British antique silver christening gifts
Posted by WATANABETAIGA
What is a Christmas gift?
``Christoning'' is the ritual of baptism that is performed for converting to Christianity.
The method of baptism differs depending on the country and Christian denomination, but in England at the time it was common for children to be baptized at a church within one year of their birth if their parents were Christians.
I think it would be similar to the ``first festival'' in Japan.
A christening gift is an item that is given to a baptized baby to wish him health and success throughout his life.
Christmas gifts are sometimes made of pewter or silver plate, but wealthy families chose sterling silver.
In England, it is customary to use a spoon for the first meal during a baptismal ceremony, and the proverb ``born with a silver spoon in its mouth'' refers to a child born into a wealthy family.
Characteristics of Christmas gifts
Many Christmas gifts are silver colored.
Since ancient times in Europe, silver has had value as currency, so there was a custom of giving silver coins to children as a symbol of their future economic stability.
It is also said that the name comes from parents encouraging their children to suck on silver spoons during the plague epidemic in medieval Europe, as silver has antibacterial properties.
It seems that during the Tudor Dynasty (1485-1603) in England, the custom of giving a silver spoon with an engraved figure of an apostle called the ``Apostle Spoon'' became widespread.
In the late Victorian era of the 19th century, the idea of christening gifts developed and began to include not only spoons but also cutlery sets, mugs, napkin rings, and many other types of gifts.
Christening gifts are personal gifts, so they are often engraved with the sender's and child's initials, as well as christening and birthday dates.
Another feature is that many items come in luxurious cases.
Types of Christmas gifts
1. silverware
As expected, the most common items are tableware, including silver spoons.
In addition to spoons, there are also knife and fork sets, bowls, plates, napkin rings, egg cups, etc.
2. cup
It's a small mug with a handle called a christening cup.
There are many beautiful sterling silver cups with luxurious and detailed decorations.
3. others
Rattles and silver coins are also traditional Christmas gifts.
Relatively new items include photo frames and music boxes.
summary
A Christmas gift is a gift that will last a lifetime.
Antiques given to children from wealthy families in particular are richly decorated, and there are many particularly beautiful silver antiques.
The size of cutlery and cups is often a little smaller than dinner cutlery and cups for adults, and most of them are just the right size for Japanese people with small hands.
Many regular cutlery sets have six or more sets, so if you're looking for your own special cutlery, you might want to look for cleaning cutlery.
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