Of Supermoons and Lovespoons...

By the light of the silvery moon,

I want to spoon, to my honey I'll croon love's tune,

Honeymoon keep a-shining in June,

Your silvery beams will bring love dreams, 
we'll be cuddling soon,

By the silvery moon.

With all the excitement building for the first "Supermoon Lunar Eclipse" to occur in over thirty years--coming to a place near you on September 27th-- this old song popped into my head. 

My mom still sings this song on occasion, but I heard her sing it most often in my childhood. I got to wondering then about “spooning,” which, in my mother’s generation meant showing love and affection by kissing... a lot... and most often in a car parked high on a hill while gazing at the sparkle of city lights below or taking in the glimmering luster from the stars and moon overhead. Most especially a full moon, harvest moon, blue moon and maybe even a supermoon!

Did you know there's even a black moon, which is sort of important in my fantasy romance, Bound by Oath and Honour...

Anyway, as everyone knows, spooning is also lying down, cuddling close to another while facing the same direction. But we can also add the intricately carved, wooden “lovespoon” to the mix. This delightfully romantic Welsh tradition (and we have been talking about Wales here of late), wherein a suitor would present the spoon to his woman of choice, dates at least to the middle of the seventeenth century. However, most believe its origins date far earlier than that.

A man spent countless hours carving his spoon. For not only did he want his lady love to know of his deep, abiding affection and romantic intention; he wanted her father to know he could well provide for his family. These original, antique spoons are beautiful and quite unique. And—I like to think that our ancient swains chose their symbols with great care.

He might have carved a heart to signify his love and affection. Perhaps a horseshoe for luck. He could carve flowers to denote gentleness and beauty. Crosses for faith, locks for security. If he carved a diamond, it meant he wanted fortune to smile down upon them. Bells signified marriage...and he might include caged balls, with each ball symbolizing a desired child. Leaves or a winding length of ivy denoted the hope of a long and fruitful life. Doves and lovebirds were signs of peace, while he carved a dragon as a symbol of his strength. If we find an anchor, a sailor might’ve carved the spoon.

A beautiful tradition indeed and I imagine it warmed the heart and soul of the woman who received one. No wonder she hung it proudly on her wall and cherished it all the days of her life...

 And what about that “honeymoon” following the wedding ceremony?

I discovered the term “honeymoon” alluded to ancient times when warriors abducted their brides from other villages or tribes. The angry kinsmen of the reluctant (and maybe at times not so reluctant), kidnapped bride would make all haste to her rescue. This necessitated the need for the warrior groom to secrete his bride from those who didn’t appreciate his theft.  He would keep her at this undisclosed location while the moon passed through all its phases and all the while, they would snuggle up close and drink metheglin, a brew made from...honey.

A month long honeymoon in the arms of her warrior?  I don't hear our bride complaining...do you??