Teaching Kids History and Mythology with Crafts
Cupid’s Yummy Gummy Arrows St. Valentine’s Day was first declared as a religious holiday by the pope in the late 400’s. In the middle ages in France and England it became associated with the idea of courtly love and the lords and ladies might exchange notes or poems. In the 17th century, the British common […]
Cupid’s Krispies “The Reunion of Cupid and Psyche LACMA M.2000.179.30” by Fæ is marked with CC PDM 1.0 Cupid (known to the Greeks as Eros) was the Roman god of love. He was the son of Venus (Aphrodite to the Greeks), the Roman Goddess of Love. Cupid appears in one myth where he falls in […]
Viking Honey Mead Photo by Gigi on Unsplash In the Viking Age, honey mead was a fermented (alcoholic) drink that was served at special occasions. You can imagine Vikings in the great mead halls in the dead of winter celebrating the Yule with a few “horns” full of mead. Yes, it seems that Vikings did […]
Thor’s Yule Goat ? A popular Christmas holiday decoration found in Scandinavian countries, the straw Yule Goat has interesting origins. So What’s a Yule Goat? Today, possibly most famous Yule Goat can be found in the Swedish town of Gavle. This goat is put up yearly and is almost 40 feet high! Originally erected in […]
Satunalia Cookies Saturnalia was a celebration of the god Saturn and the harvest. Saturn was the God of time and the crops, not unlike Kronos, the Greek Titan. In fact, we get the name Saturday from “Saturn’s day”. And, ruins of the Temple of Saturn can still be seen in the Roman Forum today! Romans […]
Crossbow Candy Canes The crossbow, although often thought of as used by the people of middle ages and crusades, was actually created by the Chinese and used by the Greeks in the 4th century BCE. The Greek name for the crossbow was the gastraphetes, or “Belly Bow”. This is because warriors held the end then […]
The Laurel Wreath The laurel wreath is an ancient symbol of victory and achievement. It was first awarded to the winners of the ancient Greek Olympic Games. The Romans later adopted the laurel as a symbol of military victory and presented it to successful generals. These generals would wear the wreath during their triumph as […]
The ancient Greeks were famous for a certain type of soldier who was armed with a spear, breastplate, shield and special helmet. This soldier was known as the hoplite. Hoplites were the most elite of all Greek soldiers and were respected by the rest of society. The plumes found on hoplite helmets were used for […]
Thor’s hammer is actually named Mjolnir (muel-near). This special weapon belongs to one of the main Norse Gods, Thor. He is the god of lightning and thunder. In fact, he is so famous that Thursday is actually named for him–you can think of it as “Thor’s Day”. The hammer is one of the most important […]