How Your Neighborhood Stork Went Into Business!

Before babies were plucked from the cabbage patch, the myth of choice for parents with inquisitive toddlers was the standard stork delivery story. Many parents still find the stork a rationale their tots will buy - at least for a while. No doubt, mothers-to-be in the delivery room sometimes wish the myth was reality. The fowl that has become not only a traditional tale to explain baby's arrival, but also a symbol of birth itself, actually began as a simple explanation based on kid-tested logic for parents of yore.

The word stork comes from the Greek word "storge" which means "strong natural affection," a fitting description of the stork. The stork is a migratory bird, giving credence to the idea that they could be bringing the baby from some magical place. Storks build their homes on rooftops, which makes it convenient to deliver a baby down the chimney. Their size makes it easy to imagine them carrying an infant, and storks mate for life, like humans, which lends an air of propriety to the entire legend.

But the fable goes much deeper than that. Storks are fertility symbols, and they're associated with springtime and birth. Both American and European parents have told their children that the stork delivers newborns to their mothers. In what might be considered a spooky superstition, some cultures believe a stork simply looking at a woman can cause her to become pregnant. To explain Mom's required bed rest after the stork brought the baby, children were told the stork bit Mom's leg before leaving which required her to stay in bed for a few days.

In a time of ignorance and old wives' tales, a number of myths surrounding the stork arose and were repeated so often, they were taken for truth. Folklore held that the souls of unborn children lived in watery areas like marshes, wells, springs and ponds - natural watering and resting locations for the stork. Putting two and two together to come up with five, people believed that storks retrieved the babies' souls and delivered them to their parents. The Germans had a slightly different take on the same idea. Dwelling in or caves hidden along steep cliffs called "stork stones" were human infants called "stork children". Storks would find them and fly them to their expectant parents. If children wanted a baby brother or sister, they were encouraged to make their desires known to the stork through singing. Naughty baby boys were transported in the stork's bill while good baby boys could ride on its back.

Along with babies, storks are believed to bring good fortune. Germans called storks "Adebar", or "luck-bringer", and the Dutch welcomed storks nesting on their roof as a good omen. In the nineteenth century, Hans Christian Andersen wrote about the stork legend in his famous fairy tales. With the worldwide publication of his tales, Andersen helped disperse the stork legend to all four corners of the earth.

The next time you're looking for favors for a baby shower or the perfect baby gift, remember the legend of the stork - an international icon that embodies the joy of newborn babies everywhere.