posted
So I was listening to a piece on NPR today about people who uber-decorate their house. This particular piece was recorded in one of the Carolinas. But what really got wondering was a line something like this "Some people are perfectly content to have simple white lights, red bows, pineapples on the mantle..."
Pineapples on the mantle??? Is that a southern thing?
posted
I've never heard of pineapples specifically as a holiday decoration, but I know they are a traditional symbol of hospitality, which is why pineapple designs are sometimes found carved on furniture or millwork.
ETA: And on tableware.
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posted
For what it's worth, I heard that piece at work today and thought the exact same thing (namely, 'wtf?'). Though... it was Richmond, not the Carolinas, story here. Still--pineapples?
-Baikal
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posted
Sounds like a Tommy Bahama thing. Meaning, it has no cultural significance, but pineapples are trendy to use in fabric designs (along with dark rattan furniture) so perhaps someone's decorating scheme is influenced by Tommy Bahama.
Pineapples are also in fruit this time of year, so people in the south might have more pineapples available to eat, but I don't know of anyone putting them on a mantle.
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Rhiandmoi
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posted
Maybe they are having a Melikalikimaka?
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posted
Perhaps they meant pine cones . I have certainly seen them used in Christmas decorations and placed on the mantle with ribbons, etc.
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(Yes I know Richmond is not Williamsburg but the style is influential in that part of the state.)
Gibbie
eta: spanked, dammit I type too slow (or I talk too much)
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posted
Oh pineapples are big in the decorating world around here as mentioned by Lainie as a symbol for hospitality. So it would only seem natural that it would eventually creep into holiday decorating.
There's a historic home just down the street that usually puts up a holiday wreath sort of thing made out of apples and pomegranates with a big pineapple in the center. I don't think I've seen it though this year...they must have moved.
In the South, traditionally all types of fruit from oranges, apples, pears, etc. usually make it into the Christmas centerpiece along with mixed nuts and colorful tree ornaments. Can't say I've seen any bananas though.
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posted
When I saw that heading, I just KNEW it had to be from South Carolina. Charlestonians love pineapples, and they use them for decorations all over the place.ExamplePosts: 13 | From: South Carolina | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
From the links provided above (about decorating in Colonial Williamsburg):
quote:Each pineapple plant gives its own life to produce a single fruit, and since 1681, the pineapple has been recognized as a Christian symbol. Around this time, Christopher Wren began using pineapple finials on churches.
Who knew? I was raised in a Christian family, and that's the first time I ever saw any reference to the pineapple as a Christian symbol. Maybe I missed something. There are only a few left of my parents' generation, so maybe I'd better ask my aunt what she knows about this. Interesting.
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My mother has a quilt that hangs on the wall that has a pineapple and it says "welcome" across the bottom. She puts it up at Christmas. We are not Southern. Another data point I guess.
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quote:Originally posted by Itsy Bitsy Spider: When I saw that heading, I just KNEW it had to be from South Carolina. Charlestonians love pineapples, and they use them for decorations all over the place.Example
That was my first thought, as well. When I visited summer before last, I noticed that pineapples were practically everywhere.
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Pineapples are good for making Jack-o-Lanterns. They carve easily, smell good when candled, and are much yummier that pumpkin seeds.
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Pineapples are also big in Massachusetts -- I think it's a historical thing rather than a cultural thing, so you're more apt to find it in a Colonial context (Williamsburg, Richmond, Boston, etc.) than strictly a Southern one.
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posted
Around here I think the pineapples mean hospitality as well. At least that was the answer I got from the guy who ran a funeral home where my uncle was shown at. He had pineapples everywhere!
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The explanation I heard for the pineapple-hospitality connection went something like this: In (some place, I can't remember where), women were not allowed to receive visitors when their husbands were not at home. When the husband was at home, and the family wanted to have visitors, they would place a pineapple on the gate post.
This was told to me by a neighbor who grew pineapples in her yard, so it must be true .
posted
Yeah, growing up in Virginia we always had a pineapple as part of the centerpiece on the dining room table at Christmas. I think the pineapple is more about hospitality than anything, as noted here. Since there's a lot of entertaining going on at Christmas, I guess pineapples became associated w/ Christmas that way.
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posted
I lived in Williamsburg for 3 years. The pineapple, as others have mentioned, was the colonial symbol for hospitality. Pineapples are everywhere in the 'burg.
One thing I had never seen anywhere else were the fruit wreaths, often incorporating one or more pineapples as well as other fruits. (There's one at the top of the page that Gibbie linked to).
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Charlestonians love pineapples, and they use them for decorations all over the place.
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