So many of you have either tagged or sent me an article about “telling the bees”, so I'm going to tell you all about “telling the bees”. Beekeeping is a fascinating subject and for those of you that read my posts will know beekeeping has been around for a very long time, dating back to ancient Egypt. When things have been around for so long they tend to come with a whole heap of folklore, some folklore is still followed to this day and that is exactly the case for “telling the bees”. 100s of years ago honeybees were viewed as a part of the family, they were special to their families and were often highly praised. Honeybees throughout history have been looked at as very spiritual creatures, connecting with your soul, they are also referred to as the messengers between worlds, so when a significant situation occurs such as a death or birth you tell the messengers. Traditionally the hive would be knocked on by the keeper of the bees and he would then tell them the news, if it was a death for the mourning period the hive would be covered in a piece of black material. The hive would then be moved either to a new place in the garden or turned to face the house, this was to show the bees there had been a change, some folklore suggests that beekeepers would sing the news instead of talking. It's a common misconception that “telling the bees” is just about telling them when someone has passed, the tradition is actually for any significant event in your life. It's still quite a common practice for beekeepers of today, “telling the bees” is something I have done since I first got my bees, one for the tradition but honestly more than anything sometimes it's just really nice talking without a reply and saying things out loud is good for the soul.
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