This is the extremely rare and famous Latvian Mitten Book. Summaries in
English, German and Russian. Hundreds of clear charts are all you need to
knit these amazing patterns.
Mittens and gloves preserved from old times are testimony to their authors'
inventiveness who showed great skill and artistry in colour composition and
shades. It is as if the women had been trying to do their best and competing
among themselves to create more imaginative ornaments. Gloves and best
mittens were subjected to a wide social judgement, and this fact urged
the authors to produce a more creative result.
Best mittens were knitted to be given as presents not only on weddings where
they dominated among knitted socks and other things. In the 19th century they
were given to godparents and the clergyman on christening the children. After
the first childbirth mittens were given to family relations. When the child
was taken to the church for the first time, a pair of mittens was left in
the church robing-room. When young people started to prepare for confirmation,
the clergyman received a good pair of ornamented mittens.
If a maiden gave a pair of mittens to a lad, it was taken as a sign of
engagement. Earlier they said in Kurzeme, 'the lad has received the motley
mittens', instead of saying 'the maiden and the lad have been engaged'.
According to the old traditions mittens were to be given on other important
occasions as well, like to the blacksmith when the horse was shod for the
first time. The latter tradition was still observed at the beginning of the
20th century. If maidens were taken out for a ride, they had to give a pair
of mittens to the lads for giving them a ride. Today it is very rare that,
observing an old tradition, elderly women knit funeral mittens to be given
to the grave diggers, the clergyman and the coffin bearers. In earlier time
when coffins were made by local craftsmen, mittens were given to the latter
for their work. There is evidence from all ancient ethnographic parts of
Latvia about the making of 'the funeral portion' but today neither special
ornaments nor colours are chosen for the mittens to be given at funerals.
A 90-year-old narrator living near Alsunga had knitted three kinds of funeral
mittens for various times of the year: black with white ornaments for winter,
greyish brown with white for autumn and spring, and brown with yellow and
green ornaments for summer. In the beginning of the 20th century there was
a tradition in some districts to give the cross-bearer a pair of black or
simply dark gloves ornamented with white crosses. If the deceased was a young
person, the cross-bearer received white gloves. The tradition of giving white
gloves seems to have been preserved from the times when the white bridegroom's
gloves were given to the cross-bearer at the funeral of a virgin. In our time
all these customs have nearly fallen into oblivion or have been greatly
transformed.
It was an ancient wedding tradition to give numerous mittens as presents
starting already some time before the wedding. If the suitor was considered
acceptable, the bride presented mittens to him and the matchmakers. In the
period of engagement the bride gave 'motley mittens' to her beloved who wore
them on the wedding day. Another pair went to the bridegroom on the way to the
church, one more ---- to the clergyman when he entered the names of the engaged
on the wedding list.
In the time of feudal serfdom the farm-labourers and the people serving at the
country squire's estate had to ask for the permission to marry; the bride to-
be had to show before the squire and present him a pair of mittens.
The brides dowry was usually carried to the new husband's house on Thursday or
Saturday before the wedding day. The bride gave the dowry carriers a pair of
gloves that were fastened to the carrier's hat. The dowry cow's horns were
adorned with mittens, and a pair of mittens was to be given for letting the
cows into the shed.
Sometimes mittens were given to the woman who helped the bride to put on her
bridal veil. The custom was particularly observed in Alsunga where the bride's
head-dress was wrapped in the married woman's kerchief (called 'linkainis').
A brightly coloured ornamented pair of mittens was left for the church warden
after the wedding ceremony and one also on the altar for the organ player.
In the second half of the 19th century the latter traditions were not frequently
observed because the older narrators could not recall them any more when
scientific expeditions were made.
Mittens were to be given to the man who helped the bride out of the carriage or
the sleigh when she returned from the church. A pair of mittens was thrown into
the yard on approaching the new husband's house. When the bride was shown into
the house, she left a pair of mittens near the stove.
The distribution of the marriage dowry on the wedding-day evening after changing
the bride's head-dress was the custom of Augszeme, Latgale and Vidzeme. In Kurzeme
and some parts of Vidzeme it was done in the new husband's house on the day after
the wedding. The time was chosen depending on the length of festivities and the
place where the newlyweds were going to live. The young wife distributed mittens
and other presents to her mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-
law, the wedding sponsors and the musicians.
On Saturday in the end of the wedding week the young wife went to her mother-in-
law's bathhouse to wash herself where again she to 'throw' mittens and girdles.
Mittens were placed on the bathhouse threshold, seating shelf and stove; girdles
were wound around birch besoms to ensure lucky childbearing.
Up to the middle of the 19th century people believed in the magic powers of
'mittens throwing'. Therefore the young wife had to leave a pair of mittens in
the shed, the granary and the barn, on the draw-well and in other places when
she entered her husband's house for the first time. This was believed to ensure
success in housework and bring prosperity. By the end of the 19th century the
custom had mostly disappeared but the tradition of giving mittens as presents for
various services has been preserved till out day. It should also be remarked that
mittens are now often replaced by various souvenirs.
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