Official Mod's Contest - 'Fairy tales and Mythical Characters'

This is Nymph Ravijojla or Vila Ravijojla(in Serbian),she is described as beautiful and it is most famous one. They live in mountains, by the water or in the clouds. It is believed they are born from the dew, flowers, when it rains, when the sun shines and when there is a rainbow. They build their castles up in the sky. They can predict future.They are kind only to those who manage to steal their clothes and if someone takes away their wings, they turn into an ordinary girl. They can turn themselves into animals like swan,horse or a wolf,or they ride a horse.They like to dance with itch other.They fall in love with heroes.



Vile – U južnoslovenskoj mitologiji ženska natprirodna bića, naklonjena ljudima. Zamišljane su kao izuzetno lepe devojke zlatnih kosa i sa krilima, odevene u duge, prozra

Last edited by Tamaricica (12-01-2008 15:28)

I'm from The Netherlands and we celebrate on December 5 'Sinterklaas'; Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas is a feast for both adults and children.
Saint Nicholas has helpers, named 'Zwarte Piet'; Black Pete. My Bimbo is dressed up as Black Pete. The clothes of Black Petes can be in all kind of colours, but mostly they dress in red, green, purple or blue.




(Copyright by Geert Wilde)

Saint Nicholas his birthday is on the 5th of December, but instead of receiving gifts, he gives gifts. Little children believe in Saint Nicholas and they put their shoes in front of the stove. In it they put some hay or a carrot for the horse of Saint Nicholas and they sing Saint Nicholas songs in front of the stove.


In the night, Saint Nicholas rides his white horse over the rooftops accompanied by his Black Petes who go down the chimney in order to take the hay and carrots and put presents in the shoes.


Saint Nicholas lives in Spain but goes to The Netherlands every year where he arrives on November 15th and from that day on, there is a Saint Nicholas Journal on tv every day. When he arrives in The Netherlands, it's a big happening and a lot of people gather to meet him, including the mayor who will officially welcome him.


I'ts like a big play in wich the whole country is involved. When adults receives gifts, they thank Saint Nicholas instead of the one who actually bought it.
And children are confused by that and keep believing in Saint Nicholas because they say: "The whole country can't be executing a play, now can they?" 

On Saint Nicolas' Eve both adults and children gather around in the living room where they sing Saint Nicholas songs and eat special sweets and cake such as 'speculaas' wich is a spicy biscuit and 'borstplaat' which is some kind of fudge.
Then there's a banging on the door or strange noises on the roof. The door slowly opens and a hand throws 'strooigoed'; sweets to be scrambled for.

But when the door is opened by the adults or children, nobody is there! Just a big bag stands there and that bag holds many presents.


A real Saint Nicholas present has both a poem and a surprise. For example; when one loves horses, after the present is opened, one will see a horse made out of paper and then inside the horse is the real present. And the poem will be about horses.


Children will only get presents if they've been nice and good troughout the year. If they've been bad, then Black Pete will take them in the big bag to Spain.

This is a 'roe'; a birchrod. Children who have been bad, will get this.

Saint Nicholas has a book with all the names of the childrens who have been good the last year and who deserve therefore a present. What they want for a present is also in the book. Children can write Saint Nicholas a letter in which they tell him what presents they want.


Saint Nicholas is a time of mysteriousness, expectation and fun!

I'm from America, where we don't have as many fairy tales and mythical characters.  My bimbo has become the Easter bunny.  The Easter bunny goes to houses and drops off candy into a basket that usually has fake grass in it.  It is kind of like Santa Claus.

USA



"Mothman"

Region: West Virginia
Habitat: Air/land
Status: Unconfirmed
The Mothman is the name given to a creature reported in the Charleston and Point Pleasant areas of West Virginia between November 12, 1966, and December 1967. Most observers describe the Mothman as a winged man-sized creature with large reflective red eyes and large moth-like wings. The creature was sometimes reported as having no head, with its eyes set into its chest.

I live in the US now and one of the most famous folk tales in my area is the story of
"Ocean Born Mary"  There are many versions of the tale, here is the most popular:

Ocean-Born Mary



The year was 1720 and the place was Londonderry, Ireland. A small sailing vessel called “Wolf�  departed from the port, bound for the New World. Here, weary passengers and immigrants would have the chance to reunite with relatives from another Londonderry, this one in New Hampshire. But fate was not kind to this travelers, for as they neared the coast of New England, the ship was overtaken by a band of Spanish pirates. They scrambled aboard the crippled vessel, seized jewelry and valuables and then, at the command of their captain, a buccaneer named Don Pedro, they prepared to murder everyone on board.    

Just as the pirates raised cutlass and pistol, Don Pedro ordered his men to stand down. Beyond the terrified screams of the passengers, he heard another sound... the unmistakable wail of a baby. He ordered the captain, James Wilson, to bring the infant and mother to the deck. This must have taken incredible courage on his part as the baby was his own. She had been born at sea.

After a long moment, Captain Wilson turned and went below. Soon, Elizabeth Wilson stood on the deck at his side, holding a tiny baby in her arms. Don Pedro looked down into the face of the infant and sheathed his sword. Although he was a killer, he also knew that killing this child would bring him bad luck for the rest of his days. It was a superstition of the sea. He turned and ordered one of his men back to the pirate ship. When he returned, he handed his captain a package. Don Pedro unwrapped it and revealed a bolt of beautiful, green or grey brocaded silk. (depending on what story you read)

He held it out to Elizabeth. “Por favor, Senora,�  he spoke to her softly. “If you name your daughter Maria, Mary.... after my mother, and accept this silk for her wedding dress, I will spare the lives of all aboard.�  Elizabeth tearfully took the cloth from his hands and Don Pedro and his men departed. Captain Wilson managed to bring the “Wolf�  into Portsmouth harbor a few days later.

Mary Wilson grew up to be a tall Irish beauty with flaming red hair and fiery green eyes. In August 1742, she married Thomas Wallace, her childhood sweetheart and her wedding dress was made from a grey silk that her mother had carefully stored for more than two decades. The radiant bride soon settled into her happy marriage, but her happiness was short-lived. In 1760, Thomas died and left her with four sons to raise.

At about the same time, the golden age of piracy came to an end and Don Pedro retired from his exploits on the high seas. Although he had not thought of Mary in more than twenty years, he sought her out and learned that she lived in New Hampshire. Using money that he had plundered over the years, he purchased 6,000 acres of land in New Hampshire and aided by ship’s carpenters and slaves, he built a mansion on a hilltop south of Henniker. It was an awesome ten room house with six fireplaces and it was said to be one of the largest homes in the state. When he settled in, he called on Ocean-Born Mary and he invited her to come and live with him. He told her that the house was hers but asked that she care for him in his old age.

Mary accepted and she and her sons moved into the house. Don Pedro made sure that she never wanted for anything, showering her with fine clothing and jewels and buying her a black and gold carriage that was drawn by a four-horse team. Mary happily entertained townspeople and distinguished guests at the elegant mansion and lived in comfort for the next ten years.

Death came to Ocean Born Mary again a short time later. Don Pedro returned late one night from the coast and Mary heard the murmur of voices in the field behind the house. She looked out and saw the old pirate and a large, swarthy man burying a large trunk in a rocky hole beneath the trees. When she asked Don Pedro about it, he brushed her off and refused to answer. Time passed, but Mary never forgot the strange incident and soon, it would come back to haunt her.

A year passed and one afternoon Mary returned home from town. When she arrived, she found no stable boy waiting to greet her. In fact, there was no one around at all. She soon found the slaves huddled in a garden shed, too afraid to come out. Moments later, she found Don Pedro lying facedown in the orchard. A cutlass had been plunged into his back, pinning his body to the bloody ground. He had been dead for hours.

In keeping with his final request, Mary instructed her slaves to bury the pirate beneath the large hearthstone in the kitchen fireplace. Rumors spread about who the “fine Spanish gentleman�  really was and stories began about a fortune in pirate gold that was hidden on the property. From time to time, gangs of men trespassed on the ground, searching for gold and buried loot, but Mary never stopped them and soon interest waned.

Mary stayed on the house for the rest of her days. Her sons went off to fight in the War for Independence, married and started families of their own. Mary lived until 1814, when she passed away at the age of 94. For the next 100 years, the house remained in the Wallace family. It was rented out but never sold. However, few of the renters ever stayed very long and none of them explained their hasty departures. Regardless, stories began to spread that the house was haunted..

Last edited by Kawakami (12-02-2008 01:31)

Here is my contribution, saxa is paying homage to Hecate today. Hecate is a Greek Goddess, i was born in Macedonia, which doesnt really have a whole heap of interesting mythical things so i have chosen this one because we are close to greek




A Greek goddess, Hecate derives her name from Greek hekate, "she who works her will." Also known as the Triple Goddess. Hecate was accepted at an early date into Greek religion but probably derived from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. In Hesiod she is the daughter of the Titan Perses and the nymph Asteria and has power over heaven, earth, and sea; hence, she bestows wealth and all the blessings of daily life.

Hecate was the chief goddess presiding over magic and spells. This places her in prominence for practitioners of Wicca. She witnessed the abduction of Demeter's daughter Persephone to the underworld and, torch in hand, assisted in the search for her. Thus, pillars called Hecataea stood at crossroads and doorways, perhaps to keep away evil spirits. Hecate was represented as single-formed, clad in a long robe, holding burning torches; in later representations she was triple-formed, with three bodies standing back to back, probably so that she could look in all directions at once from the crossroads. Because of this she is sometimes referred to as the Triple Goddess.

Last edited by Saxa (12-02-2008 02:35)

I'm from the US and chose Zorro as my mythical character.

Zorro (originally called Señor Zorro) is a fictional character created in 1919 by pulp writer Johnston McCulley. He has been featured in several books, films, television series and other media.

Zorro (Spanish for fox) is the secret identity of Don Diego de la Vega (originally Don Diego Vega), a nobleman and master swordsman living in the Spanish colonial era of California. The character has undergone changes through the years, but the typical image of him is a black-clad masked outlaw who defends the people of the land against tyrannical officials and other villains. Not only is he much too cunning and foxlike for the bumbling authorities to catch, but he delights in publicly humiliating those same foes.

     

Last edited by Bluze (12-02-2008 02:49)

I'm from America, but am extremely Irish.  And so, I give you a legend from there... who happens to be my great great great grandfather!!

Captain Blood!


Here is the true story of the Irish Pirate!  http://photo.missbimbo.com/bimbo/1/171/gd/136692.png
They also created a romanticized movie based on his life starring Errol Flynn!

Marianne French emblem












Marianne, a national emblem of the French Republic, is, by extension, an allegory of Liberty and Reason. She represents France as a state, and its values (as opposed to the "Gallic rooster" representing France as a nation and its history, land and culture). She is displayed in many places in France and holds a place of honour in town halls and law courts. She symbolises the "Triumph of the Republic", a bronze sculpture overlooking the Place de la Nation in Paris. Her profile stands out on the official seal of the country, is engraved on French euro coins and appears on French postage stamps; it also was featured on the former franc currency. Marianne is one of the most prominent symbols of the French Republic. The origins of Marianne, depicted by artist Honoré Daumier, in 1848, as a mother nursing two children, Romulus and Remus, or by sculptor François Rude, during the July Monarchy, as an angry warrior voicing the Marseillaise on the Arc de Triomphe, are uncertain. In any case, she has become a symbol in France: considered as a personification of the Republic, she was often used on pro-Republican iconography — and heavily caricatured and reviled by anti-Republicans. Although both are common emblems of France, neither Marianne nor the rooster enjoys official status: the flag of France, as named and described in Article 2 of the French constitution, is the only official emblem.

Last edited by martinella (12-02-2008 11:09)

The Psiche legend









Envious and jealous of the beauty of a mortal woman named Psyche, Venus asks her son Cupid to use his golden arrows to cause Psyche to fall in love with the vilest creature on earth. Cupid agrees but then falls in love with Psyche on his own, when he leans over from a distance to view her, causing one of his own arrows to fall forward piercing him.

When all continue to admire and praise Psyche's beauty but none desire her as a wife, Psyche's parents consult an oracle, which tells them to leave Psyche on the nearest mountain, for her beauty is so great that she is not meant for man. Terrified, they have no choice but to follow the oracle's instructions. But then Zephyrus, the west wind, carries Psyche away to a fair valley and a magnificent palace where she is attended by invisible servants until night falls and in the darkness of night the promised bridegroom arrives and the marriage is consummated. Cupid visits her every night to make love to her, but demands that she never light any lamps, since he does not want her to know who he is.

Cupid even allows Zephyrus to take Psyche back to her sisters and bring all three down to the palace during the day, but warning that Psyche should not listen to any argument that she should not try to discover his true form. The two jealous sisters tell Psyche, then pregnant with Cupid's child, that rumor is that she had married a great and terrible serpent who would devour her and her unborn child when the time came for it to be fed. They urge Psyche to conceal a knife and oil lamp in the bedchamber, to wait till her husband was asleep, and then to light the lamp and slay him at once if it is as they said. Psyche sadly follows their advice. In the light of the lamp Psyche recognizes the fair form on the bed as the god Cupid himself. However, she accidentally pricks herself with an arrow, and is consumed with desire for her husband. She begins to kiss him, but as she does, a drop of oil falls from her lamp onto Cupid's chest and wakes him. He flies away, and she falls from the window to the ground, sick at heart.

Psyche then finds herself in the city where one of her jealous elder sisters lives. She tells her what had happened, then tricks her sister into believing that Cupid has chosen her as a wife instead. She later meets her other sister and deceives her likewise. Each returns to the top of the peak and jumped down eagerly, but Zephyrus does not bear them and they fall to their deaths at the base of the mountain.

Psyche searches far and wide for her lover, finally stumbling into a temple to where all is in slovenly disarray. As Psyche is sorting and clearing, Ceres appears, but refuses any help but advice, saying Psyche must call directly on Venus, the jealous shrew that caused all the problems in the first place. Psyche next calls on in her temple, but Juno, superior as always, says the same. So Psyche finds a temple to Venus and enters it. Venus orders Psyche to separate all the grains in a large basket of mixed kinds before nightfall. An ant takes pity on Psyche and with its ant companions separates the grains for her.

Venus is outraged at her success and tells her to go to a field where golden sheep graze and get some golden wool. A river-god tells Psyche that the sheep are vicious and strong and will kill her, but if she waits until noontime, the sheep will go to the shade on the other side of the field and sleep; she can pick the wool that sticks to the branches and bark of the trees. Venus next asks for water from the flowing from a cleft that is impossible for a mortal to attain and is also guarded by great serpents. This time an eagle performs the task for Psyche. Venus, outraged at Psyche's survival, claims that the stress of caring for her son, made depressed and ill as a result of Psyche's lack of faith, has caused her to lose some of her beauty. Psyche is to go to the Underworld and ask the queen of the Underworld, for a bit of her beauty in a box that Venus gave to Psyche. Psyche decides that the quickest way to the Underworld is to throw herself off some high place and die and so she climbs to the top of a tower. But the tower itself speaks to her and tells her the route through that will allow her to enter the Underworld alive and return again, as well as telling her how to get by throwing Cerberus a small cake and by paying Charon a coin, how to avoid other dangers on the way there and back, and most importantly to eat of no food whatsoever; for otherwise she will dwell forever in the Underworld. Psyche follows the orders explicitly and eats nothing while beneath the earth.

However when Psyche has left the Underworld, she decides to open the box and take a little bit of the beauty for herself. Inside, she can see no beauty; instead an infernal sleep arises from the box and overcomes her. Cupid (Eros), who had forgiven Psyche, flies to her, wipes the sleep from her face, puts it back in the box, and sends her back on her way. Then Cupid flies to Mount Olympus and begs Jupiter (Zeus), to aid them. Jupiter calls a full and formal council of the gods and declares that it is his will that Cupid might marry Psyche. Jupiter then has Psyche fetched to Mount Olympus, and gives her a drink made from Ambrosia, granting her immortality. Begrudgingly, Venus and Psyche forgive each other.

Psyche and Cupid's daughter was Voluptas, the goddess of "sensual pleasures," whose Latin name means "pleasure" or "bliss".

Last edited by martina83 (12-02-2008 11:33)

Pyszczek wrote:

http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3661/utopieckk4.png

Utopiec is a character from polish folklore. In English it’s called "drowner".
My drowner is a soul of a young girl who had fallen in love with a boy. He betrayed her so she drowned of sorrow.

sorry...I know no chat allowed but I have to because that is awesome...good job!

sayaa wrote:

just an error olympias was greek ..you know olympics..do not make mistakes please..Also the place where alexander was born was in todays greece,macedonia ..and his mother was an epiroet..greek place..so olympias greece and filip 2 greek of course..kisses ,now i will continue seeing what character i will do..

Also, if you're going with the Greek version of the story, he wouldn't be known as Cupid, but Eros.  Cupid is his Roman name!  ^_^

I live in England
I chose Alice in wonderland from 'Alice's adventures in Wonderland'
it was written by the English author Charlse Lutwidge Dogson, better known, under the psuedonym 'Lewis Carol'




xxx