Pass on That Handkerchief Please!

Brides in Belgium prayed for continuity of marriage within the family. This tradition consisted in an engaged bride embroidering her name onto a handkerchief. She would carry this handkerchief to her wedding ceremony. After the church ceremony and other festivities she and her husband would settle into married life.

She would have the handkerchief framed. It would later be displayed in a prominent place in the family home such as above the fire place or on the mantle piece.

When the time came for her daughter to get married, the handkerchief would be dismounted from the wall. Her daughters name would be embroidered on and the tradition would continue into the next generation.

The symbolism behind this tradition is the hope that each daughter would find a suitable husband and marriage would be a part of the family.