Frolicksome Women: The Folklore of Wife Selling
Wife selling is often claimed to be an ancient practice, carried out by brutish men to free themselves of unwanted wives, but the truth is far more varied and fascinating.
Slavic Traditions: The Garlands of Midsummer’s Eve
In Poland, Midsummer’s Eve garlands would be set on water, their path on the surface foretelling the owner’s future, and protecting from spells and curses.
Bad Luck comes in Threes: Matches, Murderers or Mathematics
One installment in a series of common superstitions in the English speaking world: ‘Bad luck comes in threes.’
May Day, Weddings and Births – Folklore Trees and Traditions in Bavaria
Maypoles are often seen as a quintessentially English tradition, yet in Bavaria the raising of the Maibaum (or May Tree) is also an important event, and it is not the only time a tree is hefted aloft in celebration.
A Treasury of British Folklore: Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe
I began writing ‘Maypoles, Mandrakes and Mistletoe: A Treasury of British Folklore’ back in April last year.