How the stork became a symbol of childbirth in the ... | 台北市立動物園資訊網

2021年3月3日—WhenaDutchchildasks“wheredobabiescomefrom?”theyareoftentoldthattheyaredeliveredby“ooievaars“.Foralongtime,thestorkhas ...

Have you ever wondered how the stork became the symbol of childbirth in the Netherlands? Are you curious as to why your Dutch friends put up storks outside their houses when a baby is born? Here is a brief history of how that tradition came to be!

When a Dutch child asks “where do babies come from?” they are often told that they are delivered by “ooievaars“. For a long time, the stork has been a lucky charm of childbearing. At the beginning of the 20th century, it became the symbol of childbirth in the Netherlands.

A few years ago, on my birthday, I remember getting a toy stork from a Dutch friend of mine. He gave told me it would bring me luck. At that time I didn’t realise how superstitious the Dutch were or that the stork was still seen as a lucky charm.

The Dutch say that “the stork has visited” when a child is born and in some parts of the Netherlands new parents often put a (toy) sto...