Plum Pudding & Other Fairy Tale Food

Miss Plum Duff by Kristin Tercek

UPDATE 12/28/11 THANKS TO RENEE OF THE FAE: See end of post.

This illustration by Kristin Tercek (of Cuddly Rigor Mortis) reminds me of a favorite childhood classic tale from Australia,  The Magic Pudding, written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay . Although isn't set specifically at Christmas, it works with the season because every Christmas in Australia seems to require pudding and fruitcake. And how can you resist the idea of magical pudding?

I must admit, this Magic Pudding is on the grumpy side and quite a trouble maker, giving his companions  - who spend all their time guarding him against pudding thieves - a lot of grief. In fact, he's only happy when he's being eaten, though he can never be fully consumed, being magical and all.

The Christmas season tends to involve a lot of food and festive meals so thinking about fairy tale food also seems appropriate at the moment.

While I don't recall many (if any) fairy tales in which the food itself is magic (in that it has personality), there are plenty of examples of magical food in fairy tales, that is, food that is magical, makes magic as it's consumed or contains something magical. Food in fairy tales is always important, even when it isn't specifically magical as well. (I've commented on this a little recently with regard to apples and Snow White in ABC's Once Upon A Time.)

Off the top of my head here are some tales where food, or a food item, are of supreme importance in the tale:

Like Meat Without Salt (another of my favorites as a child)

Hansel & Gretel (remember the breadcrumbs as well as the candy house!)

Princess Manyfur & Donkeyskin (the soup made by the princess in disguise with an 'extra' ingredient)

Rapunzel (Radishes? Lettuce? Take your pick but the vegetable garden holds the roots of the story.. ;)

The Juniper Tree (I almost didn't include this but that meal is, sadly, very key)

The Princess and the Pea (a pea, obviously, but also breakfast revelations)

Cinderella (pumpkin in the best known version but if memory serves there are oranges and lemons as well - aristocratic delicacies)

Snow White (the famous apple of course but also what the queen asks for to add to her dinner)

Stone Soup (everything BUT the stone!)

Red Riding Hood (a basket of bread and wine for Grandma, and wolf food of course)

Love For Three Oranges (cheese and oranges)

Jack and the Beanstalk (not just beans but also milk and all the significance of that drink, not to mention the fee fi fo fum dinnertime. The other Jack o- f Giant Killer fame - also has pudding - see image earlier in post)

Beauty & the Beast (each night at dinner...)

Momotaro (Peach Boy - a little boy born in a peach)

The Tin Soldier (the fish sliced open for dinner)

Baba Yaga (rice)

Tom Thumb (his big troubles start with falling into a pudding)

The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf (bread and all it represents)

Goldilocks & the Three Bears (porridge and breakfast)

Strawberries in the Snow (or the Twelve Months)

The Nutcracker (not about nuts at all but lots of sweets instead)

This is not a definitive list. Just those I could list without heading to my fairy tale library. What obvious ones did I miss? What are your favorites? And what food or meals are involved besides the obvious ones (especially if they're in the title)?

UPDATE: Thanks to Renee of the Fae's comment below, I was reminded of The Talking Eggs by Robert D. San Souci. It's an American variation on Diamonds and Toads with lovely language and gorgeous illustrations. Check it out (there's a very small preview of a couple of pages on amazon.com). If you haven't got it already I'm predicting you'll add it to your fairy tale wish list. ;) Thanks Renee!

Happy Winter Solstice!

1912 John Bauer (Swedish 1882-1918) ~ Julbocken (Yule Goat) from “A Polar Bear’s Tale”

Today is December 22nd - the shortest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere and the official beginning of Winter or Winter Solstice. Bring on the Winter tales and folklore up here! I'll start with "A Polar Bear's Tale", except I can't find any online text for this tale; just a few wonderful illustrations and ink studies by John Bauer. Obviously I need far more research time... (hint, hint to my fellow-researchers out there ;). I think it's in Swedish Folk Tales, which I have but can't reach to confirm as it's in storage.

Frost fairies, Jack Frost tales, snow-maidens, Father Winter, Snow Queens and ice palaces... enchanted bears visiting your doorstep (either in need of a good brush or to help scare off pesky trolls), frozen hearts and magic footprints in the snow and Yule goats... I love it all. :)  

Bonus: For a little "Google Magic" this season, if you use Firefox or Chrome, type "Let it snow" into the Google search box (https://www.google.com/) and hit return. It should start snowing (and fogging up!) on your screen. You can even make smiley faces with your mouse and when your Google goggles have had enough there's even a "defrost" button to help bring you back to cyber-reality. ;) If only I could just make it work while having a fairy tale page open - then it really would be magical! (Still very cool though. Heh.)

Do you have favorite Winter or snow-based/years-end tales? (Or any info on the tale the Bauer illustration was done for?)

Happy Wintertime Northern Hemisphere Folks!
(All those south of the equator: prep the barbie- it's Summertime and the rellies are due over any minute..! ;)
Yuletide blessings to you and yours this season, wherever you are.
 

Krampus Show at Curly Tail Fine Art

It would seem that people are exploring the darker side of many things these days - not just fairy tales but folktales too. Santa's dark partner, who is all but forgotten these days, is creeping back onto the scene.

In the last couple of years art shows revolving around Krampus, short story collections including Krampus characters and Krampus art dolls have become more and more prolific.

As you can imagine, from the subject matter, there are quite a few disturbing images but I guess that's the point.  While I think it's good to remember a dark side (especially to anything so "glitzed" and commercialized as the Christmas/Yule season) I'm not convinced going straight to horrific visuals for the most "demonic aspect" (and I'm not just talking about the Krampus-creature's appearance) is the way to go.

Chris Buzelli

I say "demonic aspect" because the darker side of Christmas to me is shown in plenty of sobering light by the light Dicken's Christmas ghosts and in The Little Match Girl's dying sparks. In real life, Christmas darkness is in the lines of homeless people waiting patiently to receive their charity-handout Christmas dinners and in the candles shining alone in curtained windows for all those family members lost too soon or fighting overseas during the season. But the stories and real-life scenes have a hope in them despite their darkness and that's something I see missing from a lot of the Krampus representations.

Dan Crowley

If you're familiar with the mythology and folklore you know that Krampus isn't specifically evil but instead performs  a necessary function - one that can be negotiated with to some extent if you understand his rules. (One region's form of him leaves coal in the stockings of naughty children, for example, a tradition that remains, though simplified, in our Christmas mythology today.) There's even a "Krampus Day" that's still celebrated in Alpine countries on December 5th. It's sort of like  Christmas version of Halloween but without the cute kids dressing up and OD-ing on candy.

Mark Garro

I must admit, even for someone who loves all things urban fantasy and adores Halloween above all other times of the year, all that dark without the light is just a bit TOO dark for me. I guess we have yet to find a balance.. (And so the pendulum swings!)

Here's another interesting piece from a showing earlier in the year:

 

You can see the details of the current show in the image at the head and, if you're interested, you can check out the variety of Krampus art on the website HERE. If you want to see it in person, the show runs in Chicago till January 15, 2012.

Stories for the Season: More To Explore - Story Roundup

This is my last "Stories for the Season" post but it's by no means a complete collection of fairy tales, and stories for fairy tale people that can be enjoyed during this end of year/beginning of a new year holiday time.

Here is an additional short list of stories I ran out of time to profile individually and why they can be included on your Christmas fairy tales list:

The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real
by Margery Williams
It's the classic Christmas toy story

The Wild Hunt
by Jane Yolen
Winter arrives and The Wild Hunt rides (excellent book!)

The Wooden Shoes of Little Wolff
adapted by Francois Coppee
A boy with a good heart unknowingly helps the Christ Child and is rewarded

Miracle of 34th Street
Novella written by Valentine Davies and made into the Oscar winning film from 1947 about a department store Santa insisting he's the real thing.
NOTE: Watch the black and white 1947 version - it's MUCH better than any of the remakes and has a gentle and special touch

Who's That Knocking on Christmas Eve?
by Jan Brett
A children's version of the Norwegian folktale The Cat on the Dovrefell (see below)

The Snow Princess
by Ruth Sanderson
Based on Tchaikovsky's Russian opera/ballet The Snow Maiden

The Cat on the Dovrefell
by Asbjornsen & Moe
A great white bear (yes, a bear - not a cat, but don't tell the trolls...) helps counteract an annual Christmas invasion by trolls - I love this one!

Why the Sea is Salt
by Asbjornsen & Moe
A poor boy goes begging on Christmas Eve and has a big adventure

Tatterhood
by Asbjornsen & Moe
An invasion by trolls on Christmas Eve sets things in motion

The Christmas Cuckoo
adapted by Frances Browne
Poor brothers become rich due to their good treatment of a cuckoo found on Christmas Day

The Christmas Fairy of Strasburg
A German folktale about the origins of the Christmas tree

The Golden Cobwebs
A folktale about the origins of tinsel/tree trimmings. (It's still good luck to have a spider ornament on your Christmas tree in the Ukraine.)

The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus
by L. Frank Baum
Mentioned in my post on Jack Frost

The Mail Coach Passengers
by Hans Christian Andersen
A New Years story in which the Twelve Months take a ride
(I couldn't find a correlating image for the story sorry - so you're being reminded of Gennady Spirin's work. :)

Again, there are many more, especially if you look at all the little folktales, but I thought these ones would interest my readers most (that I'm aware of anyway). Of course, if you have others to add please feel free to add a comment.

I hope you've enjoyed this series of posts. If you want to find them all, just click on the 'Xmas tales' tag in the sidebar.

If you're interested in finding more make sure you visit The Fairy Tale Channel HERE - they have an excellent collection of fairy tales and often post appropriate to the seasons throughout the year too (an excellent resource!).

Merry storytelling!
May fairy tales fill and enrich your holidays and the coming year.
:)

Christmas Bell Babies Grow in Australia
(They sing you joy)
by May Gibbs

Individual illustration credits (book covers show illustrators:
1. An engraving of "The Cat on the Dovrefell" from TALES FROM THE NORSE by George W. Dasent
2. Princess of Wands (Tatterhood) from THE FAIRY TALE TAROT by Lisa Hunt
3. The Christmas Cuckoo from GRANNY'S WONDERFUL CHAIR AND THE TALES IT TOLD by Frances Browne with illustrations by Florence White Williams
4. The Christmas Tree Fairy by Cicely Mary Baker
5. A Christmas spider ornament from the Ukraine (photographer unknown)
6. From THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF SANTA CLAUS by Lyman Frank Baum, illustrated by Mary Cowles Clark

Stories for the Season: The Little Match Girl

by ArtBIT

You were probably wondering if I forgot this tale but I was just saving it as my 'book end', since it's the first tale I mentioned this month.

by The Enigma (Ella Baru?)

development art from the Disney short directed by Roger Allers

by Jaqueline Hudon-Verrelli

You're most likely all familiar with the story so I won't repeat it except to tell you that the translation of the danish title actually means "The little girl with the sulphur sticks" - which makes it seem even more sad for some reason.

by Miwa Yanagi

In the middle of a stressful season it's good to remember to be thankful for all I have and to remember there are many who aren't nearly so lucky and that if I have the opportunity to help, I should.

by Tekkoman

by Ariel Padilla

I find different images/illustrations bring different emphasis to the story so thought I'd post a few - quite different from each other - that I've found in the past. (The SurLaLune blog has already had a "Little Match Girl" week and highlighted some lovely illustrated retellings so I'm focusing on one-off illustrations, although I've included a couple of classic for comparison.)

album cover for Loren Mazzacane Connors

by Honor C. Appleton


Laetitia Angot plays The Little Match Girl in the theater production by Martin Jaques

scene from the Disney short directed by Roger Allers

by Christian Birmingham


by McLelun

by Robert Dress

And one little charm in a matchbox - a collaboration by Zoe Sernack and Lang Leav.
In addition I found a special Match Girl book, by artist Chloe Lan, which cleverly uses text to both tell the story, set the scene and communicate the mood of the story. I've included one example below. Click to view larger and read the text:

Click HERE to view some other pages and to learn more about the book.

I couldn't complete this entry with at least a little film so found a lovely, 'conceptual art animation' for you by Charlene Wienhold (a.k.a. AuroraInk on deviantArt) who has an amazing portfolio HERE. Enjoy:


I also wanted to mention a story titled Little Piccola by Francis Jenkins Olcott. This story reminds me of The Little Match Girl very much except it has a happy ending - and the girl lives to see another Christmas.

You can read the original poem the story was adapted from HERE.

Piccola, illustration from McGuffey's Fourth Eclectic Reader
St Nicholas Center Collection

Stories for the Season: The Blue Bird

"The Blue Bird" was one of those fairy tales that had a huge influence on me as a child, thanks to the 1976 film adaptation which I saw in the theater. The story begins on Christmas Eve and is all about giving and new beginnings.

Here's a summary:

Two somewhat disgruntled children, Tyltyl (the older girl) and Mytyl (the boy) after wishing Christmas would be better for them (their parents are poor and cannot afford all the presents and wonderful food that other richer people are indulging in), are sent out by the fairy Bérylune on a fantastical trip into various lands (Land of Luxury, the Past, the Future etc) to search for the Bluebird of Happiness. They are accompanied by their dog and cat (given human form by the fairy - who also gives other objects like milk, sugar, light and fire a temporary human form), the characters of which provide their own complications to the search along the way. Finally returning home empty-handed, the children see in the light of the new day that the bird has been in a cage in their home the whole time. Tyltyl, having found happiness in herself, gives the bird as a present to a sick neighbor but the bird escapes to freedom.

The story was made into a play in the early 1900's by Maeterlinck, which was very successful and popular, and has been made into more stage adaptations, including ballets, as well. The play has also been made into a film a number of times: two silent films, another in color (which is the most famous, with Shirley Temple as Tyltyl) in 1940, another in 1976 (with Elizabeth Taylor, which I saw as a child) and later as a Japanese anime. Three of the films are now available on DVD (you can see a lot of images from all three films HERE).
The story is very much about teaching the value of family, love and 'the journey' (not 'getting the prize') and the importance of sharing and giving but despite being overtly didactic in this manner, the films and story have a lot of charm and all these 'lessons' contribute greatly to the overall Christmas and New Year feel.
As a child, I especially loved all the objects coming to life, the spirits of the forest/trees, seeing the children who were about to be born and the personified cat and dog and must admit these are still big draws to the tale for me today.
You can read the whole version (in prose, as written out for children from the play) HERE.