The Art of Romance by Robert W Tinsley

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...

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 ...

 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...