Let the Games Begin! Russian Folktales to Celebrate the 2014 Winter Olympics

Ivan Tsarevich
 and the Grey Wolf
by Viktor Vasnetsov, 1889

We are fast approaching the biggest sporting event in the world , the 2014 Olympic Winter Games, which will be held in Sochi, Russia along the Black Sea coast.Russia is a culture rich with storytelling traditions so I thought I would offer you some tales to celebrate the hosts of our athletes from around the globe.

May all of the athletes revel in their accomplishments, whether or not they return home with a medal.  Good luck and safe journey's to all!

STORIES

Alenoushka and Her Brother

http://tinyurl.com/joynw8s 

Baba Yaga

https://www.storiestogrowby.org/story/baba-yaga/

The Dun Horse
http://tinyurl.com/66tm5m5

The Enchanted Princess
http://tinyurl.com/ot2pkwg

The Golden Fish

http://russian-crafts.com/tales/gold_fish.html 

Ivan and the Chestnut Horse

http://chestofbooks.com/fairy-tale/Allied-Nations/Ivan-And-The-Chestnut-Horse-A-Russian-Fairy-Tale.html

The Lime Tree

http://www.learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/LimeTree.asp

The Little Daughter of the Snow

http://tinyurl.com/dyopzsg

The Lute Player - Russia
http://learningtogive.org/materials/folktales/luteplayer.asp

Magic Ring 

http://russian-crafts.com/russian-folk-tales/magic-ring-russian-tale.html

Masha and the Bear

The Tsar's Son and the Frog
by
 Ivan Bilibin, 1903

http://russian-crafts.com/tales/masha.html

The Sea King’s Daughter
http://tinyurl.com/mdprd88 

Sivka-Burka

http://tinyurl.com/a4psurf

The Soldier and Death

http://tinyurl.com/lumfqek

The Snow Maiden
http://tinyurl.com/dxj3xsu

The Tale of Tsar Saltan

http://www.fairytales.biz/alexander-pushkin/the-tale-of-tsar-saltan.html

The Tale of the Tsar, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf
http://stpetersburg-guide.com/folk/swolf.shtml

The Tale of the Golden Cockerel

http://www.goldencockerel.com/en-us/about-us/how-we-got-the-name.html


The Tsarevna Frog
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ftr/chap01.htm

The Twelve Months

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/kog/kog04.htm



The Merchants Visit the Tsar
by
Ivan Bilibin

COLLECTIONS

Cossack Fairy Tales and Folktales by Robert Nisbet Bain, 1902 – Bain collected these folktales from Ruthenian, the language of the Cossacks, a language intermediate between Russian and Polish.
http://tinyurl.com/2uklns8

Folktales From the Russian Nine folktales collected by Verra Xenophontovna Kalamatiano de Blumenthal, 1903.

http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/ftr/index.htm

The Golden Rod Fairy Book edited by Esther Singleton and published in 1903. Stories from England, France, Poland, Bohemia, Russia, India, China, Italy, Denmark, Ireland and Spain are contained between these cyber covers and include such authors as Perrault, Grimm and Anderson. In the words of Esther, “All you need is a comfortable chair and a bright fire…”

http://www.elfinspell.com/GoldenrodTitle.html

Myths and Folk-Tales of the Russians, ‘Western Slavs, and Magyars by Jeremiah Curtin 1903.

http://tinyurl.com/yzdmjkd 

Russian Expedition - Since 1995 volunteers have traveled to 12 countries in and recorded 1415 songs, over 4000 mythological stories and videotaped 36 folklore rituals. While all of the work is not online, there is enough specific, cultural information to complement a Russian folklore program.

http://www.russianexpedition.net/

Russian Fairy Tales - The site shares twenty-one fairytales. Most offer both a short and long version, for those who want more details.

http://tinyurl.com/6blpls

Russian Folk-tales by William Ralston Shedden Ralston - Download this book from 1880, full of myths, legends, and folktales of demons, witches, vampires and ghouls if you dare! 

https://archive.org/stream/russianfolktales00ralsrich#page/n19/mode/2up 

The Russian Garland – Seventeen Russian folktales translated from a collection of chapbooks, circa 1916.

https://archive.org/details/russiangarlandbe00steeiala

Russian Sunbirds - While this site is home to Russian lacquer art it also offers a stunning array of Russian folktales, fairytales, songs, literature and poetry.

http://www.sunbirds.com/texts/themes/

Russian Folk Tales - Many delightful tales from Russia and the Ukraine and details on Russian traditions from Christmas to weddings.

http://russian-crafts.com/tales.html



The Red Horsemen
by
Ivan Bilibin

The Russian Story Book by Richard Wilson, 1916. Fifteen tales, several featuring the hero Ilya, others with Nikita the Footless, the Cake-Baker and more.

http://tinyurl.com/awqvoe2

Russian Tales
Many delightful tales from Russia and the Ukraine and details on Russian traditions from Christmas to weddings.
http://russian-crafts.com/tales.html

Sixty Folktales from Slavonic Sources - A delightful mix of tales from Russia, Bohemia, Moravia, Serbia, Hungary and more.
http://tinyurl.com/26w5v35

Tales of Laughter from 1908. A collection tales from Ireland, Spain, France, Russia and other countries from around the globe. They are sure to have you smiling with delight!

https://archive.org/details/talesoflaughtert00wiggrich

Vampire and Ghost Stories from Russia

Six stories to make your blood run cold.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/vampire.html

CURRICULUM

Culture Guide: Russia – Grade K-6.

http://kennedy.byu.edu/store/samples/russia1el.pdf

Lesson Plan for Masha and the Bear

http://www.dennisjones.com.au/file_admin/TwoTricksterTalesfromRussia.pdf

Russian History and Culture

This resource is no longer offered at the original link, however, I was able to locate it via the wayback machine. You can still access all of the resources.

https://web.archive.org/web/20140611073249/http://www.bcps.org/offices/oea/pdf/cultural_heritage/Russian-Heritage-Resource-Packet.pdf

Storybug.net - This link will take you to a blog post I wrote in 2012 for the Summer Olympics. There are additional ideas for curriculum, crafts and recipes connected to the games, as well as historical information on the Olympics.

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2012/07/the-golden-greeks-myths-fables-and.html

MISCELLANEOUS

Traditional Russian Children’s Games – Why not have some of your own games at home or in the classroom? Here is a list of some of those played by the children in Russia.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6721808_traditional-russian-children_s-games.html

Russian Proverbs and Sayings – Perhaps you will find something to add to your storytelling shows.

http://www.friends-partners.org/oldfriends/literature/russian-proverbs.html

SONGS

Songs of the Russian People – “This book is a treasure-trove of Slavic mythology, tradition, folklore and ethnography. There are songs from Russia and every Slavic region from Serbia to Siberia. There are n musical transcriptions…However, the massive, well documented, and very entertaining collection of Slavic traditions in this book more than makes up for this deficiency.”
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/srp/index.htm

Thank you for reading my blog. I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to leave a comment on the blog below or you may email me at Storybug@aol.com .

Karen Chace 2014 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.

The Golden Greeks: Myths, Fables and Folktales

The Olympian Gods
by Monsiau 1754-1837 

The Summer Olympic Games are here and so I decided to do a bit of research to refresh my memory on the ancient beginnings of the games. It has been wonderful watching one of my favorite sports, swimming, so you will also find folktales connected to the water, and of course, Greek myths and fables.

Whichever country you are cheering on, I hope you will find something interesting, fun and useful below.

Originally, the Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece beginning in the 8^th century B.C. The Ancient Olympic Games were a series of competitions held between representatives of several city-states and kingdoms in Ancient Greece. These games featured mainly athletic but also combat and chariot racing events.

At the start of the Olympic Games, the Greeks would ignite a cauldron of flames upon Hera's altar. They lit the flame using a hollow disc or mirror called a skaphia, which focused the sun's rays into a single point to light the flame. The flame would burn throughout the Games as a sign of purity, reason, and peace. During the games, all conflicts among the participating city-states were postponed until the games were finished.

The origin of these Olympics is a mystery but some myths identify Heracles and his father Zeus as the progenitors of the Games.The Ancient Games featured running events, a pentathlon (consisting of a jumping event, discus and javelin throws, a foot race, and wrestling), boxing, wrestling, pankration, and equestrian events.


The Olympics were of religious importance, featuring sporting events alongside ritual sacrifices honoring both Zeus and Pelops, divine hero and mythical king of Olympia.


While there is exact date as to when the Games officially ended, the most commonly held date is 393 A.D. In 1896 Baron Pierre de Coubertin, tried to revive the games. He initially planned to hold the games in France, but was convinced that Greece was the appropriate country to host the first modern Olympics. Thirteen countries competed in nines sports: cycling, fencing, gymnastics, lawn tennis, shooting, swimming, track and field, weight lifting and wrestling.

Information from the following websites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Games

http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/olympic-torch1.htm

GREEK MYTHS AND FABLES 

Aesop Fables – No post about Greece would be complete without sharing some Aesop Fables.

http://www.mythfolklore.net/aesopica/

Greek Mythology for Kids – This site offers myths but also activities and lesson plans connected to Greece. http://greece.mrdonn.org/myths.html

  

STORIES

Since one of the most popular sports in the modern day Olympic Games is swimming here are some stories connected to water.

Bear Lake Monster - United States

http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/07/the_bear_lake_monster.html
The Good Ferryman and the Water Nymphs - Poland

http://worldoftales.com/European_folktales/Polish_folktale_5.html 

The King of the Sharks – Hawaii
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2010/08/the_king_of_sharks.html

The Golden Fish - Russia

http://russian-crafts.com/tales/gold_fish.html

The Heart of the Monkey - Africa

http://www.english-for-students.com/Heart-of-The-Monkey.html
The Seal’s Skin – Iceland 
http://www.vikingrune.com/selkies-folktale/

Sam-Chung and the Water Demon - China

http://worldoftales.com/Asian_folktales/Asian_Folktale_16.html
Water Faeries - Scotland
http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/celt/sfft/sfft36.htm
Why Dogs Wag Their Tails - Philippines
http://asiarecipe.com/phitales3.html
Wild Goose Island – United States
http://americanfolklore.net/folklore/2008/09/goose_island.html

SOMETHING EXTRA

Two previous blog posts with stories of the sea!

Siren’s of the Sea 

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2010/02/mermaids-sirens-of-sea.html

Water, Water Everywhere! 

http://karenchace.blogspot.com/2012/03/water-water-everywhere.html

CRAFTS

Kaboose.com -  Make your own Olympic torch. Easy for ages 4 and up.

http://crafts.kaboose.com/olympic-torch.html

Activity Village – More crafts connected to the Olympics; medals, Olympic Rings and other patriotic crafts.

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/olympic_crafts_for_kids.htm

CURRICULUM

A-Z Teacher Stuff – Seventeen lesson plans connected to the Olympics from grades K-12.

http://www.atozteacherstuff.com/Themes/Olympics/

History for Kids.org – Learn about the ancient Greeks; religion, mythology, ancient life and more.

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/greeks/

RECIPES

Kid Friendly Olympic Recipes 

http://www.sj-r.com/blogs/community/justforkids/x383254025/Kid-Friendly-Olympic-Recipes

If you find this information and the links helpful in your work please consider taking a moment to leave a comment at the end of the blog. I love hearing from you!

Karen Chace 2012 ©

This blog post was researched and compiled by Karen Chace. Permission for private use is granted. Distribution, either electronically or on paper is prohibited without my expressed written permission. For permission please contact me at storybug@aol.com. Of course, if you wish to link to my blog via your website, blog, newsletter, Facebook page or Twitter please feel free to do so; I greatly appreciate your support and personal integrity.