Back in 2005, my step-grandfather brought over a large cedar chest that was about five feet long and a foot and a half wide. I was told that it was a hope chest, and my mom thought that it was so neat and so sweet because it was handcrafted. As a five-year-old though, I knew as much about hope chests as the average person nowadays does (which is nothing). So, for the first five or six years of owning my hope chest, it was nothing more than a specially crafted toy chest. I filled it with dolls, blocks, and plastic, toy grocery items.
It really wasn't until early high school that I really understood what my hope chest was for. Hope chests are traditionally supposed to be given to a young girl for her (or her family) to fill with family heirlooms and household items that one usually needs when they get married. This practice was more common around the 1930s-1950s and I actually was given a second hope chest last year that is from the late 1930s.
The tradition seems very old-fashioned, and some have said sexist (a lady preparing to be attached to a man and all), but I appreciate it for how it will help me to stay connected to my family, while also aiding my independence. My hope chest has plates, towels, and kitchenware that I picked out, but it also has family items that I cherish. I have a beautiful, handcrafted, Slovak vase that my dad brought back from a business trip. I have a baby blanket of mine and the dress that I was supposed to wear home from the hospital after I was born, but was too tiny for. I also have a collection of Southern Living magazines and a guide to country living in there.
My hope chest allows me to attain independence while maintaining the family ties that make me who I am.
In a way, I think my hope chest is empowering for me as a woman. My hope chest is not specifically for me to get married, it's so I will have a good foundation under me before I even get my own place, or even begin to think of getting married. The items in my hope chest were all given to me by women who I consider to be role models in my life. Each lady in my life that has given me an item for my hope chest has some quality about them that I would love to emulate in my own adult life. Those qualities are independence, kindness, confidence, and resilience.
My hope chest is both a cherished tradition and a representation of my femininity.
I especially appreciate my hope chest and the items in it around the holidays. I can use recipes that my great-grandmother has given me because I have a place to keep them. I can use any of the kitchenware that my grandmother got me. I can use any of the fancy looking dishes that my nana has gotten me. When I come in from a long, cold day, I can snuggle up with any of the quilts that have been passed down to me. Even if I can't travel to go see people in my family, I have special items from them that still keep them with me during festive times.
I will definitely be passing on both of my hope chests to my children one day.
