Author: Miss Cellania / Source: Neatorama
John Greenleaf Whittier wrote a poem in 1858 entitled “Telling the Bees” about a New England custom that was dying out even then. Back when many households kept beehives for honey, wax, and pollination, the hardworking bees were considered members of the family.
When a relative died, the bees must be informed and given a proper opportunity to mourn.This practice of “telling the bees” may have its origins in Celtic mythology where the presence of a bee after a death signified the soul leaving the body, but the tradition appears to have been most…
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