Hey, New Year Lads and Lasses!

Ready to ring in the new year for 2014? This holiday’s traditions are a little more self-explanatory than, say carving a pumpkin or keeping evergreens in our houses. The New Year’s tradition is to stay up late—until midnight—counting down the seconds to the start of the coming year. It’s pretty straightforward.

Traditions couldn’t have gotten too confused for such a simple holiday, right? Well, people have been celebrating New Years for the last 4000 years! That’s a long time to play the proverbial game of telephone from year to year, attempting to keep our traditions the same.

Surprisingly enough, it’s not so much our traditions that have changed over time for this holiday but rather the day of the holiday that’s changed over the last four millennia. That’s right, believe it or not, the new year was not always on January 1. Well, how can that be? you might be asking yourself. How can the new year change days?

Well, it’s not so much that the new year changed days so much as people started using different calendars (or even making up their own). The ancient Babylonians used to celebrate their New Year’s Day late in March around the vernal equinox.

The original Roman calendar only had 10 months and consisted of slightly over 300 days. But in the year 46 B.C., Julius Caeser first introduced his Julian calendar (which most resembles the Gregorian calendar, most commonly used in the modern day), he had to add 90 extra days just to make it all work.

In any case, whether people based their calendars off of earthly matters or the motion and arrangement of heavenly bodies, what’s important is that we continue to celebrate the passing of the old year and the coming of the new one.

From everyone at Everything Summer Camp, Happy New Year’s, Everybody!

Hey, Holiday Fans!

Well, another bright Christmas season has come to an end. As sung in a song popularized by The Carpenters, “Greeting Cards have all been sent, the Christmas rush is through.”

 The only thing left now is New Year’s Day, right? Wrong. The next holiday after Christmas is right now. Today! It’s Boxing Day. Recognized in many commonwealth nations like Canada, England, South Africa, and others, Boxing Day in today’s world is essentially an extended Christmas Day.

 It’s the day where you check out the presents that you unwrapped yesterday and eat the food that you ate yesterday. It’s a day for hangin’ around the house, being lazy, and wondering, “what now?” Though it seems right up our alley, the U.S. does not celebrate this holiday.

So what in the heck is Boxing Day?!

That’s a question that’s easier to ask than it is to answer (mainly because there is no answer). There are a couple different ideas on the subject

The first idea is taken from the Christmas carol, Good Kind Wenceslas. For those familiar with the song, you’ll note that King Wenceslas spots a poor man gathering firewood in a snowstorm on St. Stephen’s Day (December 26). According to the song, the king brings the man food and wine and brings him to his home.

Another idea is that the holiday originated from the old tradition in which employers and the upper class gifted their servants and employees presents (in boxes). The employees and servants would then go home to have a second Christmas of sorts with the boxes they received from their employer.

In any case, Boxing Day started out as a day in which the poor were gifted by the rich. Nowadays it’s more so a day for watching sporting events and eating leftovers. Happy Boxing Day, everyone.

Hello, Everybody!

Do you cherish your hot chocolate? Do you crave your cocoa? Well, 'tis not only the season but it’s also the day to be drinking that chocolaty favorite that was made for a frigid winter day. That’s right, it’s National Hot Cocoa Day. Go make yourself a cup and come back here so you can appreciate this hot, wintry beverage while learning about it. Continue reading when your hot chocolate is ready…

So here’s a little history of hot chocolate:

First of all, if it wasn’t for monkeys, you and I might never have tasted such a fantastic drink! What do monkeys have to do with hot chocolate? Well, people didn’t start eating chocolate until we noticed our less-evolved predecessors doing it. What happened when people first saw monkeys eating the white pulp within the cocoa pods? Well, monkey see, monkey do.

The Mayans were the first people to try it out, eating the pulp and spitting the bitter beans out like the monkeys did. After some time, however, the Mayans realized the cocoa beans weren’t so bad after roasting in the sun for a while. The Mayans would soon come to ground the cocoa beans and turn the grounds into a drink. And VOILA—the world’s first hot chocolate.

The hot chocolate that you’re enjoying right now is nothing like the original Mayan cocoa drink. If you were drinking the original, Mayan cocoa drink, you probably wouldn’t like it very much. It used to be a spicy, bitter drink. Despite what we might think of it, the Mayans couldn’t get enough of it. Cocoa beans actually became more valuable than gold was in the Mayan culture!

The Mayans shared their drink with Aztec traders who were eventually conquered by Hernan Cortes and his Spanish army. Cortes took cocoa beans back to Spain with him and it eventually became a treat that the whole world loves. So as you sit there, finishing up the last of your hot cocoa, smile and be thankful for monkeys.

- John

Hey there, Blog Buddies!

Being active in helping out your community is a great thing to do. Not only does volunteer work do wonders for a community but it makes you feel good too. That’s why Everything Summer Camp is more than happy to carry the message out to all of our Blog readers that today is International Volunteer Day.

In 1985, the United Nations declared December 5 as International Volunteer Day. International days of observance are intended to increase the awareness and understanding of the day’s focal point. Today provides a chance for volunteers—whether they’re working on an individual level or in a group organization capacity—to bring their volunteering contributions to light.

Marked by many non-government run organizations like Red Cross and scouts, International Volunteer Day is supported by all sorts of individuals and groups as well as volunteers of the United Nations.

Volunteerism plays a significant role in any community, culture, and religion. It helps to improve the world, the people who live in it, and you! What does volunteer work do for the volunteers? It brings them closer to their community and gives them a great sense of belonging. Playing a role in your community brings you and the community you live in together.

So what can you do to play a part in volunteer work that helps your community? Find out what other people are doing. December 5 almost always has some sort of rally, parade, or volunteer fair where you can find something to do for your community. There’s always something to do. From group clean ups to fundraising to workshops and giving blood, volunteer work is plentiful in everyone’s community.

To put a slight spin of JFK’s old—yet well-remembered words—ask not what your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community.

Hey, Shoppers!

It’s time, once again, to make stuffing and roast turkeys in our ovens! And you know what that means! Thanksgiving is here, of course. This year’s Thanksgiving holiday, however, is packing twice the punch that it has in the past because Black Friday is starting earlier and earlier every year. So early, it’s part of Thanksgiving. Tis the season to be shopping!

Black Friday got its start in Philadelphia during the early 60’s. It was called Black Friday because of the thick, disorderly traffic (of vehicles and pedestrians) that filled the streets. Black Friday started to catch on in other places and on a more national level by 1975. It’s shot up in the ranks of busiest shopping days throughout the years, but it’s really gotten crazy in the last few.

Five or six in the morning used to be pretty early for retailers to open their doors, but in 2011 this was taken to an extreme when a handful of stores opened at midnight for the first time. Black Friday has steadily been the busiest shopping day of the year. The crowded shopping day has only increased in popularity over the years. The shoppers are typically aggressive, ruthless, even violent!

How can you reap the benefits of amazing sales on Black Friday while still steering clear of unbelievably massive crowds? Try finding some good sales online. Everything Summer Camp is slashing their prices in response to Black Friday. Online shopping is a great alternative to ridiculously overgrown and even dangerous crowds.

Camp trunks, trunk accessories, and an endless list of summer camp supplies and camping gear make for great Christmas gifts. Shop around on the Everything Summer Camp Web site this Black Friday to find great deals on quality products and avoid all those crazy crowds!