The Meaning Behind Nursery Rhymes.

By -
We have just been having a discussion about nursery rhymes and how they came about. After looking into it we have found a lot of what we thought is probably wrong.

It is commonly thought in England that the Nursery Rhyme 'Ring of Roses' relates to the plague of 1665.

Ring-a-ring o' roses, (It is thought that this relates to a rash that accompanied the black death)
A pocket full of posies, (People carried posies to ward of the plague)
A-tishoo! A-tishoo! (Sneezing or coughing was a symptom)
We all fall down. (and finally death)

This explanation to the rhyme didn't come until after the 2nd World war which leads scholars to believe this was not the original meaning of the song and more likely it was just a children's dancing game where the fall at the end was actually a curtsy.

Another common theory is that Oranges and Lemons relates to public executions. It is thought that it is more likely sung on festive days of the church when the bells were rung and that the final two lines were added on later.

One nursery rhyme that is hopefully straight forward is 'London Bridge is Falling Down' which we all believe is about the deterioration of London Bridge due to its age and the great fire of London in 1666. Although there are still other theories this is still the most likely explanation.

The nursery rhyme Baa Baa Black Sheep is said to refer to a Wool Tax in 1275 that saw a large percentage of the profit in going to the king (The master).

What ever the original meaning behind nursery rhymes there is something comforting in the tradition of singing them and passing them down from generation to generation. We continue to sing them to our babies or teach our children the actions or dances to accompany them. Steeped in history our heritage gets passed on through these simple rhymes.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How To Play ZILTCH - The Ultimate Dice Game!

By -
Image
If you ask me what my favourite dice game is, there has only ever been one answer, ZILTCH! This is an exciting fast passed game of chance suitable for all ages and great for kids who can beat their parents fair and square. It's good for developing basic arithmetic skills too! This has been a family favourite in my house hold since I was a nipper, I have since taught it to hundreds of people and everyone loves it! All you need is six dice and a pen and paper to write down the scores.        These days this can be downloaded as an app or played on line but to me the whole fun is seeing peoples reactions as they roll the dice. If you take away the actual dice and play by clicking a button, then you have taken away the fun of the game! Dice are inexpensive and fit in your pocket and I guarantee that once you have learned to play this game you will always carry six dice with you! It can be played almost anywhere and doesn't blow away at a picnic or get wet ...
Read more

History of the spinning top - How does the spinning top work?

By -
Image
I received a lovely letter this morning from the year 1 pupils at Highters Heath Community School in Birmingham, that are currently studying toys from the past. When I opened the letter, it contained many letters mainly asking how a spinning top works, and does the spinning top contain a spring? In an attempt to settle these curious minds, let me tell you a little bit about the history of the spinning top, and then how a spinning top works. The History of the Spinning Top The spinning top has been in existence for thousands of years. Like many traditional toys, such as marbles, the earliest spinning tops are made from clay, and were discovered in the Middle East as early as 3500 BC, although it is likely that children would have been spinning small rocks or acorns long before. Later wooden spinning tops emerged in around 2000 BC, and early spinning tops made from bone have been found in Europe.  These spinning tops would have been much simpler than many tops found in old fashi...
Read more

How to Play Farmyard Donkey Card Game

By -
Image
A couple of weeks ago I posted the instructions for the card game Pairs on Wheels . Another popular traditional family card game is Farmyard Donkey. Again, this game is fairly straight forward but a great way to keep children occupied and get them thinking. The card game consists of 17 pairs and the "Donkey Card". Firstly, shuffle the cards then deal them in a clockwise direction to each player. All players then look at their cards and take out all their pairs, the player to the left of the dealer arranges their remaining cards in their hand like a fan. The back of the cards are shown to the player on the left who then picks a card. If this card makes a pair then the cards are put in the middle of the table with the other pairs. If the player isn't able to make a pair then they keep the card and continue the game by offering their cards to the next player. When a player eventually loses all their cards they are 'saved' and stop playing. At the end of the gam...
Read more