Harvest Love Knots

"Drawing by John Roos ©2005"

In Northern Ireland, young men and women would take long braids of straw and twist them into deocrative knots. These harvest knots were then given as love tokens for men to wear on their lapels and women to wear in their hair. When one's lover accepred a harvest knot, it was assumed that a wedding would follow in the next spring.

Today, love knots are made with raffia and adorned with flowers and colorful ribbons. They are used as a boutonniere for the groom, worn in the bride's hair, attached to the bride's bouquet, and even used as napkin rings for the reception feast.

Copyright © 2005 by Anne Roos, excerpt from the liner notes to "Haste to the Wedding" CD, available on the Cambria Master Recordings Label. All rights reserved.