Editing European robin (section)

== Cultural depictions ==
The robin features prominently in British folklore and that of northwestern France, but much less so in other parts of Europe,<ref name=ingersoll167>
{{cite book
 |last=Ingersoll |first=Ernest
 |year=1923
 |chapter=Fire-birds: The robin and the wren
 |title=Birds in Legend, Fable and Folklore
 |location=New York, NY
 |publisher=Longmans, Green, & Co.
 |page=167
 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/birdsinlegendfab00inge
 |access-date=8 August 2009
}}
</ref>
though in the nineteenth century [[Jacob Grimm]] reported a tradition from German-speaking Europe that if someone disturbed a robin's nest their house would be struck by lightning.<ref>{{cite book|last=Grimm|others=Stallybrass (tr.)|title=Teutonic mythology|publisher=George Bell & Sons|year=1883|volume=2|url=https://archive.org/details/teutonicmytholog02grim}}</ref>{{rp|682-83}} Robins feature in the traditional children's tale ''[[Babes in the Wood]]''; the birds cover the dead bodies of the children.<ref name=deVries76/>

The robin has become strongly associated with Christmas, taking a starring role on many [[Christmas card]]s since the mid-19th century.<ref name=deVries76>
{{cite book
 |last=de&nbsp;Vries |first=Ad
 |year=1976
 |title=Dictionary of Symbols and Imagery
 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/388 388]–389
 |publisher=North-Holland Publishing Company
 |location=Amsterdam, NL
 |isbn=978-0-7204-8021-4
 |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofsymb0000vrie/page/388
}}
</ref>
The robin has appeared on many [[Christmas stamp|Christmas postage stamps]]. An old British [[Folklore|folk tale]] seeks to explain the robin's distinctive breast. Legend has it that when Jesus was dying on the cross, the robin, then simply brown in colour, flew to his side and sang into his ear in order to comfort him in his pain. The blood from his wounds stained the robin's breast, and thereafter all robins carry the mark of Christ's blood upon them.<ref name=Cooper92>
{{cite book
 |last=Cooper |first=J.C.
 |year=1992
 |title=Symbolic and Mythological Animals
 |page=194
 |publisher=Aquarian Press
 |location=London, UK
 |isbn=978-1-85538-118-6
}}
</ref>{{efn|
In Christian folklore the robin got its red breast because it plucked a thorn from Jesus' crown-of-thorns during His crucifixion. A drop of Jesus' blood fell on to the bird and thereafter they had a red breast – for Christians the robin has long been associated with charity and piety.<ref>{{cite web |last=Goodall |first=Simon |title=European robin (''Erithacus rubecula'') |website=Greater Manchester Local Record Centre |url-status=dead |url=http://www.gmwildlife.org.uk/wildlife/species/index.php?species=European%20Robin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307095635/https://www.gmwildlife.org.uk/wildlife/species/index.php?species=European%20Robin |archive-date=7 March 2016 }}</ref>
}}

An alternative legend has it that its breast was scorched fetching water for souls in Purgatory.<ref name=deVries76/> The association with Christmas more probably arises from the fact that postmen in [[Queen Victoria|Victorian]] Britain wore red jackets and were nicknamed "Robins"; the robin featured on the Christmas card is an emblem of the postman delivering the card.<ref>
{{cite web |title=Robin |website=[[BBC]] |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/reallywild/amazing/robin.shtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021229131702/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/reallywild/amazing/robin.shtml |archive-date=29 December 2002}}</ref>

In the 1960s, in a vote publicised by ''[[The Times]]'', the robin was adopted as the unofficial national bird of the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=European robin |website=[[BBC]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/European_Robin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101027141358/http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/species/European_Robin |archive-date=2010-10-27 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2015, the robin was again voted Britain's national bird in a poll organised by birdwatcher David Lindo, taking 34% of the final vote.<ref>
{{cite news
 |title=Robin wins vote for UK's national bird
 |date=10 June 2015
 |newspaper=[[The Guardian]]
 |location=London, UK
 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jun/10/robin-wins-vote-uk-national-bird-britain
 |access-date=13 June 2016
}}
</ref>

Several English and Welsh sports organisations are nicknamed "the Robins". The nickname is typically used for teams whose home colours predominantly use red. These include the professional football clubs [[Bristol City F.C.|Bristol City]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Robin sees City soar into new era |website=[[Bristol City F.C.]] |url=https://www.bcfc.co.uk/news/robin-sees-city-soar-into-new-era/ |access-date=2025-03-22}}</ref> [[Crewe Alexandra]], [[Swindon Town]], [[Cheltenham Town]] and, traditionally, [[Wrexham A.F.C.]], as well as the English rugby league team the [[Hull Kingston Rovers]] (whose home colours are white with a red band).<ref>
{{cite web
 |title=History
 |website=Hull Kingston Rovers
 |type=official website
 |publisher=[[Hull Kingston Rovers RLFC]]
 |url=http://hullkr.co.uk/history
 |access-date=22 February 2012 |url-status=dead
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127212257/http://hullkr.co.uk/history
 |archive-date=27 January 2012
}}
</ref> As of 2019, Bristol City, Swindon Town and Cheltenham Town also incorporate a robin image in their current badge designs.{{cn|date=March 2024}} A small bird is an unusual choice, although it is thought to symbolise agility in darting around the field.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last=Morris |first=Desmond |author-link=Desmond Morris
 |year=1981
 |title=The Soccer Tribe
 |publisher=Jonathan Cape
 |location=London, UK
 |isbn=978-0-224-01935-4
 |page=[https://archive.org/details/soccertribe0000morr/page/210 210]
 |url=https://archive.org/details/soccertribe0000morr/page/210
}}
</ref>
{{clear}}