The last time I was in Athens I went with some friends to a small restaurant owned by a guy from Chile. A very pleasant fellow with very interesting life and a great cook. Anyway, on our way out he gave to each one of us a box with a few little dolls. Quite unusual and interesting gift. But what was more interesting was the legend behind those dolls.
Worry dolls (also called trouble dolls; in Spanish, Muñeca quitapena) are small, hand-made dolls that originate from Guatemala. According to legend, Guatemalan children tell their worries to the Worry Dolls, placing them under their pillow when they go to bed at night. By morning the dolls have gifted them with the wisdom and knowledge to eliminate their worries.
The story of the worry doll is a local Mayan legend. The origin of the Muñeca quitapena refers to a Mayan princess named Ixmucane. The princess received a special gift from the sun god that allowed her to solve any problem a human could worry about. The worry doll represents the princess and her wisdom.
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Of course all that is just for the kids to feel better when they are troubled or anxious. My real problems started when I took them out of the box and I left them alone. Please take my advise. If you ever have this kind of dolls, never leave them alone, out of their box.
After a while I went to pick them up but they were gone. Nothing had prepared me for this! I was looking all over the place but no sign of them. Eventually I noticed a small figure on a leaf at one of our plants on the front porch. Little buggers! How on earth did they get there. One by one I finally found them all!
Before I put them back inside they gathered around and shouted with their thin, childish voices:
Comedy is not my strong suit but I tried to amuse you a bit for this first post of the year. I hope you enjoyed it!
All the pictures and the words are mine.
Thank you for reading and if you want to know more about me you can check out my introduction post.
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