Fairy Tales

in Parenting / September 21, 2013

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it -- Proverbs 22:6

Fairies are part of the fascinating world of kids. Girls dream of a magnificent wedding, when they will wear gorgeous dresses and live with their charming prince happily ever after. Boys are disguised in leprechauns for Saint Patrick day holding caldron filled with golden chocolate coins.

We all remember the old tale of Cinderella, passed from generation to generation but still able to move the heart of young girls. Hopefully Cinderella had a ‘good’ fairy godmother that made things work out perfectly for her, so perfectly that she married the Prince.

We all enjoyed the magic of TinkerBell, the little blond fairy with the green dress from Peter Pan.
And we all feared the famously creepy Morgan le Fay, half sister of King Arthur from Camelot and ambiguous character of the Irish legend, who originally was a fairy and afterwards became human but kept her magical powers.

We like fairies. They are beautiful, and powerful, but what else do we know about them?

Fairies find their origin in European mythology. Scholars linked them to ancient Gaelic-Celtic, Germanic, Greco-Roman mystic folklore. They are sprites, meaning spiritual beings with supernatural powers. These sprites can be divided into two categories: the “good” fairies and the evil ones.

Among the good we can count the Nymphs (beautiful minor deities of the Greek mythology, generally associated with nature elements like water, forest, mountain, etc.); Mermaids (fairies of water in Europe – the most popular is Melusine – also associated with the spirit of seduction and sexuality in other culture); Leprechauns (symbol of Patrick day in Irish culture, the small old-like creature is said to have the power to grant three wishes to humans if captured).

The bad fairies are portrayed greedy, tricky, and evil-like with pointy ears, sometimes with prominent nose. Among them we find elves, dwarfs (identified as wise, crafty, and living in mountains and in the earth in Germanic mythology), and goblins (greedy evil phantoms).
We can also name Pixies (small Celtic creatures, assimilated today to fairies and believed to reward consideration and punish neglect).

Evidently, it is plain that fairies are demonic spirits.
These mystical beings were worshiped and feared in ancient times and still are today in some communities.

The question is, as Christians, can we reasonably close our eyes on such a serious reality and send our children to bed with enchantress fairies, magical potions, spell casting, and poison drinking stories?

Snow White, the beauty and the beast, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping beauty… All these popular tales are about witchcraft, demons, wickedness and this is what we are exposing our kids to.

People often think that because the good always prevails on the bad in fairy tales, it is a good way of teaching positive values to kids. What kind of good are we talking about? The good that is obtained through magical power?

I don’t think there is a better way to instruct kids about righteousness than God’s way.
The Bible is full of examples and stories all wonderful and beautiful. It is written in Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Fairies cannot be part of our world.

Let’s not minimize the influence demonic spirits can have on our lives if we open up doors for them. The consequences might be dreadful.

We cannot dress our kids in gnomes or elves and think it is okay; Or name them after evil spirit just because it sounds originally cute and think it is not that big of a deal.

The apostle Paul exhorts us in these words “And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11.

We are responsible for our children; And from our choices today will depend their lives tomorrow, and maybe their status for eternity. Parents let’s be careful not to ignore the truth and underestimate the snares of the evil one. Let’s us keep our home sanctified from any kind of wickedness. May our Lord Jesus bless you abundantly.