Legend of the spirit face

The legend of the tree spirits comes from German ancestry. When a couple had a child, they would bring in a log from the forest at the child's birth and place it under the bed. The log remained under the bed for the child's life until he was to marry. The parents, upon learning of marriage plans, took the log to a woodcarver and had him bring out the "spirit that lived in the log." Sometimes the spirit looked wise and loving, and sometimes comical, sometimes serious. Whatever the woodcarver produced was given to the newlyweds to bring special wisdom, joy, peace and love to the new couples home.