Did you ever try so hard to
complete a task that you missed the giant flaw in your plan??
Mimi, did. In a big way!
Now, every piece we bring
into the shop for sale is carefully inspected, and I had inspected this one. I had checked for stains then diligently
washed the item. I had checked for rips, holes, tears or loose threads that
might need to be repaired. And, I had
(this part is really important to the point of this story… and my humiliation)
inspected the tatted lace decoration to be sure it was completely intact. It was.
This “treasure” met all of my
criteria. It was old, probably 1920’s or 30’s.
That part is important later, too.
It was in excellent usable condition. It was pretty. It ironed like a dream, and it would
photograph beautifully! All of the stains came out and it was a beautiful white
cotton delight!
I prepared it, laying it out
carefully after ironing it so that I could show it with great pride to the
Middle One. It’s not often we find items
of this age, made of fabric and in this incredible condition. It had come from an estate sale at a little
home in the next town over. The owner had
clearly been talented with a needle and thread. I found many little hand made
treasures that day.
The Middle One comes home
from a hard day at work, and I’m so excited to display this lovely apron ~
certain she will be as thrilled as I am and want to list it as soon as
possible. I have her sit down. I go to
get it, drape it carefully over the back of the sofa so she can see the lace
and how perfect it is…
Silence falls.
“Mom, we can’t sell that!”
I’m stunned! It’s so perfect!
Why can’t we sell it???
“The lace,…are those
swastikas?”
Well…..insert startled
exclamation of choice….
Yes, as a matter of fact,
they were. How did I miss that? The Middle
One was immediately shocked. Whose home
had it come from? Why would someone have such a thing? It was time to give the
Middle One a history lesson. See, I had
run into this before. Many years ago I
had purchased a bag of linens at an auction in Diss, Norfolk in the UK. It was a sight unseen kind of thing. While
sorting it later I ran across over a dozen doilies – tatted lace with swastikas
and I was curious. I asked around, did
some research and learned the following.
As a symbol the swastika dates
back almost 5,000 years. That’s right,
5,000! The name swastika is from a
Sanskrit word meaning “well being” or “good fortune”. It is still a sacred symbol for many religions
including Buddhisim, Hinduism, Jainism and Odinism. It was used by the ancient Greeks and can be
found among the ruins of the city of Troy.
In modern times, it was used
by Coca Cola and Carlsberg beer, and even the Boy Scouts adopted it and the
Girls Club of America named their magazine The Swastika. There’s even a photo of an American Army
plane with the swastika painted on its side. It was a common pattern woven into
many household items and used regularly in the late 1800’s and early
1900’s. It was simple, considered quite
attractive and graceful and it represented good luck, best wishes or ‘well
being’. It was just a benign decorative
pattern until a monster adopted it.
So, yes ~ in today’s modern
world it is a symbol of hatred and evil. But it wasn’t always, that way. We will not sell this apron. I’m actually not
sure what we will do with it. I left it
on the back of a chair that night – pretty upset that;
We couldn’t sell such a well
crafted item.
A symbol with such a benign
and happy original meaning has been so corrupted
I had totally missed that
detail in my zeal to prepare it
Upon retrieving it from the
back of a kitchen chair, I noticed a small, fresh, vibrant, blue icing stain
(the Master Chef had been here with her children and some cake). That will be cleaned and it will be folded and
packed away.
Perhaps at some point in the
future ~ once years have passed and the symbol's original meaning can hold
greater value than the meaning heaped on it by a madman ~ it can once more be an
item of value. Perhaps the eons of peaceful history the symbol enjoyed can eventually overcome what it came to represent and it's original meaning can be won back from the atrocities it currently brings to mind, ultimately defeating the legacy of an evil time. Then this item can become something new ~ A treasure that represents what it truly is, a simple, useful household
item made by the hands of woman creating a home and decorating it with beauty.
Lessons Learned?
Not every symbol means what you believe it means ~ entirely
Owning something with a negative symbol does not necessarily mean you ascribe to the negative meaning
Don't accept something's meaning on face value, look deeper
Take a moment to stop and look with fresh eyes ~ someone else may notice something you don't, and that goes both ways
Research if you don't know or don't understand, ask relevant questions, query, think about it, percolate on it ~ decide for yourself
**Mimi has been a student too
long not to site her sources – thanks to the following websites
