You might want to reconsider doing the "atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down" with your child because it literally means fall dead. Here's why, one interpretation suggests that this rhyme may be about the 1665 Great Plague of London: the "rosie" being the malodorous rash that developed on the skin of bubonic plague sufferers, the stench of which then needed concealing with a "pocket full of posies". The Bubonic plague killed 15 per cent of Britain's population, hence "atishoo, atishoo, we all fall down (dead)."
YOU ARE READING
Nursery rhymes and their dark side
PoetryUnknowingly when we sing these nursery rhymes we engage our children with centuries-old tradition that seems harmless. Courtesy of The express Tribune
