Hey, Fruitcakers!

Like building snowmen, sipping hot chocolate, and warming up by the fireplace, mailing fruitcakes has become a pretty standard tradition in the winter season. It’s very common for families to receive this specific kind of cake throughout the winter holidays. In fact, there’s a day for it! Yesterday was National Fruitcake Day. I can safely say for myself that I have never tried fruitcake, nor do I have a burning desire to EVER try it. Come to think of it, I don’t know anybody who actually LIKES fruitcake! Legendary late night host Johnny Carson is noted for his ridicule of this dessert, saying, “The worst gift is fruitcake. There is only one fruitcake in the entire world and people keep sending it to each other.”

Still, that hasn’t stopped anyone from sending fruitcakes to one another. But if fruitcake isn’t a desired, delectable dessert that’s loved by all, then how did it get to be so customary to send this cake in the mail this time of year?

Well, let’s have a quick history lesson about the matter. First of all, fruitcakes have been around since the days of ancient Rome. They put pomegranate seeds, pine nuts, and raisins in their fruitcakes—which doesn’t sound too bad. Surprisingly, a lot of the old recipes for fruitcakes likely trump any fruitcake made today. Indeed, fruitcake USED TO BE…dare I say…TASTY!

Back in the 1200’s, travelers loved having a compact, energizing cake that didn’t risk easily spoiling. And about 500 years after that, fruitcakes really hit their stride. So, you see, the question isn’t so much ‘how did such a disliked dessert get to be so popular?’, but more so, ‘how did such a beloved dessert get to be so mocked?’.

Over time, as the fruitcake evolved, baking and assembling fruitcakes became rather involved. And because they became A LOT of work, they were only offered for special occasions like weddings and birthdays. At this point, all fruitcakes were locally made. But this changed when it became popular to mail-order products in 1913.

Once fruitcakes started traveling across the country, they began to lose their appeal. Maybe it was because people didn’t know exactly where the cake came from. Maybe fruitcakes aren’t made with the same care and expertise as they once were. Maybe it’s because of Johnny Carson.

In any case, fruitcakes—despite their bad rep—don’t seem to be going anywhere. Go ahead and try one this year. You might like it! And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Holidayers!

We’ve spent the last three days looking at the three most popular December holidays that are celebrated in the United States. I told you about the distinct histories of Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa. For my closing installment of this series on December holidays in the United States, I’d like to talk about the many other holidays observed this month.

Muslims celebrate Ramadan. Ramadan is the ninth and holiest month of the Islamic calendar. This is when the prophet Muhammad heard the first verses of the Qur’an from Allah. Muslims observe Ramadan by fasting from dawn to sunset. The fasting is intended to instill strength, patience, and goodwill throughout this holy month. Ramadan will often times fall in December, however, since it is based on the Islamic calendar, the dates can vary. It was celebrated in JUNE and JULY this year!

The Fiesta of Our Lady of Guadalupe is a Mexican holiday dating back to the morning of December 9, 1531, when a ghostly girl on top of the Tepeyac Hill instructed one Juan Diego to build a church there in her honor. As a miraculous sign to prove her identity as the Virgin Mary, the apparition had Juan Diego pick Castillian Roses (a foreign flower to Mexico that inexplicably bloomed on the hilltop in mid-December). The lady rolled the flowers in a fabric. On December 12, when Juan Diego, showed the roses to the Bishop, the image of the Lady of Guadalupe was there on the fabric!

The Japanese celebrate New Year’s on the same date as us, but they don’t call it New Year’s. Instead, they call it Shōgatsu. And before Shōgatsu, they celebrate Ōmisoka (better known to English-speakers as New Year’s Eve). Shōgatsu is the most important day of the year for the Japanese which makes Ōmisoka the second-most important. They observe it by eating a bowl of long noodles called Toshikoshi, which translates to “crossing over from one year to the next.” The Japanese will also traditionally make a midnight visit to local temples or shrines to be there when the new year arrives.

There are other holidays in December that you might celebrate. If I missed your holiday, I’m sorry. There are so many of them! Whether you celebrate one of the three I mentioned on today’s post, the one’s I discussed previously this week, or one that I missed like St. Lucia’s Day, St. Nicholas Day, Three King’s Day, or Boxing Day, the important thing is that they all seem to share a theme of togetherness and warmth throughout the darkest and coldest time of year. Happy holidays, Everyone, and thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Holidayers!

Yesterday I talked about Hanukkah, the first of the chief, three December holidays that are celebrated in the United States. While Hanukkah, Christmas, and Kwanzaa are as wildly popular as they are, it’s surprising how little we actually know about them. Tune in each day this week to learn about the history of December holidays we celebrate in the United States.

Next up is Christmas.

Christmas, of course, is the Christian celebration that annually commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25. Many of its traditions, however, have been adopted from a varied past. When you stop and think about it, what do our traditions have to do with the birth of Jesus? We bring trees into our homes, give gifts to one another, and kiss beneath the mistletoe—WHY? Let’s take a look.

Christmas trees (while they may be different now) are nothing new. People have been putting trees in their homes for thousands of years in recognition of the winter solstice, the shortest day and longest night of the year. Without modern science to explain this phenomenon, people feared that the sun would grow farther and farther away until it disappeared completely, forever! Evergreens and palm trees, which never lose their healthy, green color, were kept inside homes almost as good luck charms.

Giving gifts is just as old a tradition as Christmas trees are. During the Saturnalia celebration—a Thanksgiving-esque holiday from thousands of years ago—masters of the house would give gifts to their servants and children and they would play silly role reversal games with them to help make the day feel joyful and light.

As for mistletoe—well, that’s been a traditional item for a long time too, maybe even longer than gift giving or keeping trees inside. It was the ancient Greeks who started smooching underneath this parasitic plant. In those times, mistletoe was associated with fertility. Even earlier than that, though, the Celtics used mistletoe in ceremonies. They didn’t kiss under it. They just thought it had strange abilities like healing illnesses, protecting against nightmares, and…predicting the future.

But no matter where these traditions came from, the important thing is that we keep the traditions alive in our celebrations today. Enjoy your festivities and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Holidayers!

There are a lot of days to celebrate in December. There are so many, in fact, you may not be aware of them all. And as for the ones that you do know, you might be surprised to discover how little you actually know about it. That’s why I’d like to take a look into the history of our December holidays as well as the origins behind our celebratory traditions. Tune in each day this week to learn about the December holidays we celebrate in the United States.

I’ll start with the first to arrive of the chief three: Hanukkah.

Starting at sunset on December 16 this year, the first night of Hanukkah begins! Eight days and nights follow to observe this traditional Hebrew holiday until nightfall on December 24. So what exactly is this celebration about? Let’s take a deeper look.

First of all, Hanukkah goes off of a lunisolar calendar which is based on the sun and the moon while the traditional Gregorian calendar only considers the sun and the time it takes the earth to move around it. While the date may jump around from year to year on the Gregorian calendar, Hanukkah consistently begins on the 25 of Kislev, a month of the Hebrew calendar.

The history of Hanukkah goes back to 165 B.C. when a Jewish rebel army known as the Maccabees defeated the Syrians and rededicated their holy temple in Jerusalem. The eight days of Hanukkah are about a seven-day miracle in which the Maccabees only had enough oil to light the temple’s eternal flame for a single day, yet the lamp kept on burning for eight!

As for Hanukkah’s main tradition, the lighting of the nine-branched candleholder is often times incorrectly referred to as a menorah. Not everyone knows that this name is the wrong name for the traditional nine-branched candelabrum. It’s actually called a Hanukkiah. A menorah, on the other hand, has only seven candleholders—like the lamp that was used in the ancient holy temple in Jerusalem.

Hanukkiahs have nine candleholders so that there’s a candle for every night of Hanukkah and then one more to light the others. If you celebrate Hanukkah, you now can educate your friends and family on the holiday you’re about to celebrate! Happy Hanukkah.

Come back tomorrow to hear about the history of Christmas.

- John

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody!

You know, our traditional Thanksgiving Day customs and celebrations have really come a long way! After all, there was no Macy’s Parade in 1621, there was no Detroit Lions match-up, and turkey was not on the menu! Okay, so the parade and football kind of make sense, but NO TURKEY?!!! For a day that’s sometimes referred to as ‘Turkey Day’, it can come as a surprise to discover that the Pilgrims did not dine on this bird during the original feast.

So if this bird wasn’t there for the first Thanksgiving, why is it considered such a solid tradition nowadays to have a turkey at Thanksgiving dinner? Well, I did my homework on the subject and it turns out that there are three chief reasons as to why we really like to eat turkey on Thanksgiving (and Christmas too!).

1.) The first reason we eat turkey is because it fits the occasion so well. Other meats were considered for the dinner too, but didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. Unlike cows or chickens, turkeys don’t provide milk or lay eggs. Also, turkey wasn’t so common a meat as say pork or other fowl and, thus, it seemed like the right choice to celebrate a special occasion.

2.) Another reason that turkeys became the choice bird for these holiday dinners is because of its position in the Goldilock’s Zone. It’s the perfect plumpness! It’s not too small, like chicken or most water fowl. It’s not too big as, say, a cow or a deer. It’s just the right size to feed a large, hungry family.

3.) Lastly, and probably most interestingly, the third reason is thanks to Mr. Charles Dickens. What did he have to do with it? Well, his extremely popular novel ‘A Christmas Carol’ did make specific note of the turkey as Scrooge’s gift to the Cratchit family. Despite it being a Christmas gift, this is thought to have the biggest impact on what made turkey, Thanksgiving’s (and Christmas’) prize bird.

From all of us at Everything Summer Camp, have a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your turkey, Everyone! Thanks for reading.

- John