New for 2015 - The Girl with the Cherry Blossom
Wendt and Kühn has given us a delightful new Flower Child (Blossom Kinder) just in time for the 2015 Cherry Blossom Festivals. The Girl with the Cherry Blossom provides a breath of fresh spring air, standing proud, holding her flower.
Add her to your Easter or spring celebrations as a part of your tablescapes, include her in your Wendt and Kühn Flower Parade, or enjoy her alone as the wonderful piece of folk art that she is.
The National Cherry Blossom Festival, an annual commemoration of the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from the people of Japan, celebrates not only the enduring relationship between the United States and Japan, but also the coming of spring. This year, the festival, on the banks of the Tidal Basin in Washiongton, D.C., is from March 20th to April 12th. In fact, in honor of Japan's gift, the Prunus serrulata, or Japanese Cherry, is commonly celebrated in spring cherry blossom festivals and displays around the country.
Wendt and Kühn's Girl with the Cherry Blossom is even more special as she is the new Flower Child introduced in the year of Wendt and Kuhn's 100th anniversary.
Enjoy our Wendt and Kuhn Pinterest Board.
Wendt and Kühn's Winter Kinder / Winter Children - Now Available and Perfect for a Winter Celebration
The Girl with Sleigh and Boy with Tree were first created by Olly Wendt over 40 years ago based on Olly's twins Hans and Sigrid. She crafted them as a special, personal gift for family and friends.
Now, for the first time they are available to collectors.
The Winter Girl and Boy - the Winter Kinder - include a bit of Erzgebirge history: "The Winter Kinder are setting out to spread a touch of wintery spirit among a large audience. Bundled up in their warm clothes and furnished with holiday accessories, these figurines will definitely make unusual accent pieces." On the Girl's sled, "Next to the star, bread and wine sits a splinter box. In the past the people of the Erzgebirge mountains used such boxes to store small items of value." - Wendt and Kühn
The boy walks alongside carrying a wonderful Christmas tree!
Simply said, they belong together, and just as they brought joy to Olly Wendt's friends, they offer a special remembrance of the history of Wendt and Kühn and the "warmth" of winter for all of us who rejoice in the art of Wendt and Kühn.
In 2015 Wendt and Kühn will be visiting Boston as a part of the Handmade in Germany World Tour. Being in Maine, not far away, we are truly looking forward to attending. Hope you will too!
Enjoy our Wendt and Kühn Pinterest Board here.
New Year's Eve Traditions in Germany - Saint Silvester
In Germany - New Year's Eve is called Silvester (Sylvester). December 31st is the Saint's day of Pope Silvester, who died on 31 December 335.
Fireworks are all about the pure joy of the display - they are a must, and are seated in a pre-medieval belief that noise will ward off evil spirits. The churches chime in ringing their bells around midnight.
Customs vary across Germany, but as reported by Germany Insider Facts, New Year's Eve traditions often include old superstitions, which have been passed on for centuries.
Some quaint do's and don'ts for New Years Eve include:
"Don't have washing on the clothesline! This is an ancient superstition. It should prevent that Odin (Wotan), the chief god in North Germanic tradition, gets caught in the clotheslines when he wanders around at night. My mum used to say "when you have washing on the line, someone in the family passes away". You can be sure I follow that rule!
For a wealthy New Year eat Sauerkraut, or Lentil soup and you won't run out of money in the new year. The lentils represent pennies, but I don't know why Sauerkraut. However, eating the latter is a must in Hessen. Another traditional meal is carp, and you carry a scale of the carp in your purse.
Bleigießen, literally translated lead-pouring, is another old custom. You melt small pieces of lead in a spoon over a candle, pour the liquid lead into a bowl with cold water. The resulting shapes are fairly bizarre. Use your imagination to determine what the figures look like. A fun way of fortune-telling."
Whatever your traditions, My Growing Traditions wishes you the Happiest of New Years!
The Inge-Glas Olde German Treasures - Silver Collection - Truly Special
We all celebrate that Inge-Glas of Germany is the oldest Christmas ornament company in the world (since 1596). They hold more than 12,000 antique moulds passed down through the generations and reintroduce ornaments made from antique moulds each year. For collectors and those of us who simply appreciate the handing down of traditions, we enjoy knowing which of Inge-Glas' current offerings are made from the moulds that represent the history of glass Christmas ornaments.
Above: Noble Nikolaus, Love Forever, and Silver Pine Cone
The Olde German Treasures - Silver Collection is built around Inge-Glas' heirloom moulds.
Left to right: Vintage Silver Star, Silver Fantasy, and Vintage Acorn
The collection honors the German tradition of the early 1900s when it was stylish to decorate Christmas trees with glass ornaments using only the colors silver and white. This, during the Victorian era is considered to have been one of the first concepts of a themed tree - doing away with all color and creating a simpler all-silver or all-white tree. There were stories about people washing their ornaments so that they were either white or just silver. The Olde German Treasures are created with Inge-Glas' antique, lovingly restored, old glass-blowing moulds. They are mouth-blown and use pure sterling silver to highlight the delicate, hand decorated filigree patterns. Each ornament has an 'Olde German Treasures' hang tag.
They add a stunning reflection of light on your Christmas tree - elegant, simple, and of the utmost tradition.
Click on the images or links above to find these Silver Collection ornaments in our shop.
Enjoy our Inge-Glas Pinterest Board!
December 13th is the Day of Santa Lucia - The Bearer of Light
This year we were pleased to discover the official Swedish Government internet page which explores everything Swedish, including Swedish traditions and a fun and informative page on Santa Lucia - the bearer of light - a celebration that occurs each year on the 13th of December. The Swedish website
includes an extensive history of how the Santa Lucia tradition came to be, and how Santa Lucia's Day is celebrated in modern Sweden: "Alongside Midsummer, the Lucia celebrations represent one of the foremost cultural traditions in Sweden, with their clear reference to life in the peasant communities of old: darkness and light, cold and warmth.
Lucia is an ancient mythical figure with an abiding role as a bearer of light in the dark Swedish winters. The many Lucia songs all have the same theme:
around yards and dwellings
In places unreached by sun,
the shadows brood
Into our dark house she comes,
bearing lighted candles,
Saint Lucia, Saint Lucia
Santa Lucia's Day is celebrated throughout Europe, but, of course especially in the Scandinavia countries. Inge-Glas of Germany memorializes her in their lovely mouth-blown Christmas ornament
Continuing the Scandinavian theme, this year we once again carry Swedish Angel Chimes and for the first time offer Nils Olsson's Dala Horses.
You may also enjoy our Pinterest board on Scandinavia.
Elegant Wendt and Kühn Ornaments for Your Christmas Tree
Then, in 1987 we discovered our first Suspended Angels and Angels in a Ring in Germany.
