The French Trousseau
Tradition by Ruth Paget
I
read about the French trousseau tradition in a French magazine in my high
school French club at Cass Tech in Detroit, Michigan.
The
French trousseau tradition is similar to the Hope Chest tradition of the
American Midwest where a young woman would sew her future household linens,
gather tea and coffee pots, and sometimes even sew her wedding gown to prepare
for married life.
The
Germans also had this tradition and called it aussteuerschrank. The schrank is a two-door cupboard that would
contain items such as the following:
-sets
of sheets and pillow covers
-dish
towels
-blouses
-tea
pot
-coffee
pot
-soup
bowls
-serving
dishes for vegetables
-sugar
cube holder
-creamer
-soup
tureen
-red
and white checked tablecloths
-aprons
-hot
pads
-placemats
(I
used a photo of an aussteuerschrank in a museum in Baden-Baden, Germany on
Wikipedia to identify items.)
Young
couples planning to have children might consider collecting the above items
today as well as these additions:
-Joy
of Cooking Cookbook
-Reading
and Math Flash Cards
-Roast
pan with cover
-Metal
tumblers
-Jellyroll
baking sheets
-Small
and large pots with covers
-2
skillets
-Cooking
utensils plus holder
-Holiday
items plus storage containers
-Everyday Cutlery
-Everyday Dishes
-Serving platter to hold a turkey
-Everyday Cutlery
-Everyday Dishes
-Serving platter to hold a turkey
Having
these items ready helps with setting up a new household.
By
Ruth Paget, author of Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
Click here for: Ruth Paget's Amazon Books
