When the Moon was too Proud – A tale from Latvia
Latvia is a land full of natural wonders, on the edge of the Baltic sea. There winter nights are long, so before electric lights the moon was very important to the people. They believed it was bigger, brighter, and more beautiful than it was elsewhere. Now, I don’t know about you, but if people constantly went around saying that I was big, bright, and beautiful, I might get a little too proud. Well, that’s exactly what happened in this folk tale. You see, the Latvian people believe in a moon god named Mēness. And he is definitely proud. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Here’s the story:
In the old days, two sisters were having a sauna (that’s a steam bath in Latvia). Afterward, they wanted to cool off with some fresh water, but there was none. They grabbed their carrying pole and pails, and walked down to the well to get some cold water. Above them, the moon shone brightly, lighting their way to the well. They hauled up pails of cold water, splashed themselves, laughed, and frolicked in the moonlight together. (You would too, after a refreshing sauna.) They were lying on the grass looking up at the night sky when the older sister said “the moon is so beautiful tonight. How brightly it shines!”
The younger sister, who was rather proud herself, replied “that thing? I can hardly see it! Why, my bum is brighter than the moon is!” And to her sister’s surprise she jumped up and bent over, pointing her naked bum at the moon.
Do you remember I told you about Mēness? Well, he heard the younger sister, and he felt very insulted. He decided to show the the younger sister that he was much brighter than her bum was. He snatched her up off the earth and pulled her to him, telling her “are you so proud of your bum? Well, now you can show it to everybody!” And from that day forward, it was the younger sister’s bum that shone in the night sky.
But you know what? Mēness’ punishment didn’t work. The people of Latvia now call the younger daughter Mēnesnīca, which means “moonlight.” And they still think the moon is big, bright, and beautiful. Only now, she gets all the credit.