I was just digging through my things and came across the pen above, picked up while visiting Amish communities earlier this year.
This pen commemorates the wedding of Steven and Lydia, married this past spring in Ohio. Keepsakes and souvenirs such as this memorialize Amish weddings in many communities.
Remembrance items can range from pens with the couple’s name and date of marriage, to painted porch planters to wall hangings.
Amish often acquire similar commemorative pieces on the birth of a child, such as framed prints with the child’s name and date of birth, or personalized decorative plates. It’s also common in many Amish homes to see a wall hanging with parents’ names and names and birth dates of all the children in a family, often an embroidered piece.
Amish homes are modestly decorated, and possessions are minimal compared with those of most non-Amish. But some Amish remember the important days–when two are united as one, or when new life enters the world–with simple keepsakes such as this pen.
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good morning everyone,and i have a question.what are the statistics of amish divorce rates if they are even available. im sure they are lower compared to ours. and what is the procedure for doing so, im sure more work is involved in trying to save the marriage than ending it………… richard
Hi Richard here is a short piece on Amish and divorce from the Amish Online Encyclopedia section of the site that may be of use: https://amishamerica.com/can-amish-get-divorced/
Thanks for the question and just for future reference that section of the site (you can access it by clicking “Amish Online Encyclopedia” on the top bar) has a lot of Amish-related topics arranged alphabetically that might be of help–but don’t get me wrong I do like getting questions 🙂
Just wanted to point that out as it may be useful for people in future.
thanks erik, i will check it out. and by the way, which state are you in right now?…….. richard
That was interesting. Guess I didn’t realize they did that.
Where do varying Churches draw the line regarding the propriety/type of mementos? This seems like a slippery slope into immodest consumption (even by Amish standards), particularly in an age of Amish affluence.
Paula
I sell quite a bit of these items to Amish couples for their weddings, anniversaries, etc.
By the way that is a #321 Javalina pen!
Let me rephrase my question: rather than consumption, I guess I was curious about the guidelines for these tokens lest they become ostentatious and/or grounds for competition.
Richard, I am actually in Poland right now!
Paula, that is a good question. The answer would vary by the church of course. Taking one community, you’d be more likely to see things like this in the Old Order and New Order affiliations in Holmes County, for instance. Swartzentrubers, highly doubtful. Andy Weaver church, am not so sure.
Perhaps Fritz has some insight he can share? Who buys your Javalinas Fritz? 😉
Mementos at weddings are quite common here, and pens in particular, as they are an inexpensive and *practical* item. (The typical traditional favors and mementos are, too – little bags of candy, nuts, small candles, etc). Where I live, Holmes and Wayne County, OH, area, whether they are popular or allowed or not seems to depend on the church district, as is true with most things. Wedding items and also decorative things for the home are naturally more prevalent for New Order but there are many Old Order which would also allow them. The “ostentatiousness” of the item is more likely to cause concern than the item itself – for example, you would rarely see a super brightly colored embroidered family tree, but a muted one with nature-like colors is popular. Because family, marriage, etc., are all considered important to God, then acknowledging these things with mementos is not considered bad – just the way it’s approached is where they are cautious. There are financially well-off Amish and poor Amish – just as with any wedding, there will be differences based on finances, which would include pens and other more expensive favors. My mother works in a store that caters to Amish and they often go there for wedding-related items so we are around that a great deal. Most of them go for similar type items. It is rare that you get someone who might seem to be “showing off”, but it does happen occasionally (they ARE human, after all!).*
Another great follow-up Kerry, thanks. I think you make an excellent point on ostentatiousness. I should add that personalized pens are also widely used to promote Amish businesses.
Thanks, Kerry!