Jungfrauenbecher or Maiden's Cup

Dating from the 16th century, the Jungfrauenbecher or maiden's cup, was traditionally part of German wedding ceremonies during the 16th and 17th centuries. The cup, usually of German silver, is in the form of a young maiden holding a basket above her head.

The maiden's bell shaped skirt, when inverted, serves as a goblet. The small basket above the figure's head pivots so that it can remain upright when the figure is turned upside down.

According to tradition, both the skirt and the basket are filled with wine. The groom makes a toast, then drinks from the skirt, and then is to turn the figure right side up without spilling any of the wine in the smaller cup from which the bride then drinks.

Since posting this, Johanna of Silber-Rosen wrote to share the following information on the jungfrauenbecher:

"Oh Sarah, you have always very intresting items and so nice stories to tell. I appreciate this Jungfrauenbecher so much because it is a speciality of the Hanau Antique Silver Manufacturers. I was told the story, that once a young silversmith wanted to marry a nice girl. Her father told him, he would only allow the marriage when the young man would be able to create a goblet, that allows to drink both on the same time. So this Jungfrauenbecher is the result and the couple got married."

Our Jungfrauenbecher was given to us by my mother-in-law at our rehearsal dinner. She changed up the challenge a bit. We both had to drink the wine from the cups at the same time, and the first to finish their cup was said to be the one who would be the "boss" of the household. Obviously, I drank the few sips in my cup before my husband could finish his large cup of wine. You can see from this photo of our rehearsal dinner that we were amused with this challenge.

Both my own mother and my mother-in-law are dear to my heart. We lost my mother-in-law to throat cancer in the 80s. My mom, 95, is still with us. As today is Mother's Day, I'd like to raise a toast to these two incredible women who have had a lasting influence upon my own life.

Happy Mother's Day, Dear Ones!

Here is one more shot capturing the "blue hour" on the eve of Mother's Day 2010. If you missed Susan's post about "blue hour" photography, you can read it here.

Happy Mother's Day to all!

It may be Mother's Day but it is also the 2nd Sunday of the month and that means Beth @ The Gypsy Fish Journal is hosting Silver Sunday. Click here to see the beautiful and usual silver fish that Beth is spotlighting today and for a list of more silver to be shared.