A Warm Welcome

A while ago, I started noticing Pineapple things all over the place. Welcome signs, decorative plates, figurines .. you name it, I saw it. At first I thought it was some strange new fad but the more pineapples I saw, the more intrigued I was. I knew there had to be something behind the pineapple craze. So, I googled. And what did I find?

I discovered that the reason for pineapple paraphernalia is that the pineapple is the symbol of hospitality. Here is an explanation of the symbol:

"During the colonial days in in America, a hostess's ability to have a pineapple for an important dining event said as much about her rank as it did about her resourcefulness. So sought after were the prickly fruits that colonial confectioners sometimes rented them to households by the day. Later, the same fruit was sold to other, more affluent clients who actually ate it. As you might imagine, hostesses would have gone to great lengths to conceal the fact that the pineapple that was the visual apogee of their table display and a central topic of their guests' conversation was only rented.

In larger, well-to-do homes, the dining room doors were kept closed to heighten visitors' suspense about the table being readied on the other side. At the appointed moment, and with the maximum amount of pomp and drama, the doors were flung open to reveal the evening's main event. Visitors confronted with pineapple-topped food displays felt particularly honored by a hostess who obviously spared no expense to ensure her guests' dining pleasure.

In this manner, the fruit which was the visual keystone of the feast naturally came to symbolize the high spirits of the social events themselves; the image of the pineapple coming to express the sense of welcome, good cheer, human warmth and family affection inherent to such gracious home gatherings." - Source

Hospitality is something that I strive to create in my home. The sense of welcome, good cheer, warmth and affection that are mentioned in the above statement are things that I hope my friends and family feel when they come into our home. That being said, I began my search for the perfect pineapple to display in my home when I gleaned this new information. I was particularly fond of pineapples of the welcome sign nature. I had in my mind an exact idea of what I wanted and the exact spot where it would go when/if I ever found it.

My brother and sister-in-law knew that I was on a hunt for the perfect pineapple welcome sign. They also knew that I like to save money and do things myself whenever and wherever possible. So, they gathered some supplies and set to working, crafting for me the most perfect birthday present I could have imagined.

Say hello to my perfect pineapple welcome sign...

Yes, they think they are prettttttttttttty funny. It didn't quite fit in the space I had intended but I did find a home for it... right in my tummy.