Christmas: a Time of Carols, Trees and Hauntings Christmas trees figure prominently in modern celebrations of the season. However the...

Grimm's Fairy Tale No. 3: Child of Mary There was once a woodcutter, who lived with his wife outside a deep forest. He...

Grimm’s Legend No. 1: a tale of guardian angels, porridge and noses with the Blessed Saint Joseph presiding in the forest. Saint Joseph in...

The Trolls of Winter In early December when the first winter winds blew down from the north, heavy snow fell on the Hall of King Wil...

Grimm’s Saga No. 134: Holy St. Nicholas and the Thief At Greifswald in Pomerania an image of St. Nicholas hung in the Gertrude Chapel. On...

Grimms' Saga No. 277: The Advent Flibbertigibbet On the mountain road to Haenlein, but also in the area around Lorsch, people call...

The Marriage of King Wilt and Lady Lee in the Great Hall King Wilt married his bride, Lady Lee, on Christmas Eve 1444. At the marriage feast...

The 16th century report of Martin Luther is perhaps an apt introduction to the following saga. He relates that “…young maidens stripped them...

(The lover revealed on St. Andrew's Eve) According to popular belief, St. Andrew’s Eve (November 30th ) is the first prognostication ...

Hille Bingels' Wedding Party The old castle Hudemuehle is on the Lueneburg Heath not far from the Aller River . You can still see the...

As we head into the holiday season it is well worth exploring the peculiar parties and curious celebrations of fairy tales, especially as we...

Grimm’s Saga No. 253: The Nose Fairy Tale Grapevines and Noses There was a fellow living at the farm of a certain gentleman named H., who pe...

(Click on picture to enlarge.) The Imposing Fortress Königstein and its Infamous Whortleberries Grimm’s Saga No. 229: Der Jungferstei...

Grimm’s Saga No. 94: The Lily (The abbreviations used in the first line of this legend are probably intended to protect the identities of th...

Grimm’s Saga No. 114 November Fairy Tale: Maidens of the Moor Bathe in the Shadows of Sunken Cities In the Rhone Valley there is a swamp cal...

From the shores of Lake Geneva: Fairy Tale of the Little Swineherd (This fairy tale takes place on Lake Leman in Switzerland, which is ...

Grimm’s Saga No. 301: The Paradise of Animals In every creature a spark of God. Hidden between the lofty and forbidding cliffs of t...

Grimm's Fairy Tale No. 53: Snow White Once in the middle of winter when the snow flakes fell like feathers from heaven, a q...