Babushka: A Christmas Tale

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Now the tall black man rose to his feet and said, ‘We must leave now, lady Babushka, and follow the star, but we would like to ask you to come with us. In this version we have the five interlocked dolls, each of which has their own special character; they are Antonia, who represents beauty, Loretta who shows wealth, Paula who is multi-talented, Viola who represents wisdom and finally Mary, whilst she is the smallest she represents love and compassion, something to be prized. The grandmotherly Babushka of this tale is shaped similar to those dolls, which could have been some of the toys she gave away to children she met. Its 10 lively songs will be a catch with all age groups, while plenty of varied, fun roles and optional parts make it suitable for either a class or whole-school production. I grew up with this story, as did many of my generation, but it seems the story is unknown in Russia.

The legend is she declined to go with the Wise Men, when they stopped at her house for food and rest en route to Bethlehem, to see the baby Jesus – because of the cold weather, and because she had housework and baking to do. Like all Christmas tales, the legend of Baboushka will only make people realize the beginnings and the ideas behind countless festivities. Baboushka travelled for years but she still did not find that special child, who was in fact, Jesus Christ. From their rich clothing and fine features, Babushka guessed that they were men of learning who had traveled from far away in the East.They invited her to travel with them, to Bethlehem, where they were bound, they said, to find and welcome the child who would be the king of Jews and lead mankind to salvation. It transpires that the tale is not Russian at all, but the Italian tradition of La Buffana, an old hag or witch who, like Babushka in this story, misses the chance to see the infant Christ child and so spends all eternity making amends. It tells the story of Baboushka, a Russian woman who hears the news of the birth of Jesus - but at first refuses to listen.

But ‘Babushka’ – which means ‘grandmother’ in Russian – is also a famous Christmas story in Russia about the story of an old woman who met the Three Wise men on their way to see Jesus. Based on the traditional Russian story of Baboushka, this hilarious musical takes a fresh perspective on the Nativity.Reprinted with permission from BABUSHKA: A CHRISTMAS TALE © 2016 by Dawn Casey, Good Books, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing.

Our site uses cookies for functionality, and we would also like to use optional cookies to help improve the services we offer you and to personalise the marketing information we show you. So next year I , like Babushka/ Buffana, shall make amends and depict the original kind-hearted Italian strega! Despite their invitation to travel with them she decides to stay until she has made sure that the house and, more importantly, all the children she knows, are well provided for.

Amanda Hall is an award-winning international illustrator, noted for her stylish illustrations of folktales and legends. You will have 3 attempts to download the files - you must SAVE first before opening the zip-file containing your download. Another story that explains the tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is the story of Saint Nicholas. Babushka walks and walks, and everywhere she goes she finds children in need of toys to play with or a shawl to keep them warm. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Spitalfields Life with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.