Folklore of the Night

     The villagers hear the approaching sound of hoofs, rolling wagon wheels, and the clamor of the rocking pots and pans that dangle along the sides of the moving caravan.  The villagers feel a sense of excitement for that the Gypsies bring and also a sense of dread based on folklore and prejudice.      The Romany people, better known to some as the Gypsies, have a long and colorful history shrouded in legend and folklore.  The name Gypsy is a distortion of the name for Egyptians, even though modern scholars argue that the Roma almost certainly orignate from the area around Northern India.  To the Europeans, they were a cursed people.  As expert blacksmiths, one of the legends claimed that the curse originated because they were the ones who made the nails used in the crucifixion of Jesus.  The Roma have been known to put their own spin on the tale by saying that they were forced to do so, but they made the nails particularly thin so as to inflict as little pain as possible.  

     Angry, anti-Semitic mobs shriek throughout the ghettos of the Eastern European city of Prague.  Many carry torches, others sling heavy clubs to take out their latest rage against the convenient target for any and all of life's difficulties: the Jews.  Certainly, by this time in 1590, the Children of Israel had learned to be resilient.  Whether it was from the Egyptians, the Greeks, or the Romans, the Jews had developed coping mechanisms to deal will the chronic persecutions.      There are various stories that describe how Rabbi Low Ben Bezalel fashioned the Golem out of pure water and clay extracted from a newly dug pit.  The ponderous creature was brought to life by inserting a paper in the mouth with the sacred word "Shem."  It would then prowl the ghettos, guarding the people from frequent pogroms.  It would even carry out household tasks when needed.  It was the Rabbi's custom to deactivate the  Golem at sundown each Friday for the sabbath. Unfortunately,

     She moves as the mistress of Death through the winter forests of Romania.  Her mere glance through a peasant's window brings pestilence and certainty of the grave.  It is often even worse: She might bring despair.  With the coming of the Winter Solstice, the residents of Eastern Europe look warily for evidence of the Shadow Queen in their communities.  Stories vary on just what She might look like; perhaps a beautiful lady or possibly an old crone.  Most do not expect to see Her but can see Her influence in the form of starvation, disease, and suicide.  She must not be opposed.  It is best to do all possible to avoid Her gaze or Her attention.  Perhaps She will pass you by.      For those who survive the Winter, which may actually be the Queen's husband, it is important to give offerings to Her in thanks for their lives or perhaps to make a final break of Her power.  On Palm Sunday, villagers build an effigy of the Queen out of straw, dressing it in some of the