Csenge Virág Zalka's Blog, page 16

A is for the Amber Tree (Gemstone Folklore)

Welcome to the 2022 A to Z Blogging Challenge! My theme this year is Gemstone Folklore. Because I love stories about shiny things. Read the introduction to the project here.AMBERThere are many gemstones that start with A, but I have always been fascinated by amber, and the memories of the distant past it contains. Around the Baltic Sea, there are many old stories about amber. The most famous

Five gemstone stories that are actually ancient

As I have announced earlier, my A to Z Challenge theme this year will be Gemstone Folklore. Last week, I blogged about stories that are - to the best of my knowledge - not actually ancient or traditional. To bring the sour mood back up, I put together this list of actual old stories that deal with shiny things. Enjoy!Five shiny gemstone stories that are actually folkloreFor the April challenge I

A wake for a storyteller

Today is World Storytelling Day. And also, very fittingly, the birthday of my paternal grandfather, Zalka Ottó. He would have been 86 years old. He passed away on January 7th this year.I have mentioned him often in interviews, books, and on social media. He was the great storyteller of my family, personally responsible for me becoming a professional one (he was never paid for his stories,

Five gemstone stories that are sus

So, as I have announced last week, I am doing Gemstone Folklore as this year's A to Z theme! I have done an insane amount of research in the past months, and not all of it is going to make it into my final posts. So, I made some extra posts. This is the first one.Enjoy!Five gemstone stories that are not "ancient"While researching gemstone lore I kept running into enticing hints of "legends" and "

10 folktales about women in war

 It is International Women's Day. The sun is shining, flowers are blooming, and thousands of women and girls (as well as men) are crossing the borders of Ukraine, fleeing from war. They fear for their fathers, sons, husbands, friends; they are carrying their children, seeking shelter and hope as the unimaginable happens around them. On the other side of the border, women (and men) are waiting

The 2022 A to Z Challenge Theme Reveal - Something shiny!

It's that time of the year again! We are coming up on April, the month of the A to Z Blogging Challenge. I have been doing this challenge for 10 years! Wohoo! It is always great fun, and it has led me to many new stories, fabulous new blogs, and lots of discoveries.In the past 9 years I've always had a theme:Weird Princesses (2013)Tales with Colors (2014)Epics A to Z (2015)Diversity A to Z (

The most beautiful folktales from Ukraine

I have been trying to put together a list of folktales about peace and war, but it all feels awkward and is hitting too close to home. So instead, I made a list of my favorite folktales from Ukraine. Some Ukrainian, some Rusyn, some Cossack, some Hungarian. It is a diverse country with many beautiful traditions. (Links in the titles)The first pysankyThe origin story of the famous Ukrainian

Dear 'gemstone lore' writers

This is going to be a weirdly specific rage post. Deal with it.So, I have been researching folktales, legends, and myths about gemstones for a few weeks now, and I have some things I need to say. To anyone who writes content (digital or print) about "gem lore."From a professional storyteller and folklore researcher, all y'all. Listen up.1. CITE. YOUR DAMN. SOURCES!You might think what you are

Hispanic Snow Whites do exist

Once again, for the people in the back: folktales have variants. In the oral tradition, they exist in many versions. Snow White is not a single story (even though most people only know the Grimm version). It's the name of a tale type, which exists pretty much all around the world. Therefore no, Snow White is not always white, neither literally, nor figuratively. For example, in some cases, she is

312 earworms

It has now become tradition on this blog to post on the last day of the year about the earworms I wake up with every morning. For some reason I rarely wake up without something playing on my inner radio, so I started making notes, and doing the statistics at the end of the year. You can find the previous posts for 2020, 2019, and 2018 on the links. The breakdown:2018: I woke up with music in my