TITLE
Baba Yaga is a witch in Slavic mythology. In this myth, the witch tries to eat a young girl!
Marena is the Slavic goddess of winter, death, and the rebirth of nature. She is the daughter of the god Perun and the Great Mother goddess. Marena is usually shown with dark hair, pale skin, and wolf-like claws and fangs. Slavic people feared Marena because she brought winter. She wasn’t born a fierce winter goddess, but her husband betrayed her and made her angry. Every spring the ancient Slavs burned dolls of Marena to celebrate the end of winter.
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Making Connections
Text-to-Self
If you were an ancient Slav, which god or goddess would you have worshipped? Please explain your answer.
Text-to-Text
Have you read a book about a different ancient mythology? If so, what did those mythologies have in common with Slavic myths?
Text-to-World
With the help of an adult, research photos of Slavic forests online. Write a sentence or two describing what you see. Then, write about how you would feel living in a forest like that.