6
votes
What is the origin of the story that Santa Claus lives at the North Pole?
Complicated
Well, it definitely doesn't claim to be folklore at all, it was just in a book by Thomas Nast.
(Linked full size image is over 7 MiB; Wikimedia Commons page; image is in the public domain)...
- 6,720
5
votes
Why do ghosts mess with electricity?
It relates to Spiritualism and modern extensions.
Essentially, spiritualism uses "magic tricks" (illusions) to create the impression of paranormal activity, often as simple as thumping a table or ...
- 14.2k
5
votes
Why do ghosts mess with electricity?
Obviously, this is a modern trope, not true folklore, as electrification process took from around the 1880s to the 1960s.
I suspect this idea of ghosts affecting electricity originated in the movie ...
- 2,317
5
votes
Does Angela Merkel's use of her distinctive "diamond" hand gesture have any folk-historical or other oral-traditional background?
The following I found on Wikipedia:
Asked about how the Merkel-Raute was introduced as her trademark, Merkel stated that "there was always the question, what to do with your arms, and that's how it ...
- 433
3
votes
What is the link between Odin and Santa Claus?
One of the original holidays that was merged together to create the modern Christmas is Yule (in Scandinavian languages, Christmas is still called "jul" or "jól"); this was apparently celebrated ...
- 6,027
3
votes
Can mermaids shapeshift and grow human legs to walk on land?
This theme seems to have become popular in mainstream culture from Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid. A 19th century fairy story.
However, the idea of a water creature like a mermaid ...
- 1,066
3
votes
Is it the Muses depicted on the façade of 100 Broadway, Manhattan?
The wiki on the building actually covers it:
The third-story windows above the portico are flanked by six classical figures designed by J. Massey Rhind. Two more figures, in the same style as Rhind's ...
cmw♦
- 7,383
1
vote
Accepted
Skagganauk abyss?
As stated here: "Typhon appears as a black horse-shadow, without a horse to cast it. He contains within himself something called Skagganauk Abyss, which resembles a black hole, not a term in ...
- 5,378
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