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Placing a tooth near the bed of a child could be thought of as a way to protect the child from harm or as a sacrifice of sorts to the supernatural creatures that might otherwise take the child. They are used in cultures all over the world as protective talismans. Teeth, because of their apparent indestructibility compared to other body parts, have historically been seen as a form of magical protection against evil. There are also parallels to these stories in non-European cultures. Stories about human children being snatched from their cradles by trolls or fairies and replaced by a shape-shifting troll or fairy baby are common in folklore.

The rituals associated with the tooth fairy in the United States also bear an eerie resemblance to rituals used to protect children from supernatural kidnappers such as trolls and fairies. Were Tooth Fairy rituals originally to protect children from harm? Marantega makes for an interesting parallel to the tooth fairy legend, though it is unlikely that Marantega represents a direct precursor. Interestingly, Marantega not only gives children gifts at Christmas, but also when they lose a tooth. Marantega is a Venetian version of the generally Italian Befana, a benevolent old crone who gives children gifts at Christmas like Santa Claus in the U.S. ( DeviantArt)Ī benevolent example is Marantega in Venice, Italy. Do you have the Second Sight? Finding Fairies & The Secret Commonwealth of Robert Kirk.Meetings with the Queen of Elphame: A Magical and Protective Fairy Queen.Tuatha Dé Dannan, the Enchanting Predecessors of Irish Fairies and Elves.Jenny Greenteeth is also used to encourage children to brush their teeth, possibly so that their teeth do not become as dirty as the teeth of the old witch. The pond scum in which the witch hides (duckweed) is said to resemble green teeth. Interestingly, there is a dental connection. Parents would use Jenny Greenteeth as a way to frighten children into obedience. Jenny Greenteeth was a witch that was said to hide in scum-filled ponds and catch unsuspecting children. One English legend from Lancashire tells of a witch named Jenny Greenteeth. There are however a few European legends that do resemble the American tooth fairy. If a witch found a person’s teeth, it was believed that she might be able to gain complete control over that person. In some cases, the reason for disposing of the teeth is so that a witch does not find them rather than to make an offering.

There are legends in Europe, however, that do more closely resemble the tooth fairy legend. Others involve offering the teeth to rather different entities, such as animals instead of to a fairy.

They sometimes involve just getting rid of the teeth rather than offering them to any entity. These examples show how European folklore regarding children’s teeth diverges in many ways from American folklore. Only a few scholars have considered the relevance of this practice to the tooth fairy, however.Īn 8-year-old’s gift to the tooth fairy. Some 19th century scholars found this interesting and even went as far as to suggest that this custom was evidence of vestigial paganism in the form of sun worship. In other parts of Europe, children were encouraged to offer their teeth to animals, usually mice, or to throw them in to the air. An old superstition was that if a child did not dispose of his or her baby teeth properly, the person would wander the afterlife for all of eternity in search of them. The reason for this was connected to beliefs about the afterlife. In Medieval England, it was popular to burn a child’s baby teeth. There is no direct parallel to the tooth fairy in European folklore. One fact that emerges when the tooth fairy’s origin is investigated is that the original tooth fairy, if there was one, seems to have been of a less innocent nature than the modern dental sprite. Belief in the tooth fairy has become so common in the United States that losing belief in her is considered a rite of passage showing that a child is “growing up.” Despite its popularity, little is known of the origins of the tooth fairy and few parallels are found in other cultures.

She is famous for exchanging a few dollars for baby teeth that have fallen out. The tooth fairy is rivalled only by Santa Claus in popularity among American children.

Toothfairy story