Fairy tales in your country / region

[TorM]

Fairy tales have a long tradition in Germany. Most popular in Germany are the Brothers Grimm. They did collect fairy tales in different regions of Germany.

Schwalmstadt

Most of them has been "adapted" by Walt Disney and their important cultural impact slowly disappear. In fact fairiy tales give an deep inside to the former values, behaviour and over all culture. In the popular books you find the version for children, the original version is mostly quite scarry. Fairy tales where created by and for adults in fact. 

In my opinion to discover fairy tales, you need to read. There is the saying: "Reading is dreaming with open eyes" and at least when you have the chance to discover a fairy tale you should try all what is able to dream. You will see in your fantasy more beautiful things, than any movie can show you. 

I did grow up in a region, where traditions says, the Little Red Riding Hood has happen. It is about a little girl visiting his grandmother and being in contact with a wolf.... I have linked the story here: 

http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LittRed.shtml 

When I read this fairy tale I have the forest of my childhood in my minde. I smell the forest, I hear the brushwood, I see the traditional closes of my region. So I see it for 100% in a different way, than anyone else. In fact somehow fastinating.....

In Germany exists a long fairy tale route:

https://www.deutsche-maerchenstrasse.com/en/?lang=en (link to a non profit organisation!)

To be honest, it goes not through the most beautiful places of Germany, but it will give you a deep dive into the culture of Germany and will give you a good overview of Germany, open your minde for the small important thinks in the world and is for sure something you will never forget. I have vistited the most places, but not in the row....

What is with your fairy tale tradition? What kind of fairy tales do you like?

[FelipePK]

Hey @TorM, 

Wow, the stories of the Brothers Grimm are very famous everywhere by their stories and as you said were mostly adapted for children and everything. 

In my country (Brazil) we also have a lot of fairy tales depending on the region but we have a few that are popular in the whole country. Mostly of the stories are about creatures that protect the nature against the men. 

There are a few interesting post about it, you can check them out Lenda do Saci-Pererê and Lenda da Serpente do Tanque.

By the way, I've moved your post to the topic section Local Stories, I believe it's more suitable in this section.

[TorM]

Thank you @FelipePK for sending me the links to the legends and fairy tales of Brasil from @lucianavelasques .

They are very interesting and it is nice that localguidesconnect is a place where we can discover this culture together.

[BorrisS]

Hello @TorM,

Thank you for this beautiful post, I really enjoyed reading it. Indeed the fairy tales are not so fairy, but rather scary in their original version. 

I remember when I was a child, loving Disney's adaptations of these stories, where almost everything was with a happy ending, and full of songs. However while growing up, I got the chance to read the real version of these same stories and it turned out that it has nothing to do with Disney's pinky tale. 

In Morocco, the country where I grew up, there are a lot of local stories that grandmothers use to tell, but none of them is really popular in the Western world.

As far as my favorite fairy tale is concerned, I would say The Wild Swans, by Hans Christian Andersen.

[Sorbe]

Thank you for this post @TorM,

You give me the chance to present a gem from my region. In the city of Sestri Levante there are two bays called respectively the bay of silence and the bay of fairy tales. The second one has been called in this way because Hans Christian Andersen fell in love with this place and spent some time here in 1833.

In his honor from 1967 here is celebrated the Andersen's Festival and from 2012 there is a sculpture made by the German artist Leonardo Lustig that recall the most famous Little Mermaid of Copenaghen.

Caption: "The little fisherman" from Leonardo Lustig. Photo taken from Annunziata's convent in Sestri Levante, Italy.

[TorM]

Thank you @Sorbe for the copy of the Mermaid from Copenhagen in Italy. It means that fairy tales bring together Europe and hopefully the world.

I my childhood I most did like the fairy tale movies from Czechoslovakia (in this time Československo or Česko-Slovensko). Not only the music from Maya the bee, but also all other movies with great young actors. 

On the other hand, mainly I like to read the fairy tales, as no movie can do something more beautiful than in everyonce fantasy... 🙂

[Sorbe]

Hey @TorM, 

I am glad you appreciated it. Believe it or not Maya the bee was one of my favorite cartoons in my childhood years. I do agree with you that fairy tales have still a hidden power, as they transfer you a unique sense of imagination and they keep your dreaming strength still alive. 

[TorM]

@Sorbe , now we outing us, that we did love a little bee when we where young boys... 😉

Was the music in your country  performed by Karel Gott ? You know his music?

[Sorbe]

By living end exploring different countries I have discovered that music of cartoons are changing everywhere @TorM. In Italy, for instance, one of the legendary singer of cartoon songs is Cristina D'Avena, even though Maia the bee was performed by Katia Svizzero. 

[Anonymous]

Świetne @TorM 😀 Jako dziecko bardzo się bałam baśni braci Grimm! Do dziś nie znoszę horrorów 😀

Za to lubiłam ludowe baśnie rosyjskie - pełne humoru i nie takie straszne.

Pozdrawiam serdecznie - Danuta