Historic Cooking: Hannah Glasse's Rich Cake from 1774.

Hannah Glasse's Rich Cake from
The Art of Cookery, 1774.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

The Redone Challenge: #21: Party Foods (October 7 - October 20, 2016) If there’s a party, there has to be food! Pick a dish meant to be served to a crowd, or at a festive gathering, and show your work! 

At the school where I work, the 5th-grade classes spend a whole school day studying the Revolutionary War history of the United States, with a day of living history activities called Colonial Day.  The students rotate through a list of different activities ranging from candle dipping and writing with a quill and ink, to learning about the Boston Tea Party and enjoying a “party” at the “Governor’s Palace” in Williamsburg, VA.   The previous librarian used to assist with the Boston Tea Party activity, and I inherited that job when I took her place in the school library. My love for tea and history prepared me to coordinate the “party” part of the activity, as well as make the tea, and teach about tea and etiquette in the 18^th century.

18th century Rich Cake/Great Cake, iced.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

While the students’ parents were supposed to sign up to bring the treats for the “tea party”, only a few promised to bring food (although several things turned up unannounced on the day of the event), so I decided to bake something so that there would be enough for every student to have at least one piece of cake or one cookie.  Although the parents had previously brought 20th-century treats like banana bread and scones with frosting on them, I wanted to increase the historical accuracy of the activity.

Historical Sew Monthly: A Cap with a Pleated Ruffle

_Plucking the Turkey_ by Henry Walton,
1776, Tate Gallery.

I won't be able to keep up with all the challenges this year, and will probably be finishing up the blog post and putting it online after the deadline on whichever challenges I can complete, but hopefully people will enjoy seeing the results anyway!  Here is the challenge for February, in which I make a simple 18th century cap with a pleated ruffle.  Although I'm posting this in March, the sewing actually happened at the beginning of February ... 

Challenge #2: Tucks & Pleating – make a garment that features tucks and pleating for the shape or decoration.

Material: ¼ yard of cotton-linen blend fabric  

Pattern: self-drafted from Sue Felshin's instructions online

Year: 1775-ish

Notions: white thread, 20 inches of cotton cord (kitchen twine) and 26 inches of 1-inch wide ribbon 

How historically accurate is it? 75%, producing an accurate-looking, entirely hand-sewn cap, from a modern blend of linen and cotton. 

Hours to complete: 6 hours (by hand; would have been less if done by machine) 

First worn: for photos only, in mid-February.

Total cost: all from the stash, but it would have been less than $10 total if I'd bought everything new.

_The Butter Churner_, by Henry Robert Morland,
before 1797, Bonhams Auction House.

As many costumers have discovered, once your family knows that you make costumes, they turn to you when they want to borrow an outfit for whatever costume-friendly events come up in their life ... often not giving you much advance notice for pulling something together!  As if you have a whole costume shop inventory – in their size – at your disposal ... Anyway, as long as they don't expect me to let them do whatever they want to the costume or give them the aforesaid costume to keep, at no charge, I'm usually happy to put together an outfit for them, if I have the time.  This time around, it was my cousin's daughter, who is in 5^th grade, and who had a special social studies theme day at school at the beginning of this month.  The theme was the English colonial period of America's history, and all the students (and teachers) in the 5^th grades were expected to dress up and bring a period-inspired lunch for the day.  The teachers had gone to Party City and bought a bunch of cheap "Colonial" costumes for the kids to wear if they didn't come up with their own costume, but I had seen those before, and they were hideous, as those things typically are. 

Historical Food Fortnightly Challenge: The Frugal Housewife, with Shrimp Curry from 1942.

ingredients for the Shrimp Curry (with trout).
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

The Challenge: # 9 The Frugal Housewife

Throughout history, housewives and housekeepers have kept a close eye on their budgets and found creative ways to pinch pennies while providing delicious and nutritious food. Create a dish that interprets one historically-documented method of frugal cooking.  

I chose to interpret frugality as a way to use pantry staples, including canned meat, to pull together an easy dish.  You could also use leftover fish from another meal in this recipe!

The Recipe: (where did you find it, link to it if possible)

Found in my grandmother's cookbook, Burnt Toast Recipes: Victory Edition, published in Los Angeles in 1942, this recipe for Shrimp Curry takes advantage of pantry staples to make it economical as well as tasty.  The recipe book is a collection of recipes put together by the Women's Auxiliary to the Women's and Children's Hospital in Los Angeles, which took care of the wives and families of servicemen who were stationed in the area during WW2.  My grandmother worked as a candy striper at the hospital during the summers, taking the train out from Omaha, NE where she lived and taught school during the rest of the year.

California seemed to be lucky in comparison to other areas, because of our climate enabling food to be grown year-round, as well as the large number of dairies and poultry farms, and everyday residents who kept a cow and a few chickens around for butter, eggs and milk.  Fish were being caught and canned in Monterey throughout the War, and while much of it was sent to other parts of the U.S., and overseas to our armed forces and our allies, there was still quite a bit of food available, with or without food rationing.  This recipe is frugal in its use of butter and imported spices, and makes good use of canned fish.  Although it calls for shrimp, any canned fish can be used.  (Ignore the mushrooms in the photo above -- they were part of another recipe but mistakenly got into the photo for this dish.)  

Shrimp Curry
Sautè 1 small minced onion in 2 tablespoons butter until onion is soft but not brown.  Stir in 1 ½ teaspoons curry, 2 teaspoons flour and ½ teaspoon salt.  Simmer tightly covered for 20 minutes, then add 1 can shrimp (cleaned and shredded), 2 teaspoons lemon juice.  Simmer for 5 minutes and serve with browned rice.  – recipe from Alberta Austin.

Historical Food Fortnightly: Challenge #7 -- The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread -- Raspberry Jell from 1945.

Calves' feet boiling for jelly.  Photo: Elizabeth Urbach. 

Having tried (and failed) to make jelly the old-fashioned way from calves' feet, it was a very quick and easy job to make jelly with packaged gelatine.  The calves' feet need to be cleaned, covered in water and boiled gently for 4 hours, until the meat and cartilage fall off the bones and are dissolved into the broth.  Then the bones and meat chunks and any undissolved cartilage need to be picked out of the broth and the broth needs to cool and settle overnight.  Then the fat that rises to the top of the broth needs to be cleaned off the top, and the sediment that sinks to the bottom needs to be scraped off as well.  The resulting jelly is a transluscent, meaty brown color that needs to be melted again and strained through a jelly bag or a few layers of cheesecloth or wet muslin to remove more sediment.  Then the jelly needs to cool and settle again, and if it's not yet clear and flavor-less, it needs to be melted and run through a jelly bag again.  Once it's clear, only then can you add the flavorings and pour it into a mold and let it set into its finished shape!  That takes at least a day, just to prepare the unflavored gelatine! 

Catching up -- I'm so behind!

My grandparents' wedding
portrait from 1945.  Photo:
Elizabeth Urbach.

We've been keeping busy around here lately.  My grandma, who passed away last month, wanted to be buried in her hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota, up near the Canadian border with the U.S., and the weather has finally warmed up enough that they can have her interment.  So, several members of my family will be flying out to Minnesota next week and spending a few days there with the family for my grandma's second funeral and burial.  It will be a lot of flying and driving, and hopefully, a really good experience with the family, since it will also probably be the last time we go out to Minnesota, and maybe the last time we see those relatives in person ...

Victorian Christmas customs, ca. 1855

AntiqueClipArt.com

CHRISTMAS AND ITS CUSTOMS.  By Caroline A. White.  (from Godey's Lady's Book, December 1855)
THERE is something so congenial to human nature, so absolutely necessary to the health of mind and body, in the relaxation which festivals afford, that we do not wonder at the unwillingness which Sir Isaac Newton tells us the heathens felt to part with their holidays ... During the continuance of this antique feast, every one interchanged presents with his neighbor; their houses were decorated with evergreens and laurel; no criminal was punished; no arms taken up; the very slaves were permitted to sit at the table with their masters, in allusion to the happy equality which was supposed to have existed during the reign of Saturn; nay, banquets were sometimes made for them, at which their masters served—a custom whose shadow still lingers with us in the yule feast once common in the baronial halls of England, and not yet quite exploded from them.
We know of hospitable hearths, whose yeomen-proprietors annually preside at a supper given to their laborers, or, if this part of the business be deputed to their bailiff or foreman, at least make their appearance amongst them, to utter the old-fashioned but hearty “Much good may it do you!” and to give and receive the gratulations of the season.

Tips for a "Patriotic Evening Affair"

Image from http.clipart.edigg.com

This information is from the Woman's Home Companion magazine from 1919:

“For a Patriotic Evening Affair”

Open Sandwiches, Allied Style
South Park Sweetbreads or Veal Souffle
Pineapple Mousse
Coffee or Shrub Punch

Golden Gate National Cemetery, So. San Francisco, CA.

While the main conflicts of the Civil War occurred far away from San Jose, California did participate in the fighting, with local skirmishes between Union and Confederate sympathizers.  California was split between North and South in its sympathies, with more Confederate sympathy in southern California, and more Union sympathy in the North.  Since the gold fields were in Northern California, the Union received large donations of California gold, which greatly supported the war effort.  California’s brand-new state legislature also sent multiple companies of men to serve in the Union army, most ending up replacing more experienced soldiers stationed at army forts in the Midwest, but several seeing action on the front lines by joining up with Massachusetts and other Northern states’ militias.  The conflict split the nation in more ways than one, and the scars from those wounds are still sore in some areas of the U.S.!

History for dinner: To Fricassee a Chicken.

Instead of a picture of Chicken
Fricassee, here is a picture of
one of the ingredients, lemon.
Image: www.public-domain-
photos.com

I read a lot of old cookbooks and occasionally a historic recipe sounds great just as it is, and once in a while, there will be one that sounds easy enough that I actually make it (I avoid beating egg whites until they're stiff, for example).  Here is one that is easier in this historic form than it is in it's modern form: Chicken Fricassee.  What is that? It's basically chicken stewed or braised with herbs and vegetables in liquid (water, wine, or broth) and butter, so that it makes its own gravy, which is thickened with dairy and egg at the end.  You can serve it with rice or noodles, or by itself.

To Fricassee a Chicken.--Wash and cut the chicken into joints; scald and take off the skin, put the pieces in a stewpan, with an onion cut small, a bunch of parsley, a little thyme and lemon-peel, salt and pepper--add a pint of water, a bit of butter as large as an egg.  Stew it an hour; a little before serving, add the yolks of two eggs beaten up, with a tea-cup of sweet cream, stirring it in gradually; take care that this gravy does not boil.
-- from Early American Cookery: "The Good Housekeeper" by Sarah Josepha Hale (1841).

Thanksgiving Day.

Image: http://clipart.edigg.com 

"THANKSGIVING DAY.—When shall it be? The last Thursday in November falls on the 29th.  We petition each and all the State governors to appoint that day for our national rejoicing.  Then all the land will be glad together and union among the people would be a sure pledge of heart-thankfulness to God, who has given to us, as a nation, such wonderful prosperity, such universal blessings.
The readers and friends of the “Lady’s Book,” that is, a large majority of the people of these United States, agree in our petition.  Let us have a national day of Thanksgiving on Thursday, the 29th of November."  Godey's Lady's Book, October 1855.

100 years of voting rights for California women!

South Bay Ladies' Tea Guild celebrating the Woman's
Suffrage Centennial at Satori Tea Bar!

San Jose joins the rest of California in celebrating an important milestone: the centennial anniversary of women being granted the vote in California!  In 1911 the Women’s Suffrage Amendment was finally passed by both houses of the California Legislature, and it was signed into law on October 10, 1911 by the governor, under the eye of Clara Foltz, the first female lawyer on the Pacific coast of North America, who lived and practiced in San Jose.

The work began in 1840, when Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, along with other female American delegates to the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London, were not allowed to sit in the convention hall and participate, because of their gender.  They realized the many similarities between the conditions of racial slavery and gender inequality, and resolved to address the issue on their return to the U.S.

Happy 4th of July!

Clipart from http://clipart.edigg.com

It looks like Independence Day will be a scorcher in much of the U.S.A., so be sure to have plenty of iced tea and lemonade around!  Have a barbecue and avoid heating up the house.  Ice cream and popsicles are good, too.  Here are some recipes that sound good for the 4th of July:

Strawberry Lemon Iced Tea
Blueberry Lemonade
Dried Cherry Scones with clotted cream
Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade Crostini
Cold Strawberry Soup 
Mini Apple Tarts
Strawberry Shortcake
Blueberry Cream Cheese tarts

If you want, you can add a few antique recipes to your menu, according to what the Founding Fathers and Mothers might have enjoyed.  There's even an old recipe for Independence Cake, but it sounds like it makes a huge amount ...

Independence Cake
Twenty pounds of flour, fifteen pounds of sugar, ten pounds of butter, four dozen eggs, one quart of wine, one quart of brandy, one ounce of nutmeg; cinnamon, cloves, mace of each three ounces, two pounds citron, currants and raisins, five pounds each, one quart of yeast, when baked frost with loaf sugar, dress with boxwood and gold leaf.
-- from American Cookery by Amelia Simmons, 1814. Rare Books Exhibit from the Richard L. D. & Marjorie J. Morse Dept. of Special Collections, Kansas State University Libraries.

The main thing is to keep cool and stay safe while you celebrate the great nation that America still is!  Our ideals are worth celebrating!

“Review of Haagen Dazs Sweet Chai Latte ice cream”
"Tea history: what type of tea did American founders drink?"
"Tea with the Founders: an 18th century style tea menu"

What do we mean when we talk about tea? The basics.

A "cream tea," not "high tea!"
Tea, as an event, rather than just a beverage, is becoming more and more popular in the United States, due to the fast-paced, ultra-practical nature of most 21st century life. Setting aside some time to socialize and relax over an elegant and beautiful assortment of snacks and sweets is an excellent way to stave off the adverse effects of stress, and good practice in “being civilized,” something that is noticeably missing from many aspects of modern society.

Having a cup, or pot, of tea as part of a daily break from the normal routine, has been a traditional part of life in many countries of the world. These "tea times", especially in England and the former British countries, have their own vocabulary that has become the standard when talking about Western-style tea culture. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand the different terms, and confusion results. Even tea business owners have been known to use the terminology incorrectly, treating the words as if they’re interchangeable. So we need a vocabulary: what is tea, anyway?

Tea: the beverage prepared with leaves from the tea plant. It can be served hot or iced, in innumerable varieties, flavors, or blends, and at any time of day. It is usually served black (without any additions), white (with milk, or milk and sugar), with sugar or honey, with lemon, or with both lemon and a sweetener. Tea contains caffeine, unless it has been decaffeinated.

If the beverage that you are drinking does not contain actual tea leaves, then it is not tea. It is something called a tisane, also known as an “herbal tea.”

Tisane: an herbal infusion made with culinary herbs, edible flowers, fruits, and/or spices, but no tea leaves. It can be served hot or iced, with or without sweetener, but usually not with milk. The most popular tisanes contain citrus, fruit, or another tangy ingredient that will actually curdle any milk it touches! Most tisanes are naturally decaffeinated. Certain tisanes can be taken as home remedies.

And now we come to the English-style “tea-time” vocabulary, indicating a break in the day in between the regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner hours. Anytime someone sits down with a cup of tea, it can be called "tea," but here are the time-specific terms to use when the time of day matters, like when inviting someone to join you:

Elevenses: a small mid-morning snack of a cup or mug of tea and a cookie or two, or some bread and butter, or toast and jam. A quick, casual event, like a coffee break, it does not require utensils like a fork and knife. Traditionally taken around 11 a.m.

Afternoon tea: a mid-afternoon snack, consisting of tea, served hot or iced, with bread and cake. “Bread and cake” is most often interpreted to mean scones with jam, sandwiches, and small cakes or bite-sized pastries, again, not requiring a knife and fork. If several sandwiches or “savories” are included on the menu, it can substitute for lunch, but everything must still be bite-sized and dainty. Cream teas are a variety of afternoon tea, prominently featuring whipped cream, clotted cream, and dairy-rich pastries. Afternoon teas can be simple or elaborate affairs. Traditionally served between 2 and 4 p.m., "afternoon tea" is what most people picture when they think about having a tea party.

High tea: often mistaken for afternoon tea, or a fancier version of it, high tea is actually a hearty evening supper. It is often served buffet-style, with meat pies, cheese, fruit, and other filling foods, requiring the use of a fork, knife, and spoon to eat. Traditionally served between 5 and 7 p.m., it began its existence as the early evening supper of the working classes after a long day in the fields, factories, mines or shops.

Many American tea parlors have created their own, non-traditional, take on afternoon tea by adding bowls of soup, plates of salad, quiche, raw fruits and vegetables, and heavier desserts like cheesecake, and giving it the name "high tea." While these meals are served between 2 and 4 p.m. like afternoon tea, and contain heartier foods like high tea, we can see that they are neither. They are, instead, a new kind of tea meal, and I think they should have their own term: how about American tea?

Columbus Day Italian tea party!

Italian tea plate with figs, Stella d'Oro cookies, Sicilian Orange marmalade, Blood Orange soda, and Earl Gray tea.
Most Italian-Americans don’t see Columbus Day as a celebration of the subjugation of native peoples, as many others do, because Italians have experienced their own share of subjugation at the hands of foreigners, over the yeas, and they know that's nothing to celebrate. For them, Columbus Day is a memorial to Cristofero Colombo, one of the “little people” (i.e. common Italian, not foreign aristocrat) who had big ideas, and who braved ridicule, danger, poverty and complete ruin to bring his idea to life. The day is also a memorial to, and celebration of, the other Italians who have done the very same thing, repudiating the easy life of crime, and making a better life for themselves and their families through hard work, faith and dedication.

While Italy is better known as a coffee-drinking country, tea has a long-standing, although small, presence in the hearts of many Italians, both in Italy and in the wider world. Italian-Americans comprise 6% of the U.S. population (as of 2006), the 4th largest European ethnic community in the United States, as passionate in their love of food, family, culture, and community as they ever have been. These are values that all cultures can share and celebrate, so what better way to do that, than with an Italian-inspired tea party on Columbus Day?

Italian Tea Party menu:
Antipasto plate -- green & black olives, pickles, salami slices, prosciutto slices, peperoncini, sweet yellow peppers, pickled baby corn, marinated artichoke hearts.

Earl Grey tea (bergamot is grown in Sicily)
Italian mineral water
Orange or Pomegranite Juice with sparkling water

Foccacia topped with melted mozzarella, sauteed portobello mushroom and onion
Open-faced tuna salad sandwiches on ciabatta bread, with sliced fresh tomato and basil
Roast beef and roasted red pepper tea sandwiches with Parmesan cheese
Zucchini bread
Mushroom Bruschetta
Eggplant, Tomato and Mozzarella Panini

Grapes, figs, blood oranges and melon balls in sugar syrup flavored with rose water
Dates stuffed with Mascarpone cheese or Stilton
Biscotti, amaretti, cuccidati, or Stella d'Oro cookies
Sliced Strawberries marinated in Balsamic Vinegar, Sugar, and Pepper
Jordan almonds

“Belguardo for refined relaxation Italian-style: Afternoon tea and Italian delights”
“Tea in Tuscany” by Mary Caliendo
“Tea’s popularity grows in Italy” by Jane Pettigrew, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal
"Columbus: fact vs. fiction"
"Columbus: a biography"
"Columbus and the Indians: friend or foe?"

Lemon Curd recipes (part 2)

Unfortunately, while updating this blog today, Blogger deleted my earlier post about lemon curd, which has been a popular post with readers! I will attempt to re-create it here:

The traditional English tea fare tends to be slightly different from the menu that has become traditional on American tea tables. When I was a student in the south of England in 2000, I indulged my love of tea with good old PG Tips with milk and sugar, and a digestive biscuit on the side. In tea shops, where I loved to stop when it rained (even for 5 minutes), the usual offering was a pot of tea and a plain (unflavored) scone served with Devon cream and strawberry preserves. A variety of cakes and sandwiches were available, as well, but my English friends said that cakes and things were for holidays and other special occasions. Tea (as in, the everyday mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack) was a simple affair: a pot or cup of tea and a biscuit or two, or a piece of toast. The combination of tea, scone, cream and jam comprise the traditional English Cream Tea. The addition of egg and cress, and cucumber sandwiches, with perhaps some biscuits and one kind of cake, made the menu into a traditional English Afternoon Tea.

In the United States, however, Tea has taken on another dimension. For many people, Tea is more of a special occasion than a part of everyday life. American tea tables tend to be well-filled with a variety of foods, under the misnomer "High Tea:" tea shops and individual tea hostesses usually offer a variety of teas -- especially flavored teas and "herbal teas" or tisanes -- to accompany the scones -- also often flavored or filled with dried fruit, chocolate bits or topped with thin icing -- and the most common toppings, which are whipped cream or "mock clotted cream" and lemon curd. Several kinds of sandwiches and savories (formerly known as canapes or mini finger foods), including cucumber sandwiches, egg salad sandwiches, mini quiches and sausage rolls, and even, on occasion, bowls of soup, are served with cookies or pastries, and bon-bons, cakes, miniature tarts, and other tempting desserts.

While the traditional English tea table is characterized by elegance, quality, and comfort, the American tea table is an example of variety and abundant luxury, as well as practicality, oddly enough! Americans, in general, don't like to put a lot of effort or money into something if it's too simple; we like to get our money's worth, especially when we splurge on something special!

When I was in England, however -- and according to my English friends -- I hardly ever saw lemon curd, which I happen to love. When I did encounter lemon curd, it was used as a filling for tarts, but not served with scones at the tea table. Knowing that the traditional English Tea descends from the menu popularized by Anna, Duchess of Bedford, in 1840 or thereabouts, I began to wonder how lemon curd came to replace strawberry preserves as the preferred companion to scones, in the United States. Is lemon curd a 20th century delicacy, or did the Victorians know and enjoy it? I looked through my collection of vintage and antique reproduction cookbooks and found little to no mention of lemon curd, but the use of lemons as a flavoring for cakes, puddings, custards, beverages and desserts of all sorts was evident. Then I came upon some of Jane Austen's reprinted letters, which mention "lemon cheesecakes", and a recipe for something called "lemon cheese" and I wondered, is this the same thing as "lemon curd"?

Perhaps the following reciept is what Jane Austen and her friends enjoyed. It is from a Scottish cookbook from 1820, called _The Practice of Cookery, etc._

Lemon and Orange Cheese-cakes.
Grate four lemons or oranges, scrape out the pulp, boil the skins till they are very tender, then take them out and beat them fine in a mortar with four ounces of sweet butter and the grate [grated zest]. Cast [beat] six eggs (keeping out four of the whites) with six ounces of sugar beat and sifted until it is light and white; then mix the whole well together, with two-ounces of orange-peel cut in small pieces. Line some patty-pans with paste; fill them with the meat, and glaze them as before.

Here is another similar recipe, American, this time, from Godey's Lady's Book, May 1860:

Lemon Cheesecakes.--The rind of a large lemon; squeeze half of the juice, three eggs, half a pound of lump-sugar, quarter of a pound of butter, to be melted.

And here is a modern recipe from my friend Helen:

Lemon Curd
Grated rind and juice of 4 medium lemons
4 eggs
100g (4 oz/ ½ cup) butter
350g (12 oz/ 1 ½ cups) caster sugar
1. Place all the ingredients in the top of a double saucepan or in a bowl standing over a pan of simmering water
2. Stir until the sugar has dissolved and continue heating gently for about 20 minutes until the curd thickens
3. Strain into jars and cover (I just prepare the jars by heating them in the microwave and dropping the lids into the simmering water as I am straining the curd.)
Makes about 700 g (1 ½ lb)

Celebrate Black History, and other things!

image from AntiqueClipArt.com
Beginning before the Victorian era, people attached symbolism and meaning to many things, including flowers and months of the year. We follow that tradition in our own way in the 21st century, by remembering and celebrating holidays and special people every year.

According to some people, each month is represented by its own flower, and each flower was given a meaning, especially for the purpose of sending discreet messages to loved ones. February's flower is the violet, and the February gem (or birthstone, as is most familiar today) is the amethyst. Blue and white violets each had their own meaning; the blue violet signifies faithfulness, and the white violet means modesty. Amethysts have stood for several ideas over the years: royalty (because of their purple color), safety from poison or drunkenness (and therefore peace of mind), piety, celibacy and dignity.

There are many events and people that we can remember, in the spirit of the Victorian era, because of their faithfulness, nobility of character, piety, and other virtues this month. February 1st, Freedom Day, celebrates President Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1864, abolishing slavery. February 4th is Rosa Parks’ b-day, February 12th is Abraham Lincoln's birthday, February 15th is Susan B. Anthony's birthday, and George Washington was born on the 22nd. The Boy Scouts of America was founded on February 8, 1910. Other famous people who were born in February include Charles Dickens (Feb. 7, 1812), Thomas Edison (Feb. 11, 1847), and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Feb. 27, 1807).

February is also African American History Month and American History Month. We should also remember our history as a nation and as a part of Western Civilization, including the not-so-pleasant parts, so that we can learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of those who've gone before us; the month includes Japanese-American Internment Day of Remembrance (Feb. 19), as well as Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday, and the beginning of Lent.

Let's take a few moments this month to remember these things and re-establish our bond with history, learning from the past as well as celebrating it!

Sources of information:
"Birthdays -- Information, Fun Facts, Tips, Humor, Links, and More" http://www.butlerwebs.com/holidays/birthday.htm
Boy Scouts of America website, http://www.scouting.org/
"February 19: A Day of Remembrance," http://www.metrokc.gov/exec/remember/
"Gemstones and their meaning", http://www.e-jewel.co.il/en/Site_Page_number.aspx?PageID=232
"The history and language of flowers and herbs -- origins and meanings", http://victorianbazaar.com/meanings.html
Rosa Parks' website, http://www.rosaparks.org/
Charles Dickens museum website, http://www.dickensmuseum.com/

Godey's Lady's Book Thanksgiving article (part 2)

Image from www.missmary.com

"God has given to man authority, to woman influence; she inspires and persuades, he convinces and compels. For the last twelve years, the editress of the Lady’s Book has been endeavoring to bring about this agreement in popular feeling. We have used our influence, always, we trust, in a womanly way, and now we would render deep gratitude to God who has blessed our humble prayers and efforts, and express thus publicly our thanks to those generous men who have encouraged and accomplished our plans. We now leave the perpetuation of this good work, by the enactment of a statute in each State, to the good and patriotic men everywhere to be found, who love the Constitution and the Union.

Everything that contributes to bind us in one vast empire together, to quicken the sympathy that makes us feel from the icy North to the sunny South that we are one family, each a member of a great and free Nation, not merely the unit of a remote locality, is worthy of being cherished. We have sought to reawaken and increase this sympathy, believing that the fine filaments of the affections are stronger than laws to keep the Union of our States sacred in the hearts of our people.

Is it not fitting that from the heart of the Keystone State, this city of Independence Hall, the impulse of the new National Holiday should go forth? "A threefold cord is not quickly broken." This American festival adds the third strand to the cord that binds American hearts in nationality. The twenty-second of February, the Fourth of July, the last Thursday in November – these three DAYS observed, will make and keep us American citizens. Well did that patriot divine, Rev. Charles Wadsworth, exclaim, in his last Thanksgiving sermon – "Thanks be unto God for this American Pentecost! Never were the bonds of our beloved brotherhood so revealed in their strength! Never before did so many sister States keep lovingly together this feast of harvest. It is the gathering of the one great household with offerings of praise to the one common temple – the central Salem of peace – the God of love."

We believe our Thanksgiving Day, if fixed and perpetuated, will be a great and sanctifying promoter of this national spirit. Our whole people will then look forward to it – make preparations to honor and enjoy it. Literature will take her part and send her tribute of gratitude. We have received and read a number of excellent articles lately, and, what gave us particular pleasure, "A Thanksgiving Story," ... setting forth the sterling virtues and the happiness derived from family reunions, and the cultivation of fireside enjoyments. Let Thanksgiving, our American Holiday, give us American books – song, story, and sermon – written expressly to awaken in American hearts the love of home and country, of thankfulness to God, and peace between brethren. We do earnestly hope and pray that the last Thursday in November may be established as the American Thanksgiving Day. Then, on that Day, our citizens, whether in their own pleasant homes, or in the distant regions of Oriental despotism, would observe it – on board every ship where our flag floats there would be a day of gladness – wherever our missionaries preach the Gospel of "good-will to men," the day would exemplify the joy of Christians; and in our Great Republic, from the St. John’s to the Rio Grande, from the Atlantic to the Pacific, all our people, as one Brotherhood, will rejoice together, and give thanks to God for our National, State, and Family blessings."

Thanksgiving article (part 1) from Godey's Lady's Book, February 1860.

"Editor’s Table.
THE NEW NATIONAL HOLIDAY.
We may now consider Thanksgiving a National Holiday. It will no longer be a partial and vacillating commemoration of gratitude to our Heavenly Father, observed in one section or State, while other portions of our common country do not sympathize in the gratitude and gladness. It is to be a regularly occurring Festival, appointed by the concert of the State Governments to be observed on the last Thursday in November – thus made, for all future time, THE AMERICAN THANKSGIVING DAY.

Such is the happy inference we draw from the patriotic unanimity of the Governors in their last appointments of Thanksgiving. On the last Thursday of last November, the people of the following states held and consecrated this New National Holday: --
*New York.
*Pennsylvania.
*Massachussetts.
*Maryland.
*New Hampshire.
*New Jersey.
*North Carolina.
*South Carolina.
*Georgia.
*Connecticut.
*Rhode Island.
*Virginia.
Kentucky.
Tennessee.
Ohio.
Indiana. Mississippi.
Illinois.
Alabama.
Maine.
Arkansas.
Michigan.
Florida.
Texas.
Iowa.
Wisconsin.
California.
Minnesota.
Nebraska Territory.
Kansas Territory.
District of Columbia.
*The old states of the "Confederacy" that framed the Constitution and decreed the perpetual Brotherhood of citizens of "The United States of North America." Virginia, as a state, did not, we regret to say, participate in Thanksgiving; because Governor Wise had doubts concerning his official authority to appoint such an observance. But the Presbytarian Synod of the State, and the cities of Fredericksburg, Norfolk, and Alexandria joined in the Festival, which was thus sanctioned by a large portion of the people of old and honored Virginia. Next November, we hope, that State will have its Union Thanksgiving.

It will be seen from this list that the concert of public opinion is nearly unanimous. Indeed, we may assume that all the States approve this idea of a National Thanksgiving, because those that did not join last November have done so in years past. The late omission, therefore, was caused, no doubt, by forgetfulness. This leads us to suggest the necessity that the time of holding this New Holiday should be fixed by each State, making it the duty of the governor to issue his proclamation yearly for the last Thursday in November."