[struwwelpeter]

Yep, that's the Slavic mother. Inside every Russian woman, there's a mother. Inside Russian mothers there are two or three - that must be where the matroshka dolls come from.

You'd probably really be insulted by this.

[MarMema]

LOL, no I have this movie. Let's see, it is called A Triumph of Faith, have you seen it? A documentary of the Orthodox pilgrimage from um, some town to a river.

Anyway in the movie the Russian Baba's crawl three times around a stump or something and have a few other superstitious behaviors. In Russia, especially in rural Russia, much has been added to the faith by these women. :-)

ah, here it is.

I let our priest borrow it once. He was most stern in returning it to me. They do some odd things, but none of it is seriously considered to be "mysticism", FYI. Not even by them.

[MarMema]

Inside every Russian woman, there's a mother.

The best nurturing I have ever rec'd as an adult, however. All bad days can be soothed away by one day with a baba. And they always, always helped me with the kids at church when I was overwhelmed.