Gerena did not want to leave her newborn baby, who may have been fathered by Zeus. So she picked up the infant, safely wrapped in a blanket, and carried him off in her beak. Some researchers claim that the idea of storks delivering babies came from this myth, but there are other possible sources. Storks represented rebirth in ancient Egypt. Source: karlshuker.
Storks and Babies…A Global Phenomenon Many cultures around the world have ancient stories linking storks with babies. The ancient Egyptians associated storks with reincarnation. In the Middle East, storks were a symbol of purity. In Native American cultures, storks were often linked to good fortune and fertility. In stories from ancient Europe, storks were seen as representing monogamy and family.
Storks appear in Chinese, Indian, Israeli, and Aboriginal stories, too. Source: adoptionlcsw. Storks are Good Role Models It could be that the stories connecting storks with fertility, parenting, and monogamy arose after ancient people observed the habits of the birds. They were able to watch the birds and learn about them. They no doubt noticed that storks are monogamous—remaining faithful to their mate for much of their lives—and that they are good, attentive parents.
Storks migrated back to Germany nine months after most weddings took place so it was believed that the storks brought babies with them. Source: hiveminer. In Pagan Europe, most couples got married on the day of the Summer Solstice, during the festivals honoring the sun, fertility, and prosperity. In several mythologies, storks are also a symbol of fidelity and monogamous marriage because storks are widely believed to mate for life. Storks are also represented in Chinese, Israeli, and various European cultures mythologies, but the association of storks bringing couples a newborn baby is believed to have started in Germany several hundred years ago.
The natural behaviour of storks lends a clue to their association with birth. As a migratory bird, white storks would fly south in the fall and return to Europe nine months later. Usually they could be seen heading north and nesting around March and April. Babies born in March and April were likely conceived in June of the previous year. Hans Christian Andersen popularized the fable in The Storks , a short story he wrote in the 19 th century.
In this version of the story, the storks plucked babies from a pond where they were dreaming, to deliver them to families of good children. Because of their long history associated with babies and family, storks are an easy story to tell kids sometimes in the same breath as teaching them valuable life lessons like always being honest…. Theres an ad on this article that prevented me from reading it by blocking text. G: Any chance of getting a screenshot?
There are also a few place names that record the presence of storks such as Storkhill in East Yorkshire and Storrington in West Sussex, listed in the Domesday Book as Estorchestone, meaning a place well known for storks. But the last record of breeding storks is from when a pair nested on the roof of St. Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. It is not fully known why white storks disappeared from the UK but some of the reasons put forward include that habitat loss and persecution.
They were a popular appearance on the menus of Medieval banquets so they may have also been over-hunted for food. In as part of ongoing attempts to rewild the UK, the White Stork Project, a collaboration between landowners and conservation organisations, launched with the aim of reintroducing a population of at least 50 breeding storks in southern England.
In May , after an unsuccessful attempt in the previous year, eggs in one of three nests at the Kepp Estate in West Sussex hatched, and the UK welcomed its first baby white storks since the 15th century. In the year , Professor Robert Matthews, a British physicist and popular science writer, conducted a statistical analysis between birth rates and stork populations across Europe whilst at Aston University. In statistics the p-value is s the probability of obtaining test results at least as extreme as the results actually observed.
The lower the p-value the stronger the evidence with p values of less than 0. Below is a chart plotting the number of stork pairs against the number of births in the 17 countries Matthews looked at and it appears to shows signs of a correlation between the two. However, an important piece of data is missing; the land area of each country.
Just as larger villages tend to have more storks and more babies, so larger countries also tend to have the same. Another famous example was published in Despite the rather humorous nature of the study, the researchers were trying to make a serious point and preface the paper with a disclaimer. It is an example of how studies based on popular belief and unsubstantiated theory, seconded by low quality references and supported by coincidental statistical association could lead to apparent scientific endorsement.
There is therefore absolutely no clear scientific evidence that storks do deliver babies. As a story it was particularly useful for prudish Victorian parents as a way of explaining the birds and the bees to their children, who turned it into the widespread phenomenon it is today. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Bird watching. British birds of prey. Share on facebook. Share on twitter. Share on reddit. Share on pinterest. Share on whatsapp. Share on email. Where do babies come from? An ancient myth Storks have been associated with babies for centuries.
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