christmas time girls would wear wreaths of candles on their head in honor of St. Lucia. In their Lutheran church, that tradition was still a part of their Christmas celebration. Despite hearing all of this, I never knew the story behind Lucia and why exactly she wore the candles. One of you wonderful members, sent me this picture book, Lucia's Morning in Sweden, that shares a family's celebration of the day, but also includes Lucia's story as well. I am finding as I grow older, I want my children to know more about their heritage and am incorporating parts into our lives.

Recently I did a post on The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (see previous post for details). At the end of her book she attributes the root of her Pulitzer Prize Finalist retelling of the Russian fairytale by the same name to a Scholastic book. I had to hunt it down, and I was able to order this used copy. This fantastical story of an elderly couple who are unable to have children end up with a child in a most unusual way. They create a child of snow, and the child comes to life. This tale took me back to my own childhood, not because I was created out of snow, but because some of my favorite books to check out of the library were a series of books that were fairy tales from other countries. I loved those books and eagerly dove into them each time I brought one of the copies home. This particular telling of The Snow Child ends with a satisfactory ending. I do believe that the original is tragic.