What is a souvenir? Significance, examples and photos

Almost all people in the world love different trinkets. And if the little things arrived or arrived from another country, then in this case they have no price. Here we will not analyze a person’s addiction to things that mean nothing. We’d better talk about what a souvenir is. This is our topic today. Let's analyze the meaning, synonyms, give examples and even show photos.

Meaning

The dictionary this time cannot please us with an abundance of meanings and gives only two options:

1. A keepsake.
2. An artwork, a thing as a memory of visiting a country, some place.

We have no doubt that the meaning of the concept of “souvenir” has reached the reader. This, however, does not negate the need to provide a clear example that will consolidate success.

Everyone knows that in England there is the famous Big Ben - this is one of the symbols of Misty Albion. Imagine a man was walking around London, maybe he had gone on several excursions, but now it was time to say goodbye to the hospitable dwelling of prim European and go back to his native Russia.

The average tourist will not ask himself: “What is a souvenir?” This is a waste of time. He will immediately go to the appropriate store, which specializes in satisfying foreigners with various pleasant trifles, and will buy himself a small copy of Big Ben to remember the trip on dark winter evenings.

In France, the Eiffel Tower will be such a souvenir (of course, its smaller copy - the whole symbol of Paris will not be given to anyone), of course, if a person was in the capital of the homeland of Victor Hugo. And we offer the reader to continue the series. We are sure that he will perfectly cope with this.

Synonyms

We have revealed the significance of the object of study, and we are no longer concerned about the question of what a souvenir is. This is already clear. The next step is to find out those words and phrases that could replace it.

Since the essence behind the definition is rather complex, there are not many synonyms. Here they are:

• gift;
• a keepsake;
• wake (obsolete version).

This time the catch is not rich. But that’s nothing. We will dwell on one of the synonyms.

A souvenir is not just a gift

Yes, we ourselves have pointed out the synonymy of the concepts “souvenir” and “gift”. Of course, we are not going to refuse our words, but we need to understand that an ordinary gift, say, for a birthday is not a souvenir.

A gift even for an anniversary or an ordinary holiday may not really mean anything. That is, of course, he is beautiful, wonderful, and the person who presented it is gold, but he does not have any important associations for the person. After all, in order to understand the meaning of the word “souvenir”, you need to know its history, and what story can a juicer or hairdryer have? Now, if a person grabbed a hairdryer from a hotel in London or Moscow, where he spent unforgettable days ... Of course, the reader will never do that, this is just an example.

If we round off the conversation about a gift and a souvenir, then we say: a gift can be a souvenir, but the first must have a certain story, important for the person receiving this gift. We hope that the meaning of the word “souvenir” is already clear.

The recent championship of Spartak and non-trivial “pleasant things”

There is a stable association: a souvenir means abroad. In general, the object of our today's study with strong, almost indestructible bonds is connected with travels to other countries, but this is by no means always the case. Sometimes a souvenir reminds us of an event that happened on the land of our parents, grandparents. Let's say more: sometimes a souvenir can remind you of a person - this is for those who know how to part peacefully.

And what about football? Recently, Spartak celebrated the championship at the home stadium. Recall that the “red-white” did not win the championship for 16 long years. Therefore, their fans are now, may the reader forgive us this word, in ecstasy. After the match with “Terek” in the 29th round of the Russian Championship, the organizers decided to do something nice and put fans on the field so that they and the team celebrated the long-awaited success. The fans began to feel dizzy from the surging emotions, and they took apart not only the net of gates for souvenirs, as was usually done in Europe in the 90s, but also the gates themselves. We will not attach photos of “souvenirs”; we will manage with traditional gifts from abroad. You won’t surprise our reader with a gate!

This is all to the fact that it is not necessary to travel outside the country to get hold of presents as a keepsake. The main thing is the right moment, including stories. Fans are apparently confident that their club championship is a rare, almost blue bird, and may no longer happen. It is necessary for Spartak to take first place 5 or 6 times, preferably in a row, and then the fans of the “national team” will calm down, and the club’s property will be safe and sound.

How to choose a suitable souvenir?

It must be remembered that a keepsake is a mixture of banality and originality. Banalities - because a person usually brings from the voyage something symbolic that is done for tourists to import, and the original - because in the country of a traveler a souvenir is a rarity. For example, how many people in Russia have a smaller copy of Big Ben straight from London? That's the same.

Therefore, when choosing a gift for memory, you should remember the golden mean between beaten and shocking. If this is a foreign pleasant trifle, then you need to choose it so that it has a national flavor, as in our Russian doll. You should not bring from another country something so indistinguishable and anonymous - consumer goods. The thing should proudly carry the title “Souvenir”. We have already understood the meaning of the word.