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Nattefrieri 02

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Nattefrieri 02 As I mentioned before, the nattefrieri or night proposal went through several stages. During the earliest stage the boys would travel in groups and visit several girls in one evening.  As things developed, a boy would visit only one girl on a Saturday evening. Small gifts were exchanged. A young lady accepting a gift was an important step in the right direction. If, when he visited the next week, his gift was easily visible or being used, he could be sure that she liked him as well. The gifts were decorated, often with hearts. Quoting from the article, "Den historiske sjekkeboka," by Mona Beate Vattekar, "among these gifts, the spoon, often called the suitor's spoon, was among the first and most important attentions bestowed."  So spoons weren't only given on the wedding day, or days (can you imagine dealing with 30 to 50 guests for three days??), the entire courtship from festegava to kærestegava to frierigava seemed to be littere...
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Nattefrieri 01

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Who's heard of that? The Night Proposal, a Norwegian courting custom that, according to an article by Mona Beate Vattekar published by the Telemark Museum, stretched from recent antiquity back to the Middle Ages or even beyond.  In "The Olden Times" contact between the genders was highly restricted. At social gatherings the males, of all ages, stayed on one side of the room and the females stayed on the other. About the only way for boys and girls to get to know one another was the Nattefreieri, which only occurred on Saturday evening.  The boy would ask permission to visit the girl. This visit would occur with the two in bed fully clothed. Often the girl's sisters or friends would be present, depending on the stage of the relationship, which apparently ran through "feste" (party), "kjæreste" (girlfriend or suitor), and "frieri" (engagement)" accompanied by appropriate gifts prominent among which are spoons. To prevent th...
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Atypical Norwegian Wedding Spoons

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An interesting variation of a Norwegian Wedding Spoon from the Norsk Folkemuseum collection. The two spoons are not the same and are much less ornate than the ones I've been carving. The large spoon has 1909 inscribed on the handle. The chain is an order of magnitude more difficult than what we normally see. The loops are circular and much larger than the link body. That's difficult! One other interesting little detail about the chain. On every wedding spoon chain I can remember seeing the loops on each end of an individual link are perpendicular to each other. The same as this one. With one exception. The second link on the bottom in the first picture has the loops in line. Why? Did he have a lapse of attention and make a mistake? Is it a repair by a later carver who just couldn't be bothered to do it right? Did he do it to make the link on the other end of the chain have the proper orientation? Or is there some other meaning? I guess we'll never know. EDIT: I guess I...
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Swedish Engagement Spoon

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This is an engagement (fästegåva) spoon from the Upplandsmuseet collection. This has a lot more information than I typically see attached to a spoon. Engagement spoons were more finely carved than either "feeling" (känning) or "proposal" (frieri) spoons, thus signifying a higher degree of commitment. "The spoon was an engagement gift. The links attached to the shaft were called fidelity knots and the balls in the shaft would mean how many children one would have. The young girls in Älvkarleö were given such spoons for their future. The spoons were made by an old man. The donor's mother's aunt, married to the priest Jonas Offrell, Old Uppsala, had a daughter from whom the donor received the spoon. Gift in 1929 from Wivan Röding, Uppsala IDENTIFIER UM02509 PART OF COLLECTION Upplandsmuseets samlingar OWNER OF COLLECTION Upplandsmuseet" I knew about the symbolism of the balls, but calling the chain links fidelity knots is new to me. All in all, a very...
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Type 5 Joke Wedding Spoons

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In my previous post about wedding spoons I mentioned what I call a Type 5 spoon, a joke wedding spoon. This type of spoon was particularly prevalent in Sweden and in Norwegian provinces that border Sweden (keep in mind that Sweden was part of Norway until 1905) where it was presented to the newlyweds as a wedding amusement. It is characterized by upsidedown bowls, multiple bowls at odd angles, one bowl facing up and the other facing down, and unusual angles for the handles.  These spoons were deliberately designed to be difficult or impossible to use. The new couple were encouraged to use them to feed each other during the wedding feast. This usually resulted in much laughter, at least among the guests, as food went everywhere except into the mouths of the bride and groom. The liberal application of alcoholic beverages contributed greatly to the festivities. To the best of my knowledge, these spoons were most popular in the latter half of the 19th Century. The earliest ...
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Norwegian Wedding Spoon Types

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 Norwegian Wedding Spoons, not all the same! A traditional Norwegian Wedding Spoon is used by the new couple to feed each other during the wedding feast to symbolize their commitment to care for each other. There are several types of wedding spoon. For simplicity of identification I have classified them into 6 types. Keep in mind that these types are not official, just my private means of identification. The photos of each type are at the end of the post. A Type 1 is the most recognizable type of Norwegian Wedding Spoon. It consists of two identical spoons connected by a wooden chain. The chain symbolizes the new bond between the bride and groom. I think! I don't believe that there is an actual universally accepted interpretation. Some people believe that the chain and both spoons are carved from a single, undivided piece of wood. As a carver I can attest to the fact that this would be a very, very difficult task due to the effort involved in keeping a piece of wood approximately 2...
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