“An Hoagl hobn”
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area : Steirisches Vulkanland |
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category : social practices |
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We are aware of the expression “an Hoagl hobn” (coll. for “cling to your treasures”) from our children, parents and grandparents, who have developed a strong emotional attachment to specific items which they treasure, and thus treat with particular care. This loving care enables us to learn a renewed appreciation for material things, to plan our consumer behaviour over the longer term, and to avoid the ways of the throwaway society.
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We have all taken a peek in a child’s treasure chest: a shiny stone, an old shilling coin, the first milk tooth that they lost, a wing of a peacock butterfly, a dried flower, three marbles, a piece of bark with a face on it… all of them have special stories to tell, and yet none of them would fetch a single cent at a flea market. We also remember Grandma, how she handled her dishes (which she received as a wedding gift) with the utmost care, carefully replacing them in the sideboard. Only on special days or occasions would these treasures be brought out for use with particular care and attention. Or Grandpa, whose every screwdriver had its own special place in his sanctuary, the workshop. Never would you find him hammering in a nail with a pair of tongs simply because he had no hammer to hand.
All of the things that we treasure most take on this aura of value – they become “hoagl” to us. We turn them into something special, into something sacred. They take on particular meaning in our life, and in our work.
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