Posts Tagged ‘History, Traditions & Lore’

Measuring Does Matter

Saturday, August 28th, 2010
Heart Shaped Measuring Cups

Heart Shaped Measuring Cups

An important factor in being a good cook is to understand how to properly measure ingredients. With many recipes, the correct measurement of ingredients can either make or break a recipe. This is especially true in baking where every tiny teaspoon counts!

There was a time when cookbooks did not use terms like teaspoon, tablespoon or cup. Instead, they used phrases like “nice leg of spring lamb” or a “handful” of beans. Sometimes, a recipe would reference the size needed to another item, such as “the size of a walnut.” Recipes would also indicate personal preference by terms like “sufficient” salt. After all, what is sufficient for one person may not be sufficient to another.

It wasn’t until 1896 when Fannie Farmer introduced the “Boston Cooking-School Cook Book” when exact measurements were introduced. In the United States, we generally measure liquid ingredients and dry ingredients by volume. Elsewhere in the world, cooks usually measure dry ingredients by weight. In fact, worldwide weight is typically the universal way of measuring.

Favors, Favors & More Favors

Friday, August 20th, 2010
Wedding Favors

Wedding Favors

Additional meanings have become attached to the wedding favor as time has passed. In total, the wedding favor is a symbol of well wishing for the five most important ingredients of a marriage bond: Health, Wealth, Happiness, Fertility and Long Life.

Essentially, the wedding favor is a symbol of love and respect from the bride and the groom, and a token of well wishing for their deliriously happy future together.  In addition, they add to the décor and overall theme of the wedding itself.

Wedding favors have become increasingly popular over the years as more and more people want small keepsakes to remember special occasions by.  The actual monetary ‘value’ of the gifts is relatively small now in comparison to our ancient Ancestors.  Common favor include ribbons, candies, picture frames, personalized book marks, laminated plaques, candy, seed packets, pillows, balloons and potpourri.

Why Is There a Sprig of Live Ivy in the Bride’s Bouquet

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

Ivy in Bridal BouquetIvy symbolizes eternal fidelity & wedded bliss. A popular Victorian tradition was for a bride to plant the ivy in her bouquet after the wedding and watch it grow through the years, passing down sprigs from the same plant for her daughters & granddaughters to use in their weddings.

Something old, something

Monday, August 16th, 2010

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue and a silver sixpence in her shoe:

Something old, Something Blue

This saying dates back to Victorian time.

Something  Old:
Represents the link with the bride’s family and the past. A common solution many bride’s choose is to wear a piece of family jewelry or their mother’s or grandmother’s wedding dress.

Something New:
Represents good fortune and success in the bride’s new life. The wedding dress is often chosen as the new item.

Something Borrowed:
To remind the bride that friends and family will be there for her when help is needed. The borrowed object might be something such as a lace handkerchief or an item of jewelry.

Something Blue:
Symbolizes faithfulness and loyalty and dates back to biblical times when blue represented purity. Frequently the bride’s garter is the blue item.

A Silver Sixpence in her Shoe is to wish the bride wealth, both financial and happiness.

First comes love. Then comes

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

Daisy Wedding Cake

a cushion-cut diamond ring.  Next; a vintage-themed wedding with a fried-chicken station.  A wedding may be one of humankind’s oldest traditions, but the ingredients reflect the world we live in today.  Here’s todays top in cake flavors;

  1. pound cake with peach mousse
  2. red velvet cake
  3. dark chocolate cake
  4. almond cake with Bavarian cream filling
  5. spice cake with orange buttercream filling
  6. hummingbird cake (banana, pineapple, pecans) with cream cheese filling
  7. carrot cake with lemon filling
  8. grasshopper cake (mint and Oreos)
  9. Key-lime cake
  10. Banana-buttermilk cake with peanut butter filling

Ever wonder why a secretaries day?

Monday, April 19th, 2010

National Secretaries Week was created in 1952 through the efforts of Harry F. Klemfuss, a New York publicist. Working in conjunction with the National Secretaries Association, later known as the International Association of Administrative Professionals, wanted to encourage more people to consider careers in the secretarial/administrative support field.

The official period of celebration was first proclaimed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Charles Sawyer “National Secretaries Week,” which was held June 1–7 in 1952, with Wednesday, June 4, 1952 designated National Secretaries Day. The first Secretaries’ Day was sponsored by the National Secretaries Association with the support corporate groups.

In 1955, the observance date of National Secretaries Week was moved to the last full week of April. The name was changed to Professional Secretaries Week in 1981, and became Administrative Professionals Week in 2000 to encompass the expanding responsibilities and wide-ranging job titles of administrative support staff.

Over the years, Administrative Professionals Week has become one of the largest workplace observances. The event is celebrated worldwide through community events, social gatherings, and individual corporate activities recognizing support staff with gifts.  In the United States, the day is often celebrated by giving one’s assistant gifts such as, flowers, candy, trinkets, lunch at a restaurant, or time off.  And CAKES.

Did you know that Mother’s Day dates back to the 1800′s?

Friday, April 16th, 2010

The history of Mother’s Day is centuries old and goes back to the times of ancient Greeks, who held festivities to honor Rhea, the mother of the gods. The early Christians celebrated the Mother’s festival on the fourth Sunday of Lent to honor Mary, the mother of Christ. Interestingly, later on a religious order stretched the holiday to include all mothers, and named it as the Mothering Sunday. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time. In 1872 Julia Ward Howe organized a day for mothers dedicated to peace. It is a landmark in the history of Mother’s Day.

What is the origin of the Easter bunny?

Friday, April 2nd, 2010

Like the origin of Easter, the origin of the Easter Bunny has roots that go back to pre-Christian, Anglo-Saxon history. The holiday was originally a pagan celebration that worshipped the goddess Eastre. She was the goddess of fertility and springtime and her earthly symbol was the rabbit.

Thus the pre-Christian Anglo-Saxons worshipped the rabbit believing it to be Eastre’s earthly incarnation.

When the Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity, the pagan holiday, which occurred around the same time as the Christian memorial of Jesus’ resurrection from the dead, was combined with the Christian celebration and given the name Easter.

Originally, there were some very pagan practices that went along with the Easter celebration. Today, Easter is often commercialized, with all the focus on eggs, the Easter bunny, etc.

Because of this, many churches are starting to refer to it as Resurrection Day.

Back in the 18th Century, Invitations…..

Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010

Envelopes
In the 18th century the invitation would be placed in a handmade envelope and sealed with hot wax imprinted with the family crest. Servants were then made to deliver the letters as there was no postal service. Now because this task was completed on horseback in all weathers, there became a need for an ‘outer envelope’. This not only protected the invitation, but was used to write directions for the servants. For example “Travel one day north to Newcastle. There, cross the stone bridge and proceed past three farms until you see the stone entrance marked ‘Williamson’. Remove this covering, and give the invitation to the doorman. Wait there for a response and make a note of same”.

Legends of the Honeymoon

Thursday, January 14th, 2010

Legend 4.
The term ‘honeymoon’ comes from the tradition of the bride drinking mead (a brewed, fermented drink made of honey) for one month after the wedding to encourage fertility, and a male child in particular.