A memento, or a souvenir, is an object a traveler brings home for the memories associated with it. Derived from a French word, souvenir means "to remember." For many people, it's not so much the souvenir that's of value, but what it brings up — a memory and a good story to tell. One professor at Syracuse University says that "Travel is a special and unique period of one's life, and there's a natural human tendency to bring back a trophy from someplace you have been, to commemorate the event." [1]
Travelers are addicted to buying souvenirs, making souvenir industry to reach more than $1.5 billion a year. No trip feels complete until we've purchased a souvenir to remind us of where we've been.
Souvenir is almost the same as memorabilia. As souvenir is treasured for its memories, memorabilia are valued for a connection to a historical, sporting event, culture, entertainment.
There are many types of souvenirs/memorabilia, that includes clothing such as T-shirts or hats, refrigerator magnets, snow globe, miniature figures, mugs and bowls, ashtrays, spoons, and many others. One example of souvenirs that could be classified as a memorabilia is The Lion Monument. The Lion Monument, or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture of a lion with the size of 6 m high and 10 m long. The sculpture is carved out of a wall of sandstone rock in Lucerne, Switzerland, and portrays a dying lion stabbed by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. It was designed as a memorial for the Swiss Guards who lost their lives while defending the French King Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
Many cities in the world have its own souvenirs that portray its city landmark, from Tower of Eiffel in Paris, Big Ben in London, to Statue of Liberty in NY City. Another example of souvenirs that depicts city landmark is Manneken Pis, landmark of Brussels, Belgium. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. There are several legends behind this statue but the one I like is this one. When Brussels was under siege by an enemy, the attackers planned to explode the city walls. As the explosive materials were burned by the enemy, the little boy urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city
Everyone has their own favorite souvenirs. Some like to collect small glasses with a writing that says Hard Rock Café here or there. For me, my favorite souvenirs are the one made of pewter. Pewter is a metal alloy, that contain at least 90% of tin, with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony and bismuth. Today, pewter is mainly used in decorative objects such as collectible statuettes and figurines, replica coins, pendants, etc. because they are malleable (can be shaped easily).
Although pewter is heavy and a bit expensive, I like pewter souvenirs because they look elegant, long lasting, and last but not least you wouldn’t find it sold in ITC, not like the refrigerator magnet..
So my fellow toastmasters, the next time you travel anywhere on earth, don’t forget to bring mementos home that will remind you with the places you’ve been to.
[1] Source: http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/souvenirs03.asp
(c) images: private collections; words: by MZ
Travelers are addicted to buying souvenirs, making souvenir industry to reach more than $1.5 billion a year. No trip feels complete until we've purchased a souvenir to remind us of where we've been.
Souvenir is almost the same as memorabilia. As souvenir is treasured for its memories, memorabilia are valued for a connection to a historical, sporting event, culture, entertainment.
There are many types of souvenirs/memorabilia, that includes clothing such as T-shirts or hats, refrigerator magnets, snow globe, miniature figures, mugs and bowls, ashtrays, spoons, and many others. One example of souvenirs that could be classified as a memorabilia is The Lion Monument. The Lion Monument, or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture of a lion with the size of 6 m high and 10 m long. The sculpture is carved out of a wall of sandstone rock in Lucerne, Switzerland, and portrays a dying lion stabbed by a spear, covering a shield bearing the fleur-de-lis of the French monarchy; beside him is another shield bearing the coat of arms of Switzerland. It was designed as a memorial for the Swiss Guards who lost their lives while defending the French King Louis XVI during the French Revolution.
Many cities in the world have its own souvenirs that portray its city landmark, from Tower of Eiffel in Paris, Big Ben in London, to Statue of Liberty in NY City. Another example of souvenirs that depicts city landmark is Manneken Pis, landmark of Brussels, Belgium. It is a small bronze fountain sculpture depicting a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. There are several legends behind this statue but the one I like is this one. When Brussels was under siege by an enemy, the attackers planned to explode the city walls. As the explosive materials were burned by the enemy, the little boy urinated on the burning fuse and thus saved the city
Everyone has their own favorite souvenirs. Some like to collect small glasses with a writing that says Hard Rock Café here or there. For me, my favorite souvenirs are the one made of pewter. Pewter is a metal alloy, that contain at least 90% of tin, with the remainder commonly consisting of copper, antimony and bismuth. Today, pewter is mainly used in decorative objects such as collectible statuettes and figurines, replica coins, pendants, etc. because they are malleable (can be shaped easily). 
Although pewter is heavy and a bit expensive, I like pewter souvenirs because they look elegant, long lasting, and last but not least you wouldn’t find it sold in ITC, not like the refrigerator magnet..
So my fellow toastmasters, the next time you travel anywhere on earth, don’t forget to bring mementos home that will remind you with the places you’ve been to.
[1] Source: http://www.viamagazine.com/top_stories/articles/souvenirs03.asp
(c) images: private collections; words: by MZ
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