Another fine mess...

[hollyking]

Last night I was talking with raingirllori and mentioned that I wanted to find myths and legends about Winter and all of the books I find seem to be organized by culture. I forget her exact response but it was along the lines of me producing a series of books for each season with the appropriate myths and legends. Dammit! Now the idea won’t let go of me. So, my question to you, dear readers, is do you know if there are any books like this already?

I haven’t had much time to think about exactly what I would want to cover in these books so I welcome any questions and discussion. Even if these books never get made I am always looking for resources and references to myths, legends and folk tales.

Comments

[helix90.livejournal.com]

I certainly don't see anything on Amazon that would count as seasonal mythology (leaving out Christmas of course).
Personally I would go for cross-cultural beliefs and commonalities/differences in the approach to each season.
I.e. what is different about the Chinese approach to Spring in comparison to the central Europeans?
Just my $0.02

[wendolen.livejournal.com]

Agreed. & I think helix90 is a resource you should continue to consult if you decide to pursue this idea. ;)

[hollyking.livejournal.com]

He's on my list of people who are on the fringe of my social circle that I need to get to know better. ;)

[hollyking.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I think that's a good idea.

[wendolen.livejournal.com]

I'm not aware of that being done, no.

Even beyond the seasonal thing, you could expand it into a series of other themes... myths about trees, myths about fire, myths about mountains, myths about particular animals... that would be super cool. :)

[hollyking.livejournal.com]

Oooh! Damn! No, I don't need more things to do! But... Damn! ;)

[raingirllori.livejournal.com]

So each Season's book would be broken up into chapters, each one laying out stories from many different cultures....
- Origins (were the season came from)
- Beings (gods/creatures associated to that time of year)
- Holiday stories

And so on.

Same can work with anything... animales, elements.

[ragnorokt.livejournal.com]

The closest thing I have ever seen was a book that had parallel stories from the major mythologies of the ancient near east and Europe. It then compared and contrasted them in an effort to show that each of them come from the same core root when you adjust for geography and climate.

So the gods of Babylon were somewhat unpredictable but generally beneficial and Egypt had much more static and predictable gods. The reason is the Tigris and Euphrates rivers are key to survival in that area, but they are prone to flash floods that can be quite devastating, while the Nile floods each year in a very predictable pattern, bringing both irrigation water and fresh fertile soil to Egypt. Also Egypt was somewhat geographically isolated from invading armies by the Sahara on either side of the Nile valley, allowing a more stable culture, while Mesopotamia was constantly being invaded by someone.

I know the Greeks and Norse were in there too. I will see if I can dig up the title.