Little Darling Naming Ceremony

 

 

(Warning! A lot of talk before the ceremony begins... Context!)

 

Our newest Little Darling is receiving her own Dolltown name.

 

Now, what's the fuss today?

This has happened about a hundred times here in Dolltown!

Every time newbies have shown up they are named. Even some of our Originals, and our Vintage, received special Dolltown names...

 

This pretty April Norton painted Little Darling has even been in lots of stories already...but with different names! She's been here for a year! 

 

We've been waffling, as you'll see in this April post...

Her given name was Marlee. But we couldn't have another "M" name. We already have a Little Darling with first letter m...Maggie! And since that is a kind of rule around here, we had to come up with a name that had its own initial sound. Like "D"! We have no LD "D's"!

So we called her Dove, then Desiree, with a wig change. How about Doris Dark and Doris Day for more wig changes! Hmmm. It didn't stick.

 

We called her Em a lot, because that's what she said her name was when she came.

"Em? we asked. 

"Yes, Em for Magic."

Okay, that was a little confusing. But the magic thing stuck. You should be around her a little. (We have one story, around Spring time.... Whether it's trick magic or, you know, Magic, we don't know.)  We've been curious and curiouser, as they say, as the year has gone by.

When she's around there is talk of angels, mermaids, garden fairies, butterfly wings...

And she keeps coming back to this flowy silver hair she came with, despite how cute she is in the other wigs/personas.

 

But recently we thought enough is enough!

The choice for her name must be made! This transforming from one name to another can't go on.

I've got to sort out this niggling feeling like we are missing something...

I'm good at this. Experienced. And I love curling up on a weekend, with a coffee, cruising name sites. Like 20,000 Names. And Nameberry.  I scroll through lists, holding in my attention the doll I am naming: its look, its character, its voice in my ear...

 

Two days. Nothing. (And its the third or fourth time! For Em!) I mean, there's nice names, but there was a mood I was looking for. A meaning. A word. A soft sound... 

Then I woke with "Whisper" in my mind. And then seconds later, "Gossamer". And that was it.

I had skipped the G's. She didn't seem like a hard "G" girl. She is soft, light, ephemeral in her being, to me.

And "Gossamer" is the name of the garden sprite (a lime whisp) that appears over my shoulder when I am in my garden. The name came to me several years ago, when I was told by a True Witch that the tiny sprite was there. If she hadn't told me I might have just thought it was that buzzing you get in your ear. But now I can see it. (You know, in my imagination.)

 

As a phonetician, I had allowed the sound of a letter to block the essence of a word.

Gossamer is super fine, delicate. Like Em feels. So...Gossamer is her name.

I won't go back and change the stories. But Gossamer she has always been and always will be.

 

Okay, now THAT sounds like a naming ceremony is in order, right? A celebration for finally coming to a decision. A meaningful decision!

And for Dolltown, if we are talking ceremony, that means the Iples have to be involved, so the invitation went out, and Aira was free. She gathered the necessary items for the ceremony, as you'll see.

(No candles. It's summer! And daytime!)

 

Okay, let's get this party started! 

You won't see the rest of the Girls or other Dolltowners who attended.

Just Aira, Gossamer herself, and her bff Indira, who becomes a part of the ceremony. Yes!