Why do they say that children are "found in cabbage"

We have been hearing since childhood that children are "found in cabbage." Have you ever wondered why it is there, and not in peas, turnips or rye? Why did you choose this one out of all the traditional cultures for Russia? There is not one, but several versions explaining the origin of this phrase.

No one knows when this comic belief first appeared. Cabbage has been grown in Russia since the 9th century AD — it was brought either by Greco-Roman merchants or trading people from the Varangians. So the first babies certainly began to be "found in cabbage" not earlier than this time.

It is known that there is always a lot of blood at the birth of a child. In the old days, we treated this substance quite negatively, as, indeed, in many other countries. Blood was considered a receptacle of power, while not necessarily positive. It is because of this that women during menstruation are still considered unclean in many cultures.

There were many rituals of purification from blood and one of them was associated with cabbage. During childbirth, which in Russia took place in a bath, sheets were not used. Stained with blood, they would have to be destroyed, and the fabrics were expensive. Therefore, cabbage leaves were placed under the woman in labor. After use, they were simply burned. It was believed that all the evil that came into this world with blood burned in the fire. Yes, the bath itself was considered a place not too good.

If you look closely at a cabbage head, you will notice that it looks like a fruit with an umbilical cord. The earth gives birth to him, as a woman gives birth to a child. To separate the baby from the mother, and the cabbage from the garden, you need to use a knife and cut the umbilical cord or stem.

If you tell the younger generation about where children come from, then the example of cabbage turns out very clearly. It is possible that once upon a time there was a myth or legend about the appearance of man and everything was tied to cabbage. Parents, using this allegory, enlightened young people without going into much physiological details.

In ancient times, many peoples believed that evil spirits could harm the mother and child. So it was with the Slavic peoples. To mislead the evil spirits, they avoided calling things by their proper names. Therefore, children were not born, but "were in the cabbage." So it was possible to hide the birth of the progenitor from the spirits and protect him from disease and death.

It turns out that a certain child was simply found in the cabbage, where someone threw him. Neither the father nor the mother of the baby have the slightest relation to this and simply take him to their home for upbringing. The custom of hiding the birth of a child still exists in some communities that adhere to animistic cults.