The Legends of the Robin

It is always a delight to see this little bird in the garden and appearing on so many Christmas cards.

There are two legends associated with how the Robin came to have his red breast and both are charming.

The first one says that a long time ago a little brown bird was flying across the Holy Land.  Stopping to rest he noticed a large crowd and heard a great noise.  His curiosity got the better of him, so he flew down to see what was going on.  In the middle of the mob was a man wearing upon his head a crown of thorns.  The bird felt sad because he could see that the thorns were badly hurting this man.  Wanting to help, he flew down and took the longest and sharpest thorn in his beak.  The bird tugged and tugged until the thorn broke off.  As it did so, a drop of blood fell onto the bird's breast, staining it red.  The Robin carries its "badge" to this very day as proof that it was the one living creature that helped the man called Jesus.

The second legend states that Mary and the infant Jesus were in the stable.  The fire was growing dim and the night had turned cold.  Wanting to keep her precious child warm, Mary called upon the Oxen to breathe onto the fire and fan the flames. The Oxen did not hear her and went on sleeping.  Mary then asked the Donkey if he would breathe onto the flames, but the Donkey was sleeping also. Suddenly, a little brown bird flew into the stable.  He heard Mary asking for help to keep her child warm.  So he puffed up his feathers and made a bellow of his wings.  The fire sparked into life and the flames leapt up but as they did so they scorched his breast. Mary said to the little bird:-

"Where fire was, let fire remain
A blessed and perpetual stain,
Burnt on your heart that all may see
The signature of charity."

It is considered very unlucky to kill a Robin. To do so would ensure that you would, at the very least, break a bone in the coming year and  but in general , meet with great misfortune.

And old verse says:-

A Robin and a Wren
Are God Almighty's cock and hen.

Poet, William Blake wrote:-

A Robin Red Breast in a cage
Puts all Heaven in a rage.

It is said that a Robin can make a wish come true if the wish is made when the first Robin of the year is seen and provided that the wish is completed before the Robin flies away.

A Robin sitting deep in a thicket is a sign of approaching rain but a Robin in the open shows that the weather will be calm.

A Robin pecking at the window is supposed to be a sign of sad news to come unless the Robin has been encouraged to come close to the house by feeding it bread crumbs.  If the latter is the case, it is very lucky.