SHORT HISTORY
Corn
dollies date back to pagan times. Straw symbols, such as corn dollies or the harvest maid have always been associated with
the gathering in of the crops. They were made in the field from the last sheaf, and many different designs came about from
various areas.
In
the early part of the 19thC, English farmers in rural areas were carrying out ceremonies of which the original meaning was
completely lost. Eg: the worship of the goddess of the corn.
The
art of making the corn dolly was handed down from father to son, and the whole ceremony ended with the triumphant return of
the last load with the corn dolly held in the arms of the prettiest girl in the village. It was then hung up in the farmhouse
until the following year. There are many variations of this story.
Corn
dollies made from wheat, is what the peoples of the British Isles call “corn”, it has deep pagan symbolic roots.