Comments on: Fritz Wegner’s Christmas Plates

By: Cherub

Cherub — Sun, 22 Dec 2024 17:08:47 +0000

The depiction of the angel with the shepherds is very touching, such a lovely thing to have.

By: Richard

Richard — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 21:22:38 +0000

Seeing how old Joseph looked I googled his age which was given as between the twenties and nineties. My mother bought a set of plates around that same time when they were popular. They were of jousting knights in their regalia. She named me Richard after the Lionheart. But never showed disappointment in the outcome!

By: Winnie

Winnie — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 20:27:39 +0000

I think the plates are charming. My favourite is the one depicting the angel and the shepherds.
They’re brilliant. Surely, as others have commented, it is the meaning that these things have for us, personally, that matters. And it doesn’t matter if they are expensive or cheap. It’s what they mean to us. And the ritual of setting these things out every year brings such comfort.
Thank you for sharing these.

By: Lynne Perrella

Lynne Perrella — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 14:31:08 +0000

Thank you, GA — and Reader Lorelei. In the past few days, we have finally gotten around to setting out our holiday decorations — and although they are well-loved and adored, I suspect that not ONE of them is rarefied or costly. Nope — not even ONE of them. The ornaments on our tree
serve as reminders of friends and family members. Each one is a hand made wonder, or a special reminder of the giver. And photos of departed friends dot the tree, and spark stories and recollections. It is always my project to set up the nativity scene — the same one I had in childhood and paid for with my allowance — and it is now glorified with a forest of bottle brush trees. (oh dear, this morning our cat Simon seems to have taken an interest………..) When I turned over one of the figures, I found a tiny price sticker, still affixed after all these decades — 25 cents! So, yes, the modest yearly artifacts still bring a fond smile and great joy. Priceless.

By: Sally Bernard

Sally Bernard — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 13:01:35 +0000

Thank you for researching this.
Happy Christmas,gentle author.

By: Lorelei Hunt

Lorelei Hunt — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 08:33:46 +0000

Thank you for uncovering the personal history that lies behind your Xmas plates. I couldn’t help wondering how Fritz Wegner’s family and friends fared in the years after 1938, how worried he must have been about those he had left behind. And the sacrifice his family made and so many others in sending loved children to safety overseas, when personal communication with so much more difficult.

But also for reminding us of the authenticity of loved Christmas decorations, and the pleasure in the ritual of unwrapping items that often have layers of meaning and memory for us. The joy is not in the sophistication of these – it’s often the exact opposite.

I’m approaching my 70th Xmas and it does get more difficult to summon up the enthusiasm for some elements of the season. But getting out a set of simple, cheap, star shaped dishes, gifted years ago when both myself and the giver were going through difficult times, always lifts my spirits. Filled with sugar almonds etc they lift my spirits, and remind me of what matters.