Folklore

Fun Facts About Christmas

December 23, 2010

Christmas has a rich history filled with lots of little-known facts. Consider these unusual facts about Christmas … or these other fun facts you might not know. . . Photo copyright richtpt at Flickr.

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Four Facts About Christmas You Probably Didn’t Know

December 22, 2010

Christmas may be one of America’s favorite holidays, but it’s rather surprising how little folks know about this day. Here are four strange facts about Christmas you probably didn’t know:

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“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” –Old Cornish Prayer Since the earliest times, the evening of October 31 has been considered a scary time, when the dead walk among us and the witches are particularly powerful. So, I thought it would be [...]

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A Spooky Poem for a Spooky Time of Year

October 27, 2010

This vintage Halloween card is courtesy of riptheskull on Flickr. Halloween is right around the corner. So, I can’t help but think back on the scariest poem from my childhood. Around this time of year, I simply adored this deliciously creepy delight, which was first published back in 1916 and has been frightening little kids ever since. Be [...]

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Pumpkins Continue to Delight

September 28, 2010

“He beheld great fields of Indian corn, and the yellow pumpkins lying beneath them, turning up their fair round bellies to the sun.” Washington Irving’s The Legend of Sleepy Hollow Pumpkins have reigned in our autumn cooking, long before they started to appear on our Thanksgiving tables in the form of delicious pies. An important staple in Native Americans’ diets, [...]

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Spring Equinox Facts

March 20, 2010

Looking Back: Spring began officially in the Northern Hemisphere with the spring equinox today. From this point forward, the days will grow longer than the nights until the summer solstice on June 21.

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Make a Toast to Wassail

January 4, 2010

Spices often used for wassail, including allspice, nutmeg, cloves and cinnamon. Image by Pod Chef at Flickr.com If there’s a drink that deserves a toast this holiday season – and all winter, really – it’s wassail. This steaming spiced concoction is often made with roasted apples; sugary spices; dark ale, wine, sherry or port; along with [...]

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Strange Facts about New Year’s Day

December 30, 2009

Happy New Year! Or, is it? The fact is it depends on who you ask and when…In much of the world, it took quite a while before Jan. 1 was actually considered the start of the year.

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Nest in Style this Winter Solstice

December 21, 2009

Photo by stevendepolo on Flickr Welcome winter solstice – the year’s longest night – in the Northern Hemisphere (exact Dec. 21, 2009 at 12:47 p.m. EST). From this point forward, the days will grow longer and the nights will shorten until the summer solstice in mid-June. Considering how cold and dark it can be at this [...]

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The Snow-Storm

December 10, 2009

With snow falling all over the nation this week, I couldn’t help think of a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It goes like this… “Announced by all the trumpets of the sky, Arrives the snow; and driving o’er the fields, Seems nowhere to alight; the whited air Hides hills and woods, the river and the [...]

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