The connection between storks and babies dates back to ancient Greek times, where storks were believed to be exemplary parents. In Northern Europe, storks were considered heralds of spring and fertility. The image of a stork delivering a baby became popular in the Victorian era, but today most people know it’s not true.
It seems like every other baby ad has a stylized drawing of a stork carrying a baby in a tissue bundle, especially in Europe and North America. Few people question this commonly accepted image, but it is rather curious that storks are connected to human babies and that this connection lasted so long. The connection between storks and babies dates back to ancient Greek times and is a fascinating illustration of the way myths and legends evolve.
The Greeks noticed that storks tended to return to the same nests year after year and that the birds also spent a lot of time rearing their young. Over time, the belief that storks were exemplary parents began to arise, creating the first bond between storks and babies. After all, if storks were that good at rearing their own young, they surely would be adept at handling human infants!
While Greek culture may have faded, the associations between storks and parentage continued to be strong in many parts of Europe. In Northern Europe, where storks appear in spring after wintering in warmer climates, storks were considered to be heralds of spring and fertility. The birds also showed up around the same time as the major fertility festivals, and people came to associate the arrival of the storks with feasting and the conception of children.
The European white stork is also famous for nesting on rooftops, which contributed to the next piece of the puzzle. People came to believe that having a stork’s nest on their roof brought good luck, and legends of storks dropping babies down the chimney abounded. Northern Europeans believed that the more storks in a city, the more babies there would be, and this legend continues to persist in some regions.
The image of a gentle stork delivering a baby to expecting parents became very popular in the Victorian era when many people developed a demure attitude towards childbirth and the facts of life. Rather than give the children the gory details, the parents simply informed them that a stork had brought their new brother or sister, and indeed some Victorian wits used this as a comic device, with storks laden with babies chasing single young women for street in fanciful postcards.
Today, most people accept that storks aren’t actually responsible for the appearance of babies or fertility rates. However, the association between storks and babies still lingers, as does the evasive “the stork brought you” response to curious babies.
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