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Thursday 19 November 2009

Good Luck Charm...

I've noticed the current trend for the wearing of charm bracelets amongst my peers. Particularly these ones, for some reason - Pandora. Pandora charm bracelet Pictures, Images and Photos

We append brightly coloured tokens of love to our persons, we hang on to our precious symbols of memory and wonder - 'Souvenirs' - From the French:

Souvenir
Sou`ve·nir noun [ French, from souvenir to remember, from Latin subvenire to come up, come to mind; sub under + venire to come, akin to English come. That which serves as a reminder; a remembrancer; a memento; a keepsake.

Souvenir
A `souvenir` (from French, for `memory`), `memento` or `keepsake` is an object a traveller brings home for the memories associated with it. Souvenirs include clothing such as T-shirts or hats, and household items such as tea-towels, mugs and bowls, egg-timers, spoons and notepads. They may be marked to indicate their origin: `A Souvenir from Clacton-on-Sea`.

Souvenir
• (n.) That which serves as a reminder; a remembrancer; a memento; a keepsake.

A 'remembrancer'? I think they made that one up!

Anyhoo, 'the demand for charms or amulets existed in ancient society, and dates back to 500BC. The charms were made of natural gems or quartz - and they were often adorned with carved designs of animals or gods. The amulets were believed to have supernatural powers, protecting the wearer from harm, or helping to bring luck and love. In the late 1800's Queen Victoria chose to wear a charm bracelet with photos of family members in little lockets. Soldiers that traveled during WWII would bring little gifts and trinkets home to their loved ones. These were worn on charm bracelets. This trend remained popular into the 1970's. It was a mark of society to give a young girl a charm bracelet before she reached age 13, considered a way to bring luck to the recipient. Each special event, anniversary, birthday or holiday a new charm was given as a gift, usually by the person that gave the girl the original bracelet. They also became a great memento to mark trips and important travels. The charms represented the girl's hobbies and special interests'.

Today charm bracelets...are living history lessons. Each charm tells a story. And they make wonderful, romantic, sentimental gifts that can be handed down from generation to generation. As new charms are added to a bracelet, new stories are told.' SOURCE

And there you have it, mes bloggy charmers.

And I found myself selecting one of said Pandora charms yesterday for my dearest friend in the office, who is leaving us for Pastures New - sniff! I chose a lovely, sweet little horse - A good luck charm certainly, and one to remind her of me... Her friend - Fhina The Cart-Horse!

mulecart full Pictures, Images and Photos

It brought a tear to both our eyes...

Fashions come and go o'er the years, and the passion for fashion trawls over old ground, stirring the past, reminding us of the things we had forgotten, (like 70's 'feck-off' collars (I'm not kidding!), puff-ball skirts, leg-of-mutton sleeves, and cod-pieces (Okay, so I was kidding with that one!).

Charm Bracelet Pictures, Images and Photos

And I gave my mam's silver charm bracelet, replete as it was with many charms, including an Eros charm from our trip to London and an intricate silver purse, to my god-daughter, Melia... I felt it was important to hand down the memories, the souvenirs, the family treasures - To proffer protection and symbolism to another generation, to mark that this person was on this earth and that we are all special in our own ways - Worth remembering.

And now, as my Birthday and Christmas approach, I'm really hankering after these...

Trollstone Cocktail Pictures, Images and Photos

I know they are over-priced, quirky and more peculiar than the mainstream... But then, so is Fhina!

Ciao, bellas! Mwah!

8 comments:

blognut said...

If you're over-priced, quirky and more peculiar than the mainstream, than those are three of my favorite things, dear Fhina!

Love to you,
Bloggus
XXOOXX

Anonymous said...

Charm bracelets are real popular again.

French Fancy... said...

I really don't know why they are popular again - I think they are ghastly. How much nicer is a lovely platinum band.

Oh well, I've never gone for popular tastes

xx

Jinksy said...

I took all the charms off my silver bracelet, as the chain was the only part my daughter was interested in! Things we do for love, eh?

Unknown said...

Hi Fhina,

The 'Pandora' idea is popular in several ranges. We have some lovely pieces by 'Hearts & Crosses' made with Venetian glass but they don't come as pick n mix!

Reasons said...

We bought a Pandora bracelet for our eldest's 16th and she loves it. Actually so do I....wouldn't mind one meself ac-tu-arly...

Lovely pics Fhina - as always.

xxx

Expat mum said...

They're not big over here and my friend (Lakeland Jo actually) talks about hers a lot. Now I know why - quite gorgeous aren't they?

Carma Sez said...

I recently won a charm bracelet and what makes them so fun is they are a blend of many curiosities. My son was enjoying looking at all the many trinkets.

Something I wrote earlier...

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