Culture and folklore
As an integral part of human culture and civilization, shoes have found their way into our culture, folklore, and art. In a popular 18th century children's tale, there was an old woman who lived in a shoe. This story tells of an old woman who lives in a shoe with many children. In 1948, Mahlon Haines, a shoe salesman in Hallam, Pennsylvania, built a real-life house in the shape of a work boot as a form of advertising. The Haines Shoe House was rented to newlyweds and seniors until his death in 1962. Since then, it has operated as an ice cream parlor, a bed and breakfast, and a museum. It still stands today and is a popular roadside attraction. Collecting sneakers has also existed as part of urban subculture in the United States for several decades. In recent decades, this trend has spread to European nations such as the Czech Republic. A sneakerhead is a person who owns many pairs of shoes as a form of collection and fashion. One factor contributing to the growth of sneaker collecting is the continued global popularity of the Air Jordan line of sneakers designed by Nike for basketball star Michael Jordan. In the Old Testament of the Bible, the shoe is used to symbolize something that is worthless or of little value. In the New Testament, the act of removing shoes symbolizes slavery. Ancient Semitic peoples considered the act of removing their shoes as a sign of reverence when approaching a sacred person or place. In the Book of Exodus, Moses was instructed to remove his shoes before approaching the burning bush. Removing one's shoe also symbolizes the act of renouncing a legal right. In Jewish custom, if a man chose not to marry his childless brother's widow, the widow would remove her brother-in-law's shoe to symbolize that he had abandoned his duty. In Arab custom, removing one's shoe also symbolized the dissolution of the marriage. In Arab culture, showing the sole of one's shoe is considered an insult, and throwing one's shoe and striking someone with it is considered an even greater insult. Shoes are considered dirty because they often touch the ground and are associated with the lowest part of the body - the foot. Therefore, shoes are prohibited in mosques, and it is also considered inappropriate to cross one's legs and show the soles of one's shoes during conversation. This insult was demonstrated in Iraq, when the statue of Saddam Hussein was torn down in 2003 and Iraqis gathered around it and beat the statue with their shoes. In 2008, a journalist threw a shoe at United States President George W. Bush as a statement against the war in Iraq. Empty shoes can also symbolize death. In Greek culture, empty shoes are the equivalent of the American funeral wreath. For example, empty shoes placed outside a Greek house would tell others that the son of the family had died in battle. In a *statement* on the 10th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, 3,000 pairs of empty shoes were used to identify the dead. The Shoes on the Danube Bank is a monument in Budapest, Hungary. Designed by director Can Togay, he created it on the east bank of the Danube River with sculptor Gyula Pauer to commemorate the Jews killed by fascist Arrow Cross militiamen in Budapest during World War II. They were ordered to take off their shoes and were shot at the water's edge, causing their bodies to fall into the river and be swept away. The monument represents their shoes, which they left behind on the bank. If you love shoes, if you are a professional dancer, if you are preparing for the Isaiah dance, or you simply want comfort and elegance on your feet, come join us. Follow me on instagram or like my page on facebook .