National Paul Bunyan Day

#nationalpaulbunyanday

Paul Bunyan, who is described as a giant and a lumberjack of rare ability, is one of North America's most popular folklore heroes. Paul Bunyan was almost always accompanied by his companion, Babe the Blue Ox, in the stories.

Was he real?

Bunyan's character appeared in folktales circulated among lumberjacks in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada, first appearing in print in 1906 in a story published by Northern Michigan journalist James MacGillivray. According to one account, the tales began during the 1837 Papineau Rebellion. William Laughhead reworked the stories for a logging company's marketing campaign in 1914. Paul Bunyan's burgeoning legendary person gave the campaign a new lease on life. It was the 1922 edition of Laughead's stories that inspired many others and then the character's plaid shirt and far-fetched characteristics spread throughout the United States and Canada.

The folklore

Although folklore surrounds the lumberjack, Paul Bunyan is one of the few characters with an origin story. According to One Paul Bunyan's legend, it took five storks to carry him as a newborn. Windows shook and shattered as he got older, as he grew older, as he clapped his hands and yelled, he screamed his hands and yelled, as he grew older. When he was only seven months old, he sawed off the legs of his parents' bed in the middle of the night. Bunyan is also blamed for the Grand Canyon's construction as he and Babe the Blue Ox walked through, carrying his ax behind him. Bunyan is believed to have created the Great Lakes so Babe had a watering hole, according to another legend.

How to celebrate national paul bunyan day

Read one or two of Paul Bunyan's stories. As you find the various statues dedicated to this folklore hero, please share your adventures. To post on social media, use the hashtag #NationalPaulBunyanDay.

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