In my native Scandinavia we still practice the tradition of sending a surprise papercutting called a ‘gaekkebrev’, literally “guessing letter”, in April. Usually the papercutting will include a pressed snowdrop, but more importantly a short rhyme will be written on the papercutting. The greeting is left as a surprise and only a dot for each letter of your name will serve as a hint for the recipient.
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| Photo credit Rikke Storm |
If you are not quite in the mood for writing your own rhyme, here is one in English you could include:
Snowdrop, snowdrop, snowdrop fine,
Omen true of hope divine,
From the heart of winter bring
Thy delightful hope of spring.
Guess my name I humbly beg.
Your reward: An Easter-Egg.
Let these puzzling dots proclaim
Every letter in my name
If the recipient guesses who left it, it used to be you had to kiss them, but now they are rewarded with a chocolate egg. If not, tradition dictated that they would have to give you a chocolate egg. But tradition or not, with or without a rhyme, a papercutting is by far my favorite way to send a special greeting and including any spring flowers will make it extra special.
Here is a short video about the tradition and in a way I agree that this could be considered the first poke long before the digital version. Click on the image below to view video.
