Dear Vi,

How is it that the pineapple comes to represent hospitality?

Adam Kois, Westchester, NJ

Dear Adam,

The pineapple is one of those rare delicacies sailors tasted on their voyages in the New World. Those who successfully made a round trip passage to a land of the pineapple stored them on board to hoist onto poles when entering a new port - a sort of peace sign. Since those times a pineapple at the entry to a doorway symbolizes the hospitable nature of the dweller inside.