Do you believe in robins? Sounds like an odd question, doesn’t it? Sometimes, that question gets the answer, ‘When robins appear, loved ones are near’.
There is a widespread tradition that if a robin comes close to you, especially if it enters your house, that it is a message from a deceased family member, or from someone else you loved. There is a fairly recent story about a bereaved mother who begged for a sign from her child. A robin hopped on to her foot and then on to her hand. (Daily Mirror) Ask a believer and you will hear about robins arriving on a significant anniversary, or landing on a possession especially connected to the person who has died.
Whatever individuals believe, the positive effects of such encounters must be acknowledged and respected. Nobody would deny that it is good if, in grief, people can find comfort.
It is not unusual for people to say that, not long after dying, someone they loved returned to them, briefly. They say they sensed their presence, smelled their perfume, saw them or even spoke with them. They say that the encounter left them feeling calmer and more able to carry on. Are such visits a natural part of the grieving process, created by our own heads? Or are they evidence of survival? Anything which resonates for human beings finds its way into folklore and mythology, and visits from the dead are no exception. Night visits from departed lovers feature in folk songs. A well-known example is the very pretty, if sad, ‘She Moved through the Fair’, in which a young man wakes at night to find his fiancée in his room:
My young love said to me "My mother won't mind And my father won't slight you for your lack of kind" And she stepped away from me and this she did say, "It will not be long, love, till our wedding day"
She stepped away from me, and she went thro' the fair. And fondly I watched her move here and move there. And then she went homeward with one star awake, As the swan in the evening moves over the lake.
Last night she came to me, she came softly in, So softly she came that her feet made no din. And she laid her hand on me, and this she did say "It will not be long love, till our wedding day"
One interpretation of this song is that the girl has died, and her spirit has returned to warn the boy that he will soon be dead and they will be reunited in heaven. Another way of reading it is that her ghost is bemoaning her sudden death so near to their wedding day, and she is saying farewell. There is another way of looking at it as well, of course, but that is not supported by the melancholy nature of the tune.
Back to the robins… There is more to be said about these perky little birds. Beliefs change over the years, and the stories we tell each other change with them. At one time, robins were thought to bring with them not hope, but warning. A robin entering the house, or tapping at the window, meant that someone was going to die.
Unless it was November, when it was good luck. Why? Who knows!
The robin is possibly associated with death so much, because legends give it a link between the human and the divine; mostly connected to its red colouring. It scorched its chest, people said, putting twigs in the fire which kept the baby Jesus warm in the stable. It stained its chest with blood, they said, when it tried to pull apart the crown of thorns Jesus wore on the cross. It burned its chest (again!) taking water to the poor sinners roasting in the fires of hell. Robins sang with the angels when Jesus ascended into heaven.
Images of cheerful robins brighten up the dark part of our year when we see them on Christmas cards. The association with Christmas might come from the story about keeping the stable warm, or it might have arrived because the Victorian posties who delivered the first Christmas cards wore red uniforms and were nicknamed ‘robins’. Or it might just be that robins remain, keeping us company in winter when many other animals have gone to sleep, or left for warmer countries.
There is another connection: with the Norse God of thunder, Thor. Anyone harming a robin would feel the sharp end of his thunderbolt. In fact, hurting a robin, or stealing robin eggs, has always been considered to cause bad luck, which may be why, today, there are so many robins.
What we know about robins. There are lots of robins.
All adults, male and female, have that distinctive red breast, which is a slightly different shape on each bird, so if you have a good eye for detail, you can remember any individual robins which show up regularly.
They stay in England the whole year round, although their songs are different in the summer and the winter. Robins have very limited fat reserves, and in cold weather they are in danger of losing too much body weight, so if we feed them, we can be life-savers. Females are also in need of dietary support during the egg laying time of the year – March to July. Robins prefer to eat from the ground, so a little tray of food works well for them. Sunflower seeds and mealworms are their idea of a feast.
Robins are everywhere; towns, cities, the countryside and places in between. Even the smallest backyard gets visited. Because they are so easily recognised, even if we can’t tell a tit from a chaffinch, we can all spot a robin.
They do not show fear of people, and will hop close to anyone who looks like they might be about to dig up a few worms, or who might have something else tasty to eat. So... we can feed the birds and we can remember people with love. Whatever we believe.
