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Enjoy this curated selection of theme-related dances for celebrations and holidays, or find a dance associated with a special calendar day, or EVEN your own birthday!
Aug 4
Owl Day
Hoolet
Other Scottish Country Dances for this Day
Today's Musings, History & Folklore
"O you virtuous owle,
The wise Minerva's only fowle."
~ A Remedy for Love, Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
Whooo! Whooo! Who's ready for a reel? Young owls, hoolets (the Scots word for young owls), and those simply young at heart will enjoy this lively 4-couple reel! It was devised by John Bowie Dickson as a birthday gift for a fellow dancer who happened to have an impressive collection of owl figurines and objets d'art. The dance opens with two chords—hoot, hoot!—giving third and fourth couples time to cross to opposite sides before launching into lively petronellas, reels, and plenty of spirited chasing.
Owls have long captured the human imagination. In Scottish Gaelic, the traditional name for an owl is cailleach-oidhche, literally meaning "old woman of the night." Older sources also record the variant coileach-oidhche ("night cockerel"), showing that these mysterious birds have inspired colorful names for centuries. Their haunting nighttime calls were once believed to foretell changing weather or serve as warnings to take care, giving owls an enduring place in Scottish folklore.
Although owls are generally solitary birds, a gathering of them is delightfully known as a parliament—a reference to their long-standing association with wisdom through the Greek and Roman goddess Athena (Minerva). Britain is home to several owl species, but the tawny owl is especially famous for its unmistakable "twit-twoo" call. So... are you tempted to add a few Twit-twoos!, Hoot! Hoot!, or Whoooos! as you fly through the reels? 🏴 🕺 💃 🤎 🤍 🤎 🦉 🦉 🦉
Hoolet
Owl Awareness Day is a day to learn more about the owl, a family of about two hundred species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers adapted for silent flight. Exceptions include the diurnal northern hawk-owl and the gregarious burrowing owl. They are found in all regions of the earth except Antarctica and some remote islands.
The owl has been been the subject of many superstitions, some positive but many not. Here are some interesting superstitions formerly believed of owls.
Owls are the only creatures that can live with ghosts, so if an owl is found nesting in an abandoned house, the place may be haunted.
If a traveler dreams of an owl, he will be robbed or possibly shipwrecked.
If you see an owl perched in a tree and you walk around that tree, the owl will follow you with its eyes, turning his head around until he wrings his own neck.
It is bad luck to see an owl in daylight (Scotland)
On the positive side, owls were also believed to bring good fortune in other cultures:
An Afghan legend states that it was the owl that presented humans with flint and iron so that they could make fire.
And the Aborigines of Australia believe that owls are the spirits of women and are therefore sacred.
And finally, to the Inuit of Greenland, the owl is a symbol of guidance and help
For a very interesting list of owl superstitions from various countries, click the Great Horned owl and her very well camouflaged owlet. Can you spot the baby owl?
Click the dance cribs or description below to link to a printable version of the dance!
