Himmelsbrief

English thumb Etymology en de Himmelsbrief, probably via en pdc -. Noun + Himmelsbriefe en Christianity historical uncommon A type of early chain letter alleged to have been written by God (and fallen from the sky), typically offering divine protection to its bearer. en w:Edwyn Bevan Sibyls and Seers 1928 George Allen & Unwin Ltd. 111 https://archive.org/details/sibylsseers0000unse/page/111/mode/1up The idea of the Himmelsbrief, the letter from heaven, cannot have been one of the most primitive religious ideas of men, because it presupposes a community in which writing is already familiar. en 1947 Wayland D. Hand Correspondence New York Folklore Quarterly Ithaca, New York Louis C. Jones New York Folkore Society; Cornell University Press 3 2 165 https://archive.org/details/sim_new-york-folklore-quarterly_summer-1947_3_2/page/165 Internet Archive Himmelsbriefe, as such letters are called in German folklore, have been recovered in manuscript from as early as the eleventh century, and in printed form from as early as 1500. en Tom Ogden Wizards and Sorcerers: From Abracadabra to Zoroaster 1997 New York, NY Facts on File 101 https://archive.org/details/wizardssorcerers0000ogde/page/101/mode/1up 978-0-8160-3151-1 All of the Himmelsbriefs contain biblical commandments and teachings, pointing the way to righteousness. en Kaitlyn Tiffany The Divine Origins of the Horny Chain Text https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/01/history-emoji-chain-texts/605272/ The Atlantic 24 January 2020 on The first chain letters, in VanArsdale’s analysis, were what folklorists sometimes call “heavenly letters,” or, more commonly, Himmelsbrief, a German term. https://web.archive.org/web/20260303183745/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/01/history-emoji-chain-texts/605272/ 3 March 2026 en Before Chain Letters Swept the Internet, They Raised Funds for Orphans and Sent Messages From God Meilan Solly July 2, 2020 on https://web.archive.org/web/20200705043714/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/chain-letters-swept-internet-they-raised-funds-orphans-and-conveyed-messages-god-180975005/ Smithsonian Magazine European immigrants eventually brought the letters, known in German as Himmelsbriefs, to the United States, where superstitious soldiers donned them as protective charms in battle and families framed them in hopes of protecting property from fire, flood and other disasters, reported folklorist Don Yoder for Fine Books & Collections in 2009. en November 2024 Owen Davies Trauma, Religion and Spirituality in Germany During the First World War, by Jason Crouthamel. London: Bloomsbury, 2021, 258 pp. + illustrations, ISBN 9781350270480. 10.1080/19475020.2024.2444086 First World War Studies 1947-5020 15 3 389 Taylor & Francis Chapter 6 explores the range of unorthodox beliefs and practices, that some historians have called ‘diffuse religion’ or ‘folk religion’, and which Crouthamel describes as ‘Aberglaube’. [...] These included an array of ideas and practices that drew upon religious objects and texts, such as the carrying of ‘Himmelsbriefe’ [Heaven Letters], which provoked clerical criticism. Further reading 1 en Folklore German Etymology From de Himmel -s- Brief heavenly letter. Pronunciation de /ˈhɪml̩sˌbʁiːf/ de De-Himmelsbrief.ogg <<Germany>> (<<Berlin>>) Noun m,(e)s de Christianity historical en Himmelsbrief de Zeitschrift für Religionspsychologie Religiöse Vebrecher Albert Hellwig 1909 Halle Carl Marhold 397 2 11 https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_OAIsAAAAYAAJ/page/n408/mode/1up Ein religiöser Verbrechertalisman, der besondere Behandlung verdient, ist der sogenannte „Himmelsbrief“, d. h. ein in ein religiöses Gewand gekleidetes, angeblich vom Himmel gefallenes Schriftstück, in welchem demjenigen, der es gläubig bei sich trägt, Schutz vor Feinden, vor Gewittern und sonstigem Unglück in sichere Aussicht gestellt werden. Derartige Himmelsbriefe, für die sich schon im Altertum, bei den Juden, sowie im christlichen Mittelalter Analogien aufweisen lassen, sind noch heutigentags in allen Teilen Deutschlands weit verbreitet. Declension m,(e)s Further reading de de Folklore