This is Finlay this afternoon with two very special gifts. In his hand is a small silver Bierkrug (beer stein) with his name engraved on it, given to him by his great aunt and uncle Ed and El, and sent all the way from Victoria BC. We haven't yet thanked them for it (card is on the way...) but we're sure that when he is old enough to sit at a table and behave properly, he'll make good use of it (with milk or juice, of course...)
The coloured band Finlay is wearing is a delightful gift from Finlay's father's fraternity, Frankonia Heidelberg. Members of the fraternity wear these bands to symbolize membership and they have the fraternity's colours on them. The one Finlay is wearing is typical for a 'first year' or freshman member. Upon fighting a fencing duel and passing a complex oral exam on the history of the fraternity, the history of Heidelberg, etc., members are allowed to wear the full band, which is gold black red and gold. Those sound a lot like the colours of the German flag. In fact, they are, and the flag takes its colours from the early 19th century national unification movement in which specific types of fraternities played a key role. More information here: www.frankonia-hd.de.
Thank you Ed and El and thank you Frankonia!
(He'll grow into it...)
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