Eating a Special Food on New Year’s Day?

Eating a Special Food on New Year’s Day?

When I was a little girl, my dad insisted that I eat at least one spoonful of black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It was supposed to bring good luck. I didn’t like them. Eating even a spoonful seemed like a high price to pay for good luck in the new year. Folks from the southern United States eat black-eyed peas on January 1st. Cornbread is another favorite in that section of the country. Eating green, leafy vegetables, supposed to resemble money, bring prosperity. Citizens in Spain eat 12 grapes at midnight. Each grape represents one month of the year. If the fifth and sixth grape taste especially bad, for example, May and June might be a little difficult. Germans, Austrians, and Hungarians—among others—eat pork on New Year’s. Pigs signify progress....

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First Children’s Christmas Party at the White House

First Children’s Christmas Party at the White House

by Sandra Merville Hart President John Adams and First Lady Abigail Adams didn’t have the warmest of homes at the White House in 1800. Their Pennsylvania Avenue home, built near a swamp, was drafty and cold. Large fires crackled in thirteen fireplaces to warm their home. In 1800, as Christmas approached the President and First Lady decided to host a children’s Christmas party. Their four-year-old granddaughter, Susanna Boylston Adams, lived with them and they wanted to honor her. Greenery was hung to decorate the East Room. Government officials and their children were invited to the party. A small orchestra played while guests munched on cakes and drank punch. They sang Christmas carols and played games. The party was a great success with one exception. One of...

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A Christmas Tradition: Christmas Trees

A Christmas Tradition: Christmas Trees

Did you know …?   A small fir tree, set on a table in a home in Latvia, a country in northern Europe, was called a Christmas tree in 1510. According to legend, Martin Luther (1483 – 1546) saw starlight peeking through the branches of fir trees on a cold December evening as he walked home through the woods. The first lighted Christmas tree After he went home, Martin wanted to capture the look of the starlight through the branches. He tied a candle holder onto a branch of the evergreen Christmas tree in his house. He liked how the flame of the candle looked and tied more candleholders onto the tree. It impressed his family and friends, who did the same to the trees in their homes. The meaning of the Christmas tree Martin saw meaning in the Christmas...

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A Surprising Way to Celebrate Christmas and New Years in the Early 1800s

A Surprising Way to Celebrate Christmas and New Years in the Early 1800s

A surprising way those living in the country celebrated Christmas and New Years in the early 1800s was with Shooting and Raffling Matches. A generous person bought gifts Someone in the community bought generous amounts of coffee, tea, and other goods and wrapped them in many small packages. These goods would then be raffled off at a specific price per chance. Shooting at a target took place during the day with a rifle. Raffles happened in the evening. Raffle winners found by coins in a hat To find raffle winners, copper cents were tossed into a hat, shaken up, and thrown on the table by a chance holder. The most number of heads in a certain number of throws decided the winner of the prize. Shooting New Year Shooting New Year was another surprising annual event. A...

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I’ve Brought Some Corn for Popping

I’ve Brought Some Corn for Popping

by Sandra Merville Hart This line from the beloved Christmas carol “Let it Snow” started me wondering when the tradition of popping corn began. People have known how to pop corn for thousands of years. Ears of popcorn were found in the Bat Cave in New Mexico that are about 4,000 years old. Found in 1948 and 1950, a penny is larger than the smallest of these ears while others are about 2 inches long. Popcorn remnants discovered in Mexico have been dated to around 3600 BC. One-thousand-year-old popcorn kernels found in North Chile still pop. Aztec Indians in the 16th century used popcorn for ceremonial headdresses and necklaces. Young women danced a popcorn dance wearing popcorn garlands on their heads. Pearls or Nonpareil were names that the kernels were sold...

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