The Tooth Fairy

The origin of the modern idea of the Tooth Fairy comes from ancient times in northern Europe. In ancient Eddic literature, which is Medieval, there are poems and sagas written down from oral traditions that were far older. It mentioned "tand-fe" that means Tooth Fee, which was an award given to children who lost their first milk tooth. The concept of giving children coins for losing their baby teeth was started by the ancient Norse people. It was also believed by the Vikings that milk teeth was lucky, so they had those carried around with them as talismans. Milk teeth was made into necklaces and worn by warriors who needed fortune in battle. Magical energy of milk teeth was so important to the Norse that they paid children money to have their milk teeth that fell out. 

The purity and magic of milk teeth also attracted small creatures too. It was believed in many European and Asian countries that mice, rabbits, cats, squirrels and other animals would collect milk teeth from a child and leave coins in return. In a French story La Bonne Petite Souris (The Good Little Mouse), a fairy turned into a mouse and bit the ears of an evil king while he was sleeping in bed. Over time, children left their teeth under their pillows for the mouse fairy.

While sweet toothed stories of mice and fairies helped children believe in the magical Tooth Fairy, it also had a darker side. People thought witches would steal milk teeth and use it for harmful spells. Milk teeth was buried or burned to avoid theft by malicious witches. If a witch grabbed hold of a child's milk tooth, something awful would happen and the child would be under a curse. Witches took things from a person, like hair, nails and teeth. They then used it to control the person and make them fall ill or die. It was often believed that milk teeth would attract evil spirits once fallen out so parents took it upon themselves to hide the teeth.   

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