Asian Flare

Since my sister-in-law Emily and her fiance Richard have been living in Korea for the last few years, Edward and I have received many Asian gifts from them. My mother and father-in-law have traveled there as well to visit and have brought us back some goodies. Last summer they went to Japan and Korea, this summer they journeyed to China and Korea and it looks like we will all be going to Korea next summer for Emily and Richard's wedding.

They have all given us such beautiful and interesting gifts. Thank you, thank you, thank you! Edward and I love them all! Since redoing our office this summer we tried to display many of the treasures in this room and others have found their spots elsewhere in our house.

Emily-I wanted you to see that we have lots of pieces of you and Richard here with us. Miss you!

I believe all of the above pieces are from Korea and have been given to us by Emily and Richard.

A hand carved jade ball from China symbolizing family. This is an incredible piece of work. There are 3 separate balls of jade carved within themselves.

My very own kimono robe.

A silk tie and cuff links from a silk factory in China and another tie from Korea.

Tokyo Yomiuri Giants baseball hat. The oldest and most popular team in Japan.

Amethyst necklace and earrings. It is mined in South Korea.

Jade earrings from China.

A purple pearl necklace from China.

A hand painted platter from Korea given to us from Emily and Richard as our wedding gift.

Here are our Korean Wedding Ducks. They represent the bride and the groom and after the wedding, they are placed somewhere in the couples house (ours are on a bookshelf in our living room) and their position tells of the couples marital state. Nose to nose means the relationship is good, tail to tail means they are having a tiff. (Notice our ducks are facing each other!) Below is the explanation of the Korean Wedding Duck tradition that came with our ducks.

THE KOREAN WEDDING DUCK

Selecting the man who will carve a daughter's wedding duck is not an easy task. The man chosen must be a pure and honorable man, as well as a good friend. He must be the fortunate possessor of all of the FIVE FORTUNES. Above all, he must be truly willing and happy to perform the task when asked by his friend. The carving of the traditional wedding duck is a custom not taken lightly, for the man selected to carve the wedding duck shares his spirit and his fortunes with the lucky young couple. The personal traits of the carver (not his ability as a carver) are crucial, because it is his spirit, which enters into the symbol as well as his FIVE FORTUNES which are being shared with the bridal couple.

The carver may not accept money for his work, but rather must agree to carve the duck for the honor of the task. On the other hand, a prudent man must be careful nor to carve more than one duck in his lifetime, for with each duck he shares his own FIVE FORTUNES, and he cannot "share his fortunes" away. This may explain the crudeness and folk quality of some of the carvings. The FIVE FORTUNES of the carver are: 1. He must be rich, 2. He must be perfectly healthy, 3. Among his family (including his relatives) there must have been no divorces, 4. He has to have a "good wife" and 5. He must have many sons.

The significance of the sons is in keeping with the Confucian emphasis on family strength and continuity, but this FORTUNE carries an additional condition. For a man to have five children, but have only two watching him when he dies, means he can count only two children as his real children. He cannot count the others. To have all his children watch him die is part of the FIFTH FORTUNE. The duck-maker applies his whole spirit and energy to his task. While working with his knife, he prays in his heart that, generous portions of true happiness, luck and good fortune will bring peace, prosperity and many children (just as the duck has many eggs) to the bride and groom.

A daughter's wedding is a time of festivities whether the wedding occurs in Mexico, the United States, Europe or the Orient. Each country has its own customs, which make it a special time for the entire family. These times are no less exciting in Korea than in other countries. In Korea, though, a family prepares for this day from early childhood, for this is a special day in the daughter's life.

When it is time for the wedding, the duck must be wrapped with different colors of cloths (except the neck of the duck) and it is carried to the ceremony. The duck is placed on the table as soon as the daughter arrives. When the ceremony is over, the bride and groom bow to the groom's mother and father two and a half times. Then the groom's mother throws the duck to the apron of the bride. If the girl catches the duck, she, according to the tradition, will have a boy as the first child. If she missed, the first child will be a girl.

Next, the groom's mother throws several handfuls of jujubes to the outspread apron of the bride. These are good for the health and are used as a medicine. It symbolizes a healthy future. Finally, the mother of the groom throws some chestnuts to the bride. These are hard and strong and are a symbol of the strong sons to be born. The quantity caught is an omen of good health and many sons.

The duck is carried to the new home of the bridal pair and is displayed where they can easily see it. If the couple quarrels, one will point to the duck, which reminds them of the peaceful wedding, and will stop fighting.

The duck will be handed down from mother to daughter through the generations. The wedding duck symbolizes three things: 1. Peace, 2. Many children, and 3. No separations.