Holidays – Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm

November Observances: Thanksgiving & Veterans Day

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 04:33:00 +0000

November is About Transitions

Hello Folks, Aunt Eunice here. November has not only arrived, but is half over already. This month, more than all the rest of them makes me feel like I am running to catch up! Helping to get Quiet Valley ready for our Old Time Christmas while simultaneously planning multiple family events at home can be tad overwhelming. My family has quite a few birthdays this month including mine. Throw Thanksgiving into the mix with six birthday parties and you have a very full month. I feel like this is a month of transition as we move from fall into winter, as the leaves finish falling off the trees, the last of the lawn mowing takes place. Daylight Savings time is over so of course it gets dark earlier. The colder temperatures at night might have us inching up the thermostat. By the time I get home at night it is quite dark and instead of going for a walk I now curl up with a book. It won’t be long until the seed catalogs start arriving!

Veteran’s Day, How & When Established

Let’s not forget Veteran’s Day is in November, an important day of recognition of our military service members and all they have given to our country. According to the Department of Veteran’s Affairs – World War I, known at the time as The Great War, officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day. The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m. An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday – a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as “Armistice Day.” This day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I. However, in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word “Armistice” and inserting in its place the word “Veterans.” With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Thanksgiving – A Brief History

Thanksgiving will soon be coming up and the traditional foods as well as some that are simply our family favorites will be enjoyed at Aunt Eunice’s house. It will be smaller than usual as we are heeding the guideline of social distancing. It is the smart thing to do. The original colonists on the Mayflower would have understood. According to History.com, in September 1620, a small ship called the Mayflower left Plymouth, England, carrying 102 passengers – an assortment of religious separatists seeking a new home where they could freely practice their faith and other individuals lured by the promise of prosperity and land ownership in the New World. After a treacherous and uncomfortable crossing that lasted 66 days, they dropped anchor near the tip of Cape Cod, far north of their intended destination at the mouth of the Hudson River. One month later, the Mayflower crossed Massachusetts Bay, where the Pilgrims, as they are now commonly known, began the work of establishing a village at Plymouth. Throughout that first brutal winter, most of the colonists remained on board the ship, where they suffered from exposure, scurvy and outbreaks of contagious disease. Only half of the Mayflower’s original passengers and crew lived to see their first New England spring. In March, the remaining settlers moved ashore and were taught and helped by the Native Americans. Our meal is bound to be different than the original harvest meal shared in Plymouth. Though no record tells us the exact menu, the meal most likely consisted of items such as deer, corn, shellfish, and roasted meat.

Whatever dishes may be on our Thanksgiving sideboard we will be grateful and we will be praying for our family, friends and neighbors. That’s all for now. Please take care and talk to you soon. Aunt Eunice

November, A Time for Thanks & Reflection with Loved Ones

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 16:55:00 +0000

A Chance to Reflect on the Good Things

Hello, Folks, Aunt Eunice here. Halfway through November means Thanksgiving is on the horizon. As I make plans for the holiday, I can’t help but take some time to think back over the past year. I look at the good, the bad and the ugly and then focus on the good. Some years, as you all know, can be harder than we’d like it to be. Health, wealth, family, a home, a job are some things that top the list. Being in a comfortable place spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically is quite a blessing. Thanksgiving is of course a time we give thanks for these blessings.

Modern History of the Celebration

Thanksgiving has been a traditional holiday in the U.S. for a while now. Check here for a timeline. During the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be celebrated on the final Thursday in November 1863. Since this date, Thanksgiving has been observed annually in the United States. In 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed a law establishing the day of Thanksgiving as the fourth Thursday of November.

Thanksgiving Dishes While Growing Up

A good deal of my joy in Thanksgiving stems from the fact that so many family members and friends are all under one roof. There is also all the delicious and traditional foods. Our dinner’s food selections have changed since my childhood. Turkey and mashed potatoes with giblet gravy, baked sweet potatoes with oranges, oyster stuffing (a must for my father) and my mother’s homemade cranberry relish. Some years there might also be Gwaltney ham and always home baked biscuits and pies. As we children got old enough to demand some changes, my cousin Paula’s cheese-ball became a regular appetizer. It of course became known as the Paula Ball. My Aunt Nell began bringing a yummy jello salad that we christened Nello salad. Obvious choice! I asked my mother to make stuffing without those yucky oysters and I began making cornbread with pepper-jack cheese in it. We also introduced green bean casserole to the menu. Old or new, nothing could beat my mother’s pecan pie, a favorite of most! Perfectly gooey with a flaky crust made with lard and a nice layer of whole pecans on top. Probably 500 calories in one small slice. Oh, well.

How Food Preferences Changed in Recent Times

Nowadays, new food choices have been added and they have become standards. Mashed turnips in addition to mashed potatoes are served at our house as that is traditional for my daughter-in-law and her brother. We also make a sweet potato casserole using a recipe from the mother-in-law of my oldest daughter which has become everyone’s favorite. We have a turkey that is brined, though not everyone is a fan. Green bean casserole is still retaining its place on the table. Some adjustments have been made to accommodate a number of food allergies and other dietary issues. Four lactose intolerant, three organic only, two gluten free, one diabetic, and a grandson allergic to non-tree nuts! Sound like a song? Hmmm.

Seeing the Change & Embracing It

The new foods joining into the holiday dinner mimic the blending of new with old taking place in the family tree. Parents, aunts, uncles moving on to that great feast in Heaven, children getting married, grandchildren being born, things changing is sometimes the only thing that stays the same. At least my mother’s pecan pie is still present on the Thanksgiving sideboard!

As this special holiday arrives, even if you are struggling to find something for which to be thankful, know you are being wished the very best. Happy Thanksgiving, folks!!

Take care, Aunt Eunice

July 4th Fireworks & Founding Fathers, Dog Days of Summer

Deb D (Aunt Eunice) — Mon, 08 Jul 2019 14:50:00 +0000

Hello Folks,

Aunt Eunice here. I hope you had a chance to celebrate the Fourth of July in a special way. Cookouts and fireworks are typical occurrences, along with parades. My family enjoyed all three activities. The cookout food was delicious and included a fresh corn salad that is easy to make and can be tailored to your family’s taste. Barley Corn Salad If you don’t want to use the barley just add more fresh corn kernels. The parade had bagpipe groups, marching bands, fire trucks and lots of floats, though I must say my favorite float is a root beer one! The fireworks were beautiful and something both young and old look forward to seeing.

Fireworks & American History

USnews.com shared – Thought to be invented by the Chinese 2,000 years ago, fireworks have been a tradition of America’s Fourth of July celebrations since the country’s inception, with the founding fathers themselves seeing fireworks fit to mark the birth of their nation. In a July 3, 1776 letter to his wife, John Adams declared that the signing of the Declaration of Independence should be a “great anniversary Festival” and “solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more.” A year later, Congress itself ordained the tradition, enjoying in Philadelphia “a grand exhibition of fireworks, which began and concluded with thirteen rockets on the commons,” according to the Evening Post. Boston also saw a fireworks display in 1777. In the following years, the tradition spread through the Boston area to New York and other cities.

Dog Days of Summer?

Now that July has arrived, it has been a bit humid and hot. My mother was from the south and she said days like that were “close”. She and my aunts would also say the dog days of summer were here. According to almanac.com – The Dog Days aren’t just when your dog starts panting on a sweltering summer day. These days once coincided with the year’s sunrise rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. Ancient folks thought that the “combined heat” of Sirius and the Sun caused midsummer’s swelter. The rising of Sirius does not actually affect the weather, but for the ancient Egyptians, Sirius appeared just before the Nile River’s flood season. They used Sirius as a “watchdog” for that event. Because it also coincided with a time of extreme heat, the connection with hot, sultry weather was made for all of time! According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Dog Days of summer are traditionally the 40 days beginning July 3 and ending August 11, which coincide with the dawn rising of Sirius, the Dog Star. This is soon after the Summer Solstice, which of course also indicates that the worst summer heat will soon set in. The Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids tells us all about the Dog Star, Sirius! Here are some of the most important facts: Sirius is the brightest star in the sky, if you don’t count the Sun. Under the right conditions, it can even be seen with the naked eye during the day. Sirius is one star in a group of stars that form the constellation Canis Major, meaning “Greater Dog.” It’s no surprise, then, that the nickname of this big, bold star is Dog Star.

Upcoming Highlights & Events

Well, hot or not the farm is a nice place to visit in the summer. There is always a good breeze wafting through the valley and the buildings are fairly cool. If you get a chance, come out for a tour of the historic farm this week. As a bonus on Tuesday enjoy a Pottery Highlight, on Wednesday it is Quilting, Thursday is the Paper Craft Highlight and Saturday is Bake Oven Day. These activities are no additional charge to your admission and are worth seeing.

That’s all for now and I hope to see you soon. Aunt Eunice

Belsnickel: German Christmas Brings a Sidekick for Santa

Kat M — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 03:02:00 +0000

It is often said that the past is a foreign country and when we look back at it, we will find many strange and unusual customs and traditions. This is particularly true with historic celebrations of Christmas. Traditionally in Germany, a character called the Belsnickel would visit children alongside Saint Nicholas. Many cultures have an assistant accompany St. Nicholas/Santa Claus during his visits to punish the children who need to correct their behavior. Traditionally in Germany, St. Nicholas’ Day is December 6th. That is when St. Nicholas and the belsnickel would visit, for on Christmas Eve the Christ Child would bring presents.

The belsnickel is often clad in rags and patchwork, sometimes he blackens his face or wears a mask to appear more fearsome. He carries candy or treats for the obedient children along with switches or rods for those who have been misbehaving. Naughty children were also made to do a penance such as recite a Bible verse or poem for their transgressions. Generally the belsnickel was someone from the local community, usually an older man or a woman, who knew what the children had been up to during the year. I suspect it was somewhat of a social honor to portray the belsnickel. The person had to be trustworthy and able to properly gauge the punishment for the misbehavior. As the tradition of the belsnickel continued in Pennsylvania, the man was often rewarded with food for his social function. The person selected as the belsnickel may have been a community elder who may have needed some charity that time of year.

The belsnickel tradition was very popular during the 19th century. It even survived in places until the early 20th century but seems to have merged with Santa Claus as the years have gone by. Here at Quiet Valley, we keep the Belsnickel tradition alive during our Old Time Christmas celebration. Visitors come down into the cellar kitchen (this was originally the whole house built around 1770) where they meet Jacky Depper. This young boy welcomes the visitors and explains that they are now waiting for the Belsnickel who soon arrives amid much door-banging and bell-ringing. He goes about the room tapping naughty children with his bundle of sticks and rewarding the good children with candy. It is a sight to see. At Christmastime when you are looking for something fun to do, remember us and come see the Belsnickel.

The Quiet Valley blog is written by Kat Muller in her first year working at Quiet Valley. This blog post represents her last, new event for the year!

Christmas Cards: History & Tracing Origins to the 1800s

Kat M — Tue, 05 Dec 2017 02:43:00 +0000

For many people, myself included, December marks Christmas Card season when our post boxes contain little envelopes with updates from friends and family rather than bills and junk mail. Like many of our modern Christmas traditions, Christmas cards can be traced back to the mid-1800s.

With most historical events or occurrences, historians and archaeologists can only give an estimate or a window of time when something took place. Yet with Christmas cards, we have an exact year and even the people who came up with the first card. (Though I do imagine there is some nameless person who sent a Christmas greeting with some artwork.) In 1843, Henry Cole commissioned artist J. C. Horsley to produce the first Christmas Card. Cole had revolutionized the postal system in England; thus, perhaps, these first cards (more akin to post cards) were either a great marketing strategy for his mailing system or just a time-saving factor on Cole’s part. The first card was a three part picture with a family feasting in the middle and performing charitable acts on either side.

While it took a little while to catch on, Christmas cards became very popular during the late 1870s. Christmas cards were often produced by many small companies and newspapers often had fun reviewing them and proclaiming which had the nicest illustrations or sentiments.

Today, many of us would not necessarily agree with our Victorian counterparts. Many cards produced during this time period featured anthropomorphic animals, cherub faces poking out of flowers, dead animals, and the like. While these images and greetings seem odd to us today, they were meaningful to their intended audience. Christopher Davis in his blog Vaults of Thought, delves into the symbolism behind two noteworthy cards picturing a dead wren and another with a dying frog as his opponent flees the scene. Some cards, such as the dead wren, hearken back to older traditions such as the Hunting of the Wren. Young boys and men in Ireland would capture a wren and then beg from door to door asking for food or money for the “wren” (aka the boys). Heather Dale, a folk singer who tells tales of older traditions, has a little song about it. Victorian culture was also obsessed with death. There were rules regarding proper mourning patterns that could impact a family’s lives for years after their relative was deceased. I think some of that culture found its way into every aspect of their lives, even Christmas cards.

Allison Meier has an article here with lots of images of those traditional cards. Not all of them look very much like Christmas cards as they picture everything from owls on bicycles to cats with parasols. I personally was surprised with the cards containing sea shells. I suspect they could almost be holiday advertisements, sort of a “Merry Christmas from a great place to holiday.”

Christmas cards saw a revolution in 1915 when the book style cards were printed by the company that became Hallmark. Their cards contained an image on the front, a greeting, it was folded once, and inserted into an envelope. This soon outpaced the postcard style cards and are now standard. Many people liked the book style cards because they could write more but not a whole letter. Nowadays, Christmas cards can be pop up cards, light up, play music, and even record personalized greetings. Imagine Cole and Horsley’s surprise if they saw how far their little cards have gone.

The Quiet Valley Blog is written by Kat Muller during her first year at Quiet Valley as she learns about the farm, life in the 1800s, and the animals.

Christmas Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Dutch

Kat M — Tue, 14 Nov 2017 02:04:00 +0000

While it is only halfway through November we are starting to get things ready here on the farm for our last big event of the year-Old Time Christmas. This candlelit lantern tour explores the historic celebrations of Christmas during the 1800s, a live nativity, visits from the Belsnickel, and more. To help get ready for this event, I’ve been reading Christmas in Pennsylvania by Alfred L. Shoemaker. While a little heavy on primary sources for casual reading, it is a great source of information exploring early celebrations in Pennsylvania by those who did not observe Christmas such as the Puritans and Quakers, to those who certainly did such as the Lutherans and the Moravians. Working my way through one of the early chapters, I was struck by how much folklore and superstition revolved around Christmas time and I thought I would share some of my findings with you.

Many of the people who settled in this part of Pennsylvania came from the Palatinate region of Germany and believed very strongly in the supernatural power of the surrounding environment. They also believed they could influence it as well. In due time, this belief made its roots into America. Growing up in Chester County, Pennsylvania I remember hearing that animals could speak on Christmas night.

The idea of animals speaking is a common folk belief and most of these Pennsylvania Dutch supernatural occurrences are said to take place between 11pm and midnight. During this time not only do the animals talk, you can also see your future husband or wife, cut dowsing rods for water or iron, or cast silver bullets to kill your enemy. Make sure to mark your calendar and be awake at that time.

Some of my favorite Christmas superstitions involved predicting what the next year will bring. For example: many people believed that if the ground was white at Christmas it would be green at Easter. Or if the geese waddled in mud between Christmas and New Year they will do so every single month of the following year, (i.e. it will be a wet and rainy year). Perhaps the best superstition of all was that if you changed your underwear between Christmas and New Year’s you would get boils.

Quiet Valley Blog is written by Kat Muller as she explores her first year on the farm.

Easter, A Year of Pennsylvania German Holidays

Kat M — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 03:12:22 +0000

Easter is right around the corner. Most of our Easter celebration comes from the Germans and traveled overseas with them to America. The Easter Bunny, Easter Eggs, and Easter candy all have their roots in German traditions.

Like Santa Claus or the Christ Child, The Easter Bunny would traditionally come the night before the holiday to leave gifts of eggs, candy and perhaps toys for the good children. Traditionally, children would make a nest for the Oschter Haws or Osterhase (Easter Hare). In the morning, good children would find treats in their nest and bad children would be left with empty nests (or filled with rabbit droppings). This nesting tradition has now been supplanted by Easter baskets and the fresh eggs with those filled with candy.

At first glance, it doesn’t seem like chicken eggs have a lot to do with rabbits. But chickens and rabbits can actually co-habitat in the same enclosure. It’s pretty easy to imagine a young child going to feed the chickens and finding a rabbit resting on an egg and then their imagination abounds. During the spring, chickens begin laying more eggs; after laying hardly any eggs all winter – it’s a little overwhelming to find uses for them all. Oftentimes, mischievous farm boys would hide the eggs from their mother in the days leading up to Easter. Then the eggs would mysteriously appear Easter morning.

Perhaps the abundance of eggs in the spring led to the traditions of decorating them. Eggs can be simply dyed, intricately painted, caved or pierced, or a combination thereof. Perhaps some of the most famous decorated eggs are the Pysanky eggs done in Ukrainian. These eggs are dyed by applying multiple layers of wax to the surface of the eggs and dyed in a series of colored baths.

Pennsylvania German Holiday: Fastnacht Day, Doughnuts

Kat M — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 06:09:00 +0000

This week I had a chance to learn about Pennsylvania Dutch holidays throughout the year. Each year, Quiet Valley school tour staff participate in workshops to stay up to date on the most recent research and learn new items to incorporate into their interpretation. Our first training of the year focused on the traditions and culture of this area of Pennsylvania during the early 1800s.

In this part of Pennsylvania many people were of Lutheran or Moravian background which means they followed, and still follow, a liturgical calendar or a church based calendar. Their celebrations at home followed those of the religious season. (Not everyone or every groups celebrated the holidays just like how not everyone today celebrates Mardi Gras or Groundhog Day. )

One of the most interesting (sounding) holiday celebrations is around Fastnacht Day, which is actually coming up on February 28th. Fastnacht Day falls on the day before the liturgical season of lent begins. Traditionally it is the day when you use up all of your old fat and lard to make doughnuts before lent begins. It was considered bad luck to not use up the fat on this date. If you did not eat a doughnut on that day then it was believed you would get boils, your chickens would lay no eggs, and worms and bugs would infest your garden.

Also, children had their own fun traditions for the day. The last person to school would be teased. So children would try to beat their teachers to school. When the teacher arrived, the boys would crow like a rooster and the girls would cluck like a hen. I imagine teachers would try and arrive in the middle of the pack so the children could still cluck at them but they wouldn’t get teased by their students. I hope everyone has a wonderful Fastnacht Day and enjoys making chicken sounds about their schools.