Credit for the EASTER BONNET in American culture is given to the song “Easter Parade” written in 1933 by Irving Berlin. More on this in a moment, but it must be noted that while partially true, special bonnets or hats for Easter pre-date Mr. Berlin by a long mile and...
The original molded CHOCOLATE EASTER EGG was the product of candy company competition and one man’s dedication to the Quaker philosophy of helping the community. In 1824, John Cadbury opened a small shop in Birmingham, England, specializing in a variety of drinks, including tea, coffee, and drinking chocolate. He was...
The incredible, edible egg! Contrary to rumors of strictly pagan origins, eggs have been associated with Judaism and Christianity for centuries. For example, at the Passover Seder a hard-boiled egg dipped in salt water symbolizes both new life and the Passover sacrifice offered at the Temple in Jerusalem. The truth...
Simnel cake is a light and airy fruitcake widely eaten in the United Kingdom, Ireland and other countries with patterns of migration from them, associated with Lent and Easter. It is distinguished by layers of almond paste or marzipan, typically one in the middle and one on top, and a set of eleven balls made of the same...
How about an Easter Week quiz? How about TWO quizzes? All in good fun, as the answers are in spoiler boxes directly below each quiz. How well do YOU know your Easter trivia? Give it a go! The first quiz is on general Easter topics. For the second quiz I...
Yesterday was Palm Sunday so therefore Holy Week has officially begun. Here on my blog, I more or less started in on Easter-related topics last week with a 5-part series on the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. Please check those out as it truly is a remarkable series, if I say...
This is Part V (the finale) of my series exploring the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. I strongly encourage clicking over to read Part I and Part II as they include truncated bios of Peter Carl Fabergé, Tsar Alexander III, and Tsar Nicholas II. More importantly, ALL of the previous parts relate the history of...
This is Part IV of my series exploring the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. I strongly encourage clicking over to read Part I and Part II as they include truncated bios of Peter Carl Fabergé, Tsar Alexander III, and Tsar Nicholas II. More importantly, all three of the previous parts relate the history of the eggs...
This is Part III of my series exploring the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. I strongly encourage clicking over to read Part I and Part II as they include truncated bios of Peter Carl Fabergé, Tsar Alexander III, and Tsar Nicholas II. More importantly, the previous parts relate the history of...
Today I bring Part II of my series exploring the Fabergé Imperial Easter Eggs. Be sure to read PART I first as I give a brief history on extraordinary jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé, and how he came to create the famous Easter Eggs for Tsar Alexander III. I also highlighted...
With Easter fast approaching, I started searching for topics related to the holiday. Naturally eggs tend to come up, in some way or another, and I do have a couple of interesting egg-centric posts scheduled for next week. In fact, I intended to write a short blog for Easter week...
Another April Fool’s Day and it only makes sense to laugh at the excellent pranks and tricks that have been pulled on a large scale. As always, the best place on the web for a complete catalog of hoaxes dating as far back as the Middle Ages, no lie, is...
Did you honestly think I would stop with hedge mazes? Of course not! MAZE MONTH would not be complete without shining a wee bit of history and light on the plethora of mazes and labyrinths that are not made of foliage. This will be the finale to what has been...
MAZE MONTH has to end sometime (and tomorrow will indeed be the last post) but as I searched historic hedge mazes I ran across so many astounding structures of a newer creation that I had to include at least one blog about them. The following list is far from complete when...
MAZE MONTH reaches its conclusion with the discussion of hedge mazes from the days of yore! Be sure to check out the previous four blog posts covering the overall history of mazes and labyrinths (links below). In between the historical blogs, MAZE MONTH has included eight posts spotlighting the surviving...
