Weddings
These artifacts have something to do with weddings. A wedding is a joyous life cycle event.
Serving Spoon
Russia
My parents
My artifact is a serving spoon or ladle. It is silver and has a flower design on it. On the back it has my great-grandma\'s and great-grandpa\'s names engraved into it in Russian. On the front tip of the handle, it has ST in Russian representing their names, Simon and Sofia T. The spoon is scratched and worn in places.
My artifact, the silver spoon, goes back almost 100 years. In the 1920s, my great-grandma Sofia and my great-grandpa Simon got it as a gift on their wedding day. In Russia, they had their Jewish wedding, which was hard because Jewish study was not allowed. They appreciated the gift. Then, my mother got it as a gift for her wedding. We do not really use the spoon now. It is in a glass cabinet in our living room. It reminds us of our great-grandparents. One day hopefully, I will get it when I get married.
Book of Blessings
USA
My father
My artifact is a book of Prayers, Blessings and Hymns. It was made to be given as a favor at a wedding reception. It is bound in white leather and opens on the left side. It has colorful pieces of wax on it.
This book of prayers and blessings means a lot to my family. It came from my grandfather, who got it when he was in Hebrew school. He is not alive now. He died November 1, 2010. He would use this book a lot when he lived with his family in New York. He was very religious so this prayerbook meant a lot to him. Each year, my family and I recite blessings from this book on each night of Chanukah. That\'s why there are colorful pieces of wax on the cover. It dripped from the burning candles. I can not imagine not using this on Chanukah!
Bridal Bible
Unknown
My mother
My artifact is a Bridal Bible. It is shaped like an average bible - it is still rectangular, but it is much smaller. It has an ivory colored cover with the words Bridal Bible in gold. The bible stories inside are written in English.
This Bridal Bible has been passed on for 67 years. It was owned and used by my great-grandmother, my Nana, my great-aunt, and my mother at their weddings. They each held it while getting married. Biblical stories are written throughout it, but were never read during the wedding. The Bible was tied to a bouquet of flowers, and the Rabbi would bless it because they thought it was good luck.
There is a special story behind this Bible. My great-grandma was the first to use it at her wedding. After the wedding, her husband went to fight for the Americans in World War II. She slept with her special Bible until he came home. Since it was so important to her, she wanted her daughter to use it, and so on. This Bridal Bible made people feel happy from memories just by looking at the book. Maybe if I am lucky enough, this special artifact will be at my wedding, too!