Once Upon a Blog Post….

That’s not how I typically begin my posts for the Everything Summer Camp Blog, however, it’s the traditional beginning for those fantastical stories we dub Fairy Tales. Familiar from our childhood, the majority of Americans today likely got their introduction to Fairy Tales through the magic of painstaking animation of Disney’s first feature films (such as ‘Snow White’ which debuted in the theaters of 1937).

Snow White, however—based on an old German Fairy Tale called ‘Schneewittchen’—dates back much longer than 1937. Most Fairy Tales we know of nowadays can be traced back to stories from the Brothers Grimm. In the early 1800s, these two brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, thought to write the stories down.

But they didn’t invent the stories either. The Grimm brothers were simply the first to try to preserve these oral tales that they had heard for all their lives. So if Jacob and Wilhelm didn’t come up with these stories, then who did?

The truth is that nobody really knows. Fairy Tales were passed down from generation to generation by mouth, subtly altered from storyteller to storyteller and substantially reworked by the time they were recorded in the written form.

Jacob and Wilhelm supposed that the Fairy Tales they were popularizing (such as ‘Red Riding Hood’, ‘Cinderella’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’, and ‘Snow White’ to name a few), had their origins in a shared cultural history that dated back to the dawn of Indo-European languages which appear to have origins as early as the 1st Century.

The Grimms suggested that other Fairy Tales that dealt with magic (such as ‘Beauty and the Beast’ or ‘Rumpelstiltskin’) are just as ancient with a written history that begins in the 17th Century and an oral history that has lasted millennia—between 2,500 and 6,000 years old! Stories that have existed for so long rival the lifespan of the wheel!

So the next time you enjoy an old Disney film or you’re read a Fairy Tale story before bed, remember that the story you’re taking in was first told during the Bronze Age. Storytelling makes us human. Respect it for the many yarns storytelling has spun, the many worlds it has created, and the ones that we hold dear in our hearts and have withstood the test of time. Treasure the stories you love and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Tennis Fanatics!

If you love nothing more than swatting your racket through the air to send a fuzzy, little, lime-green  ball speeding to a focused target with intentions to score on your opponent, then you’ll find today’s Blog post right up your alley! In celebration of National Tennis Day, we’re talking about this popular sport played on the court!

Tennis has come a long way. Prestigious tennis organizations such as the US Open (which boasts 137 years of operation since it was first founded in 1881), have brought tennis competitions to the world over for years upon years. But the sport of Tennis certainly goes back much longer than any of these organizations do.

First mentioned in Middle Ages literature, tennis is the sport that Sir Gawain—the knight from King Arthur’s round table—plays against a group of giants in ‘The Turke and Gawain’. Here’s a couplet taken from the Old English poem written by Bishop Thomas Percy:

The King said, “Gawaine, faire mot then fall!
Goe feitch me forth my tennisse ball”

You’ll notice the king says to fetch his tennis ball, but makes no mention of a racquet. Mr. Percy probably just couldn’t find a rhyme, right?

Well, actually, tennis has evolved over the course of hundreds of years from its initial invention in which players used their bare hands to hit the ball. It wasn’t until some time between the 1200s and the 1400s that the predecessor to the racquet came onto the courts; it was a glove. And, by the 16th Century, the glove had been replaced with the wire racquet closely resembling what we know today.

If you’re an aficionado of this court sport, check out the modern equipment you can pick up at the Everything Summer Camp website by clicking right here and, as always, thanks for reading.

- John

Hey, Silverware Users!

Along with the majority of the world, you’ve likely grown accustomed to the handheld utensils we have for eating like the always-handy fork, the aiding knife, and the ever-helpful spoon. But today, I’m talking about the alternative to silverware—a much older method of handling food without one’s hands. I’m talking about chopsticks, of course, as it only seems appropriate on National Chopsticks Day!

A much older means of eating utensils, chopsticks have cutlery beat by many a millennium. It’s hard to say just how long since chopsticks have their roots in all the way back in ancient times. We can say with absolute certainty that they’ve been around for about the last 3500 years. But chances are they go back much further than that.

Using chopsticks as opposed to traditional silverware is quite a foreign experience if you’ve never done it before. But even for those of you who are rather handy with a pair of chopsticks, I’ve put together a short list of chopstick etiquette with which you may not be familiar.

Left or Right?
We all know (or were taught anyway) that your dinner fork is set on the left of your plate, but where do you put your chopsticks? Turns out they go in the same spot as the fork (though, below the plate is also acceptable in Chinese table setting).

Don’t Knock It
If you want to show your level of class, you’ll definitely resist your urges to knock on bowls or other dishes with your chopsticks. This act is associated in China as beggar behavior.

No Digging 
It’s considered impolite to “dig” for a preferred ingredient. This notion comes from the regular practice of taking food from a common dish—the idea being that the people with whom you are dining will be made to feel like they’re eating the food you rejected.

Straight Up
It’s not a good idea to stick your chopsticks so they stand up in a bowl of rice. It’s considered offensive since it is a traditional Chinese practice to stick burning incense in rice when honoring their dead.

Don’t Cross Me!
Much the same here in the States that the √ symbol signifies approval while an × means denial, this notion lands on the Chinese dinner table; laying your chopsticks down so they are crossing one another could be taken as an offense to your dining company so it’s best to avoid it.

So, now that you have some guidance on the etiquette, try putting down the fork and your other eating utensils today and pick up a pair of timeless chopsticks! You may find you prefer them to the silverware you’ve always known. Happy Chopsticks Day and, as always, thanks for reading, everybody!

- John

G’day, Mates!

We may not have any folks working at Everything Summer Camp who are from Australia. We may not even know anybody who knows anybody who IS Australian. But we still wanted to observe National Australia Day because of what a cool continent it is. And so, to recognize and honor this holiday, I compiled a small list of several interesting facts about this unique continent. Check it out.

Smaller Than The U.S.
By far the smallest of the seven continents, Australia is actually even smaller than the United States! Compare the land size of Australia up against the land size of the contiguous 48 states of the U.S. and you’ll discover that Australia is a mere seven square kilometers smaller than the States.

Exclusive Ecosystem
Over 80% of plants and animals are unique only to the continent of Australia. Some of the most well-known species of native animals include the koala, kangaroo (which is on the menu in Australia, believe it or not), dingo, echidna, platypus, wallaby, and wombat. But, aside from zoos, these creatures don’t live anywhere else on the planet.

Penal Colony
Australia was a giant penal colony back in the day. A penal colony is a remote area of land used to exile prisoners in ultimate separation from the outside world. When building its first police force, Australian government decided to hire the best behaved convicts. And though this may seem like unusual practice, this method continues to this day.

Put another shrimp on the barbie and enjoy welcoming the Australian spirit into your very beginning. We appreciate you joining us today in saluting this very interesting land—smallest of the seven continents on the planet, across the Pacific Ocean. Enjoy celebrating National Australia Day and learning more about this country-sized island. And, as always, thanks for reading!

- John

Hey, Fans of Pooh Bear!

Deep in the hundred-acre woods where Christopher Robin Milne played is where the inspiration came for everybody’s favorite honey-loving bear—Winnie the Pooh! Okay, so maybe it wasn’t in the Hundred-Acre Woods. It was more like the Ashdown Forest which currently covers ten square miles or roughly 6000 acres (a bit bigger than its fictionalized likeness).

Lucky for today’s birthday boy—A. A. Milne, the author who brought us Winnie-the-Pooh—he lived on the northern edge of Ashdown Forest where he would take frequent walks with his young son, Christopher Robin.

But his son and the Ashdown Forest weren’t the only means of inspiration for Mr. Milne, however. The character of Pooh Bear himself was actually his son’s favorite stuffed teddy along with a plush piglet, a tiger, a couple kangaroos, and a donkey who had seen better days (all of whom can still be seen at the New York Public Library except for Roo who was lost in the 30’s as well as Owl and Rabbit who were imagined solely for the books).

A. A. Milne was born 136 years ago in 1882. In his younger years, he was taught by the great British author H.G. Wells—writer of many timeless classics such as ‘The Time Machine’ and ‘War of the Worlds’. Milne also played on an amateur ‘Cricket’ team alongside the celebrated author who created Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle. By the time his education had ended, time soon came for Milne to join the British Army and fight in the first World War.

When he returned home from the war, Milne was married to his wife, Dorothy and they had their son, Christopher. But as history would have it, he was called away yet again when World War II began in 1939. After the war, his life saw a number of unfortunate changes. A stroke, for one instance, left him in a wheelchair until the day he died at the age of 74.

But this celebrated author once commented that “A writer wants something more than money for his work: he wants permanence.” Mr. A. A. Milne certainly has been granted the permanence of which he spoke through the lasting love people have for “Winnie the Pooh” and the adventures he penned in the Hundred-Acre Woods. Happy Birthday, A. A.

If you’re ever lucky enough to see Ashdown Forest near London, think of Pooh and the gang and, as always, thanks for reading!

- John