Poesiealbum – Little Book of Friendships

From Mama's Corner:

A long time ago, when I was a little girl in Germany, long before PCs, facebook and youtube, the cool way to have a memento from your friends was to have them write in your Poesiealbum.  These little booklets looked very much like diaries, some did actually have the little locks and keys. 

Your friends and classmates would take the little book with the blank pages home. The next day they returned it .  On the left page they either pasted a special picture (you could buy those at the store), or they drew something.  On the right page they wrote a little verse or some poetry in their best handwriting.  Then they signed and dated it. These little books were very popular, mostly for girls, from the 3^rd to maybe the 6^th grade.

One of the favorite verses was this (remember, in German it actually rhymed):

Roses, tulips, carnations, // all flowers will fade.// Only one will not fade,// and it is called Forget-me-not.

In case you are not familiar with Forget-me-nots: they are small light-blue flowers, you can see some in the picture of the flower basket.  As a special touch, my friend also drew the little wreath of Forget-me-nots to make the written page extra pretty.

It is so important to remember all the great people we have in our lives. What are some of the ways you keep wonderful memories alive and share your love with friends and family?