steven@mcvax.UUCP (Steven Pemberton) (10/16/84)
> Ring around the rosie > Pockets full of Posies. > Ashes, ashes, all fall down. > > I heard that the "ashes" were in reference to making a mark on the forehead > with ashes, another charm to ward off the Plague. (Certainly they would > have had a lot of human ashes, though). In England they sing "Attishoo, attishoo, we all fall down". I heard that sneezing was a symptom of the plague. Steven Pemberton, CWI, Amsterdam. steven@mcvax.UUCP
moroney@jon.DEC (10/16/84)
>> scc!steiny Don Steiny - Personetics @ (408) 425-0382 >> >> ...The darling ryhme: >> >> Ring around the rosie >> Pockets full of Posies. >> Ashes, ashes, all fall down. >> >> Is a reference to the bubonic plauge. The plauge caused red circles to >> appear on the skin. Posies were considered a charm to ward off the >> plauge, and victims were burned to ashes. >I heard that the "ashes" were in reference to making a mark on the >forehead with ashes, another charm to ward off the Plague. (Certainly >they would have had a lot of human ashes, though). >-- >Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,nsc}!amdahl!gam "Ashes" is an imitation of the sound of a person with the plague sneezing and coughing before he died "We all fall down". The modern equivalent is "AAA-CHOO". Sorry, I can't provide any references (or guarantee it is 100% correct) since I learned this in ~6th grade. Mike Moroney ..!decwrl!rhea!jon!moroney