Waffles for New Year, Easter and weddings

Waffle irons were often forged and given as wedding presents (like the one pictured, where the name Anna can be made out in the carving), but they also could have been gifts from one noble person to another. It is possible that the irons of the Burgundian dukes weren’t owned by them, but were made as a gift to allies or in honour of the dukes for a certain celebration. One of them depicted the Lamb of God, which is an Easter theme. During the Middle Ages, the New Year started at Easter in many parts of western Europe. With the introduction of the Gregorian calendar, the New Year shifted to the first of January and the custom of baking waffles shifted with it. When genre and still-life paintings show wintertide, waffles always appear on the canvas. In many rural areas the connection between Easter and the start of the year continued for centuries.