BROADCASTS.com

The Snow Maiden\u2014not to be confused with the Snow Queen, Snow White, or Frosty the Snow Man\u2014is a popular Slavic folktale about an elderly couple and a miraculous child born from snow. In addition to being a charming story about the passing of seasons, it references a number of folk rituals, from jumping over fires on the summer solstice to mock funerals marking the Yuletide. Philippa Rappoport, a lecturer in Russian culture at George Washington University, explains how folktales and rituals overlap, and reads aloud her own version of this wintry tale. This episode originally aired in 2018.

This is our last episode of the year, and we want to hear from you about what you\u2019d like to hear in 2021! If there are any subjects or guests you would especially like to have on the show, send us an email at podcast@theamericanscholar.org. And, of course, help us find more listeners by rating us on iTunes and telling all your friends.

Go beyond the episode:

• Read six versions of \u201cThe Snow Maiden,\u201d classified by folklorist D. L. Ashliman as tales of \u201ctype 703,\u201d or, relatedly, nine different spins from across Europe on \u201cThe Snow Child\u201d (\u201ctype 1362 and related stories about questionable paternity\u201d)
• Watch the 1952 animated film The Snow Maiden, based on the Rimsky-Korsakov opera of the same name
• Listen to Kristjan J\xe4rvi conduct an excerpt from Tchaikovsky\u2019s Snow Maiden with the Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra and Choir

Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.

Subscribe: iTunes \u2022 Feedburner \u2022 Stitcher \u2022 Google Play \u2022 Acast

Have suggestions for projects you\u2019d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes!

Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.