Hello, my name is Liudmila. I was born in Lithuania, have family roots in Russia, but now I live in Norway:) I can't tell anything astonishing about myself... I'm not registered in the Guinness Book of Records, haven't invented the bicycle and wasn't elected as a president :D I'm an ordirary person with simple hobbies - love travelling, reading books, meeting my friends, I just love life as it is, with all advantages and disadvantages. I just have an interesting hobby - I collect bookmarks :) I'm a passionate bookmark collector and hope to find more collectors, exchange bookmarks with them, show my collection to others and have a look at other collections :) You can contact me, if you're interested in bookmark exchange :) Hope to find friends from all over the world :)

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Welsh Lovespoons




A Lovespoon is a wooden spoon decoratively carved that was traditionally presented as a gift of romantic intent. The spoon is normally decorated with symbols of love, and was intended to reflect the skill of the carver. Due to the intricate designs, lovespoons are no longer used as functioning spoons and are now decorative craft items.
The lovespoon was given to a young woman by her suitor. It was important for the girl's father to see that the young man was capable of providing for the family and woodworking.
Sailors would often carve lovespoons during their long journeys, which is why anchors would often be incorporated into the carvings.
Certain symbols came to have specific meanings: a horseshoe for luck, a cross for faith, bells for marriage, hearts for love, a wheel supporting a loved one and a lock for security, among others. Caged balls indicated the number of children hoped for. Other difficult carvings, such as chains, were as much a demonstration of the carver's skill as a symbolic meaning.
Although the Welsh lovespoon is the most famous there are also traditions of lovespoons in Scandinavia and some parts of Eastern Europe, which have their own unique styles and techniques.
Today lovespoons are given as wedding and anniversary gifts, as well as birthday, baby gifts, Christmas or Valentine's Day gifts. They are now mostly seen as a folk craft.

Thank you very much for this wonderful gift,Rick :)
By the way, on the appearance of a bookmark, it is seen that it is already quite old... I very like it  :)

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