The Musings of Squirrel Napkin

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all! I will introduce myself. I am Squirrel Napkin, the scholar of the squirrel community, connoisseur of acorn dishes and variations of nuts in May. My blog today is on the essentials of squirrel shopping. Yes, my friends, you’ve guessed it – the napkin! I’m squirrelling into history to tell you the ins and outs of your companion at the festive table over this Christmas and the New Year.

Squirrel Napkin

It is always good to begin work with a definition, so here goes. Napkins, or serviettes to the British among us, are squares of cloth or paper tissues used at the table for wiping the mouth and fingers while eating. You can also use them to cover clothes by tucking one into a shirt collar or jumper, or just placing it over your knee if you are in polite society. 

Napkins are crumb-catchers, laundry bill savers and mouth dabbers after a meal. They can also be a signal. At a business dinner or society event, when the host or hostess places a napkin on his or her knee, then everyone knows the meal is about to begin. When the host or hostess stands and places the napkin to the left of the dinner dish, then everyone knows the meal has ended. They are essential when serving food or drinks in a public setting or for special dinners at home like Christmas dinner or with friends. They are a favourite with the catering and tourist trade and can be used at breakfast, lunch or dinner when dining in a hotel, café or fast-food outlet.

These charming devices are folded or sometimes presented in intricate designs. They can really help to create a relaxed dining experience and beautify a table setting. If you want to try this fancy fold for your own dinner party, go to the napkin wizard Jimmy Ng's YouTube demonstration. Enjoy!

Now we’re on a trip back in time folks! The first napkin was a piece of dough called an apomagdalie by the Spartans. This was cut into small pieces, then rolled and kneaded at the table as though they were about to make bread. It led to slices of bread being used as napkins to wipe the hands. 

In Roman times napkins were all kinds of sizes. The sudaria, (Latin for handkerchief) was pocket sized and a brow wiper. They needed this because of the hot Mediterranean climate that makes people sweat. Mappae, by contrast were large and placed over the edge of their sofa to save pieces of food staining it when the consumer was in a leaning position. The mappa (singular) was also used to wipe the mouth. Doesn’t dining look a cool affair then!

Each guest had his own mappa and when a meal/feast was over they used it as a doggy bag, filling it with leftovers from their feast. It is amazing how human nature does not change over time! 

What has changed over time is what is called etiquette. 

In the seventeenth century, when people still ate with their fingers, rich households set out large napkins to keep their dining area tidy. In those days, they had a napkin for every course. After they had finished each one, they let the napkin slip onto the floor, so they piled up for their servants to collect.

By contrast, the Victorians, who used much cutlery, introduced napkin rings to the table, still used today.

By the early twentieth century, a pantomime developed around use of napkins. Take a look at this excerpt from the Santa Ana Journal of 1937.

1. Never fold your napkin entirely unless it’s tea size.
2. When you use your napkin, lift only to a corner of the mouth.
3. If you are dancing, drop your napkin on your chair, not on the table.

Napkins today are made of linen, cotton or paper and are used at cocktails or at any meal.

Cocktail napkins are mainly ten inches square, while a napkin for dinner is eighteen inches square.

Expectations/Etiquette for a Dinner Today

1. Place the napkin on the lap during a meal.
2. Do not leave it on the table while eating.
3. When leaving the table for a pause, (would the Scots say a wee break?) place the napkin on a chair.
4. When the meal is over put the napkin where your forks were to the left of centre.
5. Don’t put the napkin back in the ring (Health and Safety).
6. Don’t dip it in the water glass.

Expectations/Etiquette for a Cocktail Party

1. Place your napkin in the left hand between the middle ring finger as you hold the glass.
2. If you have a small plate put a corner of the napkin under your plate as you hold it.
3. Dab the lips before sipping.

Napkins reflect occasions such as weddings, business dinners, birthdays, seasons and religious festivals and can be embroidered accordingly. They also mean brand ie Ritz napkins, which give the customer the feel of high-society specialness.

Napkins give pleasure to people skilled in crafts, offering an outlet for their talent.

Just take a look at this link; Afternoon Tea linen napkin embroidery kit - napkins to reflect a host's offerings, as illustrated above.

Finally, while the holiday season is on, here is something short and sweet to lift the spirits. What is Christmas and New Year without a little entertainment?

Here is a link to a short YouTube story about: Nigel the Niggly Napkin

Happy New Year!
Anne Gaelan (alias Anne G. Dilley)

Bibliography:
Candacesmithettiquette.com
https://youtu.be/8-Zj12CRYxM
https://stephaniedesign.com
Etsy UK

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Napkins

One day you will thank me for this. Just like I’m thanking the Holly Holden web site for providing me with the details I will need for my next invitation to dinner. Or rather my first invitation to a dinner if you don’t count the cafe at Preston Marina. 

As it's Christmastime...

This is what Holly suggests:

‘While seated, wait for the hostess to remove her napkin first. Follow her lead and then, place yours on your lap, unfolding it below the table (no shaking it with a flourish). The fold faces you.

When there is a napkin ring, remove it by pulling it toward you. Then, place it to the left of your place setting. (Traditionally, a napkin ring is used for family, houseguests, or for informal dinners.)

If you must excuse yourself, place your napkin on your chair (if it is an upholstered seat, leave the soiled side facing up). By doing so, you are discreetly not calling more attention that you have left the table. The other option, which I do not condone, is leaving it on the table to the left of the dinner plate. Who wants to look at your napkin?

At a private dinner party, wait for the hostess/host to determine when dinner is over. What does one appropriately do with their napkin, then? I will let you in on a little secret! Here is the old-school signal to your hostess that you know the proper way to leave your napkin after dinner: Fold your napkin similarly to how and where it was placed when you arrived at the table (unless it is a rather challenging fold, i.e., The Duchess Fold).

Folding lesson

The easy and proper method is to simply fold your napkin into a rectangle, and place it to the left, where the forks were originally placed. Most guests just plop their napkins to the left or in the middle of their place, without folding them. Truth be known, a seasoned hostess will know which guests know this old-school signal, and smile as they acknowledge their adeptness and polish when they view the empty table after the guests have departed.

If you are at a restaurant, not a private house, it is appropriate to leave your napkin in a casual-loose semi-fold. Leaving a balled-up napkin pile on the table is not appropriate. And, remember, for both private parties and restaurant dining, slide your chair back under the table when leaving.

Forbidden Faux Pas:

No-No: To place a fork on top of a napkin. The only exception to this rule is if you are dining outside, with the possibility that wind would require you to weigh down the napkin, and a fork would keep it from blowing away.

No-No: Wiping your entire mouth with a napkin.

What is done: Lightly dab the corners of your mouth, using the inside of the napkin, so that any marks are not visible on the outside. Ladies, try your best not to get lipstick on the linen napkin as a courtesy to the hostess.

No-no: To place a napkin standing up inside a wine glass.’

Well, I’m pleased that all that is settled now. You have no excuse for being shunned in the circles you move in.

Incidentally, whilst I was looking for these details I came across the fact that there is actually a name related to all the above and that is Tablescape. Who knew?

A useful napkin

Holy Thursday

They're kindly here, to let us linger so late,
Long after the shutters are up.
A waiter glides from the kitchen with a plate
Of stew, or some thick soup,

And settles himself at the next table but one.
We know, you and I, that it's over,
That something or other has come between
Us, whatever we are, or were.

The waiter swabs his plate with bread
And drains what's left of his wine,
Then rearranges, one by one,
The knife, the fork, the spoon, the napkin,
The table itself, the chair he's simply borrowed,
And smiles, and bows to his own absence.

                                                        Paul Muldoon (1951 - )

Terry Q.

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