Carved wooden spoon, symbol of love

Valentine's Day is not the only holiday that celebrates love. There are plenty of other similar holidays around the world. The first one I can think of is, of course, Dragobetele on February 24, an ancient Romanian holiday, long forgotten. But it's not Dragobete that I want to talk about today, but St. Dwynwen's Day, the Welsh celebration of love. The motif is the carved wooden spoon, the traditional gift that young lovers, but not only young lovers, make on this day.

Somewhere between history and legend, Dwynwen (Dwyn or Donwen) is said to have lived in the 5th century, the daughter of a king. She fell in love with a young prince, Maelon (or Maeron), but could not marry him. So she asked God to help her forget him. God gave her a potion that turned Maelor to ice. This saddened her even more and so she asked God to free Maelon and to let her protect the true love of those in love.

St. Dwynwen's Day is celebrated in Wales on January 25. As I was saying, the traditional gift on this day is a spoon carved from a single piece of wood, usually oak or pine, beautifully decorated with symbols of love, but also with dragons, the symbol of Wales. It is customary for couples to give each other such a spoon.

In the past, the spoon was given only by the boy to the girl he loved and was worked by the boy himself. If the girl accepted the spoon it meant that she accepted his love and she showed this by hanging the spoon in plain sight on the wall. The oldest spoons, dating from the 17th century, are in the Welsh Folk Museum in St. Fagans, Cardiff.

Spoons are true works of art, with a lot of hard work and passion included. The more elaborate they are, the better they convey feelings. The carved symbols are not random, they have clear meanings. Here are some of the meanings of traditional symbols:

• heart - my heart is yours
• cross - faith and marriage
• wheel - I will work hard for you
• key and lock - our home or your love is safe
• wooden balls - the number of children you want
• bell - marriage
• flowers and leaves - growing together

These spoons symbolize not only love but also home, the desire to build a life together, devotion and the desire for protection and support. It is a symbol that we also find in other Nordic peoples. For example, the traditional gift at Norwegian weddings was a set of wooden spoons.

Celebrating love and friendship is always a cause for joy. And the gifts given on this occasion should not be big and expensive, but as symbolic as possible and, if possible, personally made, charged with our positive energy. That's why I liked this tradition so much. I can imagine such a young man working for days on end to make the most beautiful spoon for his chosen one. A contemporary version of that young man you can see here.