Welcome

In Hawaii, it's E komo mai. In France, it's accueil. Swedish say välkomna. But here in the U.S., we say Welcome. However you say it, it is a form of receiving someone with pleasure and hospitality into your home. We work hard to make our homes a place of comfort, a place where family and friends will feel welcome and enjoy visiting. The pineapple has been a universal symbol of hospitality and welcome for many centuries all over the world. To the Carib, the pineapple symbolized hospitality, and the Spaniards soon learned they were welcome if a pineapple was placed by the entrance to a village. This symbolism spread to Europe, then to Colonial North America, where it became the custom to carve the shape of a pineapple into the columns at the entrance of a plantation. Many of us today still use a pineapple motif in our home to show that our guests are welcome. I am one of those pineapple people. I want my guests to know they are also welcome to cross the threshold into my home. I needed a new rug at the front door (which is actually in the kitchen). I was at Family Dollar today and found this for $5.00. I was ecstatic.

My guests will always know they are welcome to come on in and sit a spell. This triggered me to realize that I have pineapples in several rooms in my house. Here are some of my favorite pineapple decorations.

So if you are ever in the neighborhood, drop on by. Guests are always welcome.