I discovered this when we moved down South from the North. Being regional transplants, we thought it was a souvenir from Hawaii. But when our new neighbor revealed its real significance, we were so touched — we felt like we had truly come home at last! But as odd as it may seem, this tropical native has surely found a home in the land of cotton, the land of discount and most definitely the land where people truly enjoy the art of gracious living.
But how did the exotic fruit find its way here? It boils down to a matter of trade. You see, when the pineapple was introduced to Europe in , it was an instant success! However, bringing it back is exactly what Europeans had to do for the next years. Europeans tried diligently to grow the fruit outside its native tropical climate, but propagation could only be achieved using greenhouse methods.
In the meantime, the absence of a local supply and the increasing demand made the pineapple even more popular. Some historians believe this custom was first introduced in Europe by wealthy travelers returning from the New World who found pineapples hung outside the entrances to Caribbean villages.
They were greeted warmly by the native people and believed the pineapple to be a sign of welcome. Others claim a pineapple was placed outside the homes of sea captains to alert townsfolk of their safe return from the tropics. As people settled in America throughout the early 18th century, the pineapple again found its way into the homes of wealthy landowners, many of whom settled in the Southern colonies and embraced the culture and class system of the British aristocracy.
Some planters attempted to grow pineapples on their estates for personal pleasure; however, the imported pineapple remained a coveted luxury item. A dinner party or lavish banquet was not complete without the pineapple at its center — especially if it was, indeed, imported.
Foreign dignitaries visiting the American colonies would have instantly recognized the impressive fruit as a generous token of hospitality by their hosts. In the years just prior to the Revolutionary War, the pineapple would play another role: peacemaker between Britian and the colonies. The pineapple was meant to bridge the growing gap between the motherland and her subjects during a period of uneasy peace. Southern planters saw the pineapple as a cash crop and began growing small clusters in custom-built hot houses.
George Washington is reputed to have grown pineapples at Mount Vernon. It could be seen almost as an act of defiance by the fledgling country that, like the pineapple, it too could be self-sustaining. The post-war pineapple became a symbol of the newly-minted United States of America, an attainable figure of welcome, individuality and fierce independence. Guests were greeted by a towering display of apples, pine cones and holly and fir leaves with the pineapple crowning the centerpiece at the top.
The punch bowl beyond it on the table contained the juice of the pineapple as a sweetener to the rum and brandy-based mixtures, and its fruit was still candied for treats or baked in cakes or tarts. The pineapple was no longer a frivolous exhibit of wealth possessed by a small minority but an accessible gesture of neighborliness and unconditional hospitality.
And it still is today. For over 30 years, my father served as the minister at United Church of Christ Congregational in Milford, Connecticut, which organized in We lived in the parsonage just up the road and often played host to large gatherings and parties as well as to people seeking an open door with an open heart.
Every Advent season until he passed away, my Dad, himself a fabulous home cook and avid gardener, would painstakingly build a traditional tower of red delicious apples topped with a pineapple and finished with fir leaves, winter flowers and holly branches from our yard as the grand centerpiece for our Christmas table. This was a powerful symbol of hospitality during a season when charity and good cheer go hand-in-hand and our home was full of friends and strangers alike.
Not many, but some. As the fruit became domesticated instead of imported, the idea of pineapples changed. Representations of pineapples became focused on the idea of luxury and consumer culture. It took a lot of effort and skill to grow a pineapple somewhere like England, or France, and so it was reserved for the few who could afford the labor.
For those who did not possess the extravagant funds or professional gardeners to grow their own, pineapple-rental shops began to spring up.
The s saw the appearance of the earliest popular pineapple designs, green and gold glazed teapots, bowls, sugar dishes, tea caddies and more made of cream-colored earthenware invented by the businessman Josiah Wedgwood. Nowhere does the early symbolic power of pineapple in Europe impress more than the Pineapple at Dunmore Park in Stirlingshire.
Here, a garden folly looms fifty-three feet high inside the walled apple orchard. No one quite knows why the estate owner, Lord Dunmore, chose quite a massively proportioned pineapple as his garden centerpiece. Pineapples then take on a meaning of escape, to a better and more brilliant world. Carved pineapples at this time were mounted outside grand manor houses, implying the high standing of the family within.
Carved pineapples and sculptures sat atop carriages, appeared in garden temples, were the subject of paintings and art, and enormous sculptures. Pineapple symbolism in nineteenth century England meant good taste, nobility, and limitless wealth.
In , the preserve of pineapples for the rich was shattered with a new dramatic development. That year saw the first successful importing of goods on a refrigerated ship. It meant pineapples could now be grown in more suitable environments at low cost and then shipped over to customers in Europe and elsewhere. Fresh-tasting, sweet smelling and drenched in sun — how could anything back home compare to that fruit from the tropics?
Industrialization, wars, and food shortages served to push the thought of pineapples even further from common consciousness by the early twentieth century. Yet over the past few decades, the pineapple has witnessed a return to form. The vibrant and striking shape of pineapples appear all across fast and high fashion.
On shot glasses, birthday cards, and stationary. The ability to get freshly grown pineapples still ripe for cheap pairs nicely with the current whimsical meaning of pineapples, which symbolise positivity and friendliness.
Modern pineapple symbolism sits nicely with the modern love for vacations and getways. For infinite sun and vibrant colour. This idea is not so far away from the early adopters of pineapple — a little slide of heaven.
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