Rosemary & Christening and Name Day

          It was customary that the godparents wore a twig of rosemary on the left lapel or on the scarf, as a sign of their faith. At the baptismal dinner, the table was decorated with rosemary, as symbol of love and affection for the newborn. At the celebration of somebody’s name, where relatives and neighbours gathered with a serenade, the “name day bouquet” ("Namenstagsstrauß") expressed the cordial attachment. A sprig of rosemary stuck into an apple was handed over with the following words: 

"I’m bringing you a name day bouquet.
It isn’t cute, it isn’t fine,
And it only costs you a glass of wine."

(Rosemary in the Life of the Danube Swabians, by Hans Gehl)