by B.L. Unkel | Feb 17, 2024 | History
President’s Day is just around the corner, and it’s time to learn something new about our presidents. The Beginning Congress added George Washington’s birthday (February 22) to the calendar of federal holidays for Washington D.C. in 1879. Then, in 1885, his...
by B.L. Unkel | Jan 6, 2024 | Everything Else
On January 1, I did something I hadn’t done since I was a child. I watched part of the Rose Parade, before watching the day’s slate of football bowl games. History It all began with tourism. In the winter of 1890, Pasadena, California’s illustrious Valley Hunt...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 23, 2023 | Holidays
Christmas customs and traditions are many and varied. One of the best-known, at least in the U.S., is the Christmas tree. Evergreens Evergreen trees, like mistletoe and other evergreen plants, have been used in pagan and Christian winter festivals for thousands...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 16, 2023 | Everything Else
What do Christmas, Druids, a Norse god, and bird droppings have in common? Mistletoe, of course! The Plant Mistletoe is a semi-parasitic plant that grows in large spherical clumps on a wide variety of hosts—trees and shrubs. Some mistletoe clumps can get as...
by B.L. Unkel | Dec 9, 2023 | Baking
Christmas—my favorite time of the year. One of the many things associated with the Christmas season is gingerbread. What Is It Gingerbread covers a broad range of baked goods. From crisp cookies to moist cakes, gingerbread is any baked good, seasoned with...
