Category Archives: Religon and Occasions

Fruitcake

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Fruitcake

Fruitcake may sound healthy… But it has lots of sugar!

  • Fruitcake is typically made of dried and/or candied fruit, with added spices, flour, sugar, egg, butter, and often nuts.
  • ‘Fruitcake’ is also known as ‘fruit cake’, ‘Christmas cake’ and ‘black cake’.
  • Fruitcake is a cake that is commonly eaten during the Christmas season or at weddings, and sometimes at other occasions including special anniversaries.
  • Fruitcake, in some countries, is covered with icing, or marzipan, or eaten with cream or similar, while many countries eat it plain.
  • Fruitcake started to become popular during Ancient Rome, where preserved fruit was made into a cake with other ingredients.

Fruitcake, Christmas cake, Sultana, Fruit, Slice, Ten Random Facts, Dessert, Food,

  • Many countries of the Commonwealth cook dark brown coloured fruit cakes, known as ‘traditional fruit cakes’, that emphasize the use of nuts and fruit, and light fruit cakes are sometimes baked in these and other countries.
  • Some Christmas cake recipes use alcohol, like rum, brandy or whiskey, to enhance the flavour and extend the shelf-life of the cake.
  • Fruitcake has been used as a tossing item in competitions, particularly in the tossing tournament in the US’s Colorado.
  • Once candied fruit was being produced in the 1500s, fruit cake became more common and cheaper.
  • Fruitcake can be preserved for over 20 years with the use of alcohol, even without refrigeration, and has been used by soldiers due to its long shelf life.
Bibliography:
Douglas J, Ultimate Guide to Fruitcake, 2013, TLC, http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/menus/fruitcake1.htm
Fruitcake, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruitcake

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Christmas Card

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Christmas Card

“Have a very merry Christmas and fun handing out Christmas cards!” – from Ten Random Facts.

  • ‘Christmas cards’ are also known as ‘holiday cards’ and traditionally have greetings, commonly “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year”.
  • Christmas cards are traditionally exchanged during the Christmas season and are often posted or given out as early as November.
  • Printed Christmas cards were first produced by the Englishmen, Sir Henry Cole with artwork by John Horsley, in 1843, partly to make use of the new, cheap, postal service.
  • Christmas cards originally depicted the season of spring, typically flowers, unlike the Christmas designs now found on cards.
  • American Louis Prang significantly increased the popularity of Christmas cards, notably introducing the cards to America in the 1870s.

Christmas Cards, Santa Claus, Nativity, Imagine Make Believe, JJY Productions, Santa, Mrs Claus, Candy Canes, Jesus, Christmas Tree, Ten Random Facts.

  • Christmas cards are typically bought singularly or in packets of two or more, and can be found in supermarkets, department stores, newsagents and other shops, and they can also be purchased through charities to help raise funds for their organisation.
  • In 2005, residents of the United States sent 1.9 billion Christmas cards, and in 2008, the British sent nearly 670 million cards, although in the past decade their has been a decrease in the number of cards purchased, due to the higher costs of postage, cost of cards, economic climate, availability of e-cards and the use of email and social media.
  • Christmas cards are traditionally made of card (strong paper), but more recently electronic cards have been designed and are generally cheaper.
  • Christmas cards are commonly collected by many people, and Queen Mary’s (1867 – 1953) collection of cards is owned by the British Museum.
  • Of the 1000 Christmas cards that were printed for Sir Henry Cole, only 10-12 have survived the centuries, one of which sold in 2001 for £22,500.

If you would like to buy some Christmas cards depicted in the photograph, visit Imagine Make Believe.

Bibliography:
Christmas Card, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_card
Copper J, The History of Christmas Cards, Why Christmas, http://www.whychristmas.com/customs/cards.shtml

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Poinsettia

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Poinsettia

An important Christmas flower: poinsettia.

  • Poinsettias are decorative plants, from the family Euphorbiaceae, the family of spurges.
  • Poinsettias are small trees or shrubs that grow from 0.6 to 4 metres (2 to 13 feet) in height, and have large leaves.
  • The scientific name of poinsettias is ‘Euphorbia pulcherrima’, and they are also known as ‘lobster flowers’ and ‘flame-leaf flowers’ and there are over 100 varieties of the plant.
  • Poinsettias are native to Central America and Mexico and can be found in forests, which is their natural habitat.
  • Poinsettias are a popular, symbolic Christmas plant, as they resemble the colours of Christmas, typically being red and green coloured.

Poinsettia, Red, Green, Christmas, Plant, Winter, Ten Random Facts, Australia

  • Contrary to popular belief, poinsettias are not dangerously poisonous, although the sap can cause sickness if consumed and an allergic reaction can occur for some people if they touch the sap.
  • Poinsettias are primarily green, although the bracts, that are often mistaken as the flower, come in various colours, and different varieties can be found in red, orange, pink, white, pale shades and white shades, as well as speckled and multicoloured.
  • Poinsettia flowers are generally small, clustered, and yellow in colour, centred in the middle of the bracts.
  • Poinsettias are popularly grown indoors and although they are often incorrectly believed to lack survival outside, they can be grown outside all year round, as long as they are not exposed to frost.
  • ‘Poinsettia’ is named after Joel Poinsett, who was a politician, physician and botanist, and the first United States Minister to Mexico.
Bibliography:
Poinsettia, 2013, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia
Poinsettia Facts, 2013, University of Illinois Extension, http://urbanext.illinois.edu/poinsettia/facts.cfm

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Mother’s Day

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Mother’s Day

Happy Mother’s Day to you, happy Mother’s Day to you!!

  • Mother’s Day is a special day for honouring mothers, and for families to celebrate their mothers.
  • Mother’s Day is normally celebrated in March or May, but is celebrated at different times in the year by different countries.
  • Mother’s Day was started in 1908 by Anna Jarvis, an American, who later regretted starting the celebration due to the commercialisation of the day.
  • Traditionally Mother’s Day is spelt with an apostrophe ‘s’, since Anna Jarvis thought the tradition should celebrate families’ mothers not mothers in general, although sometimes it is spelt ‘Mothers’ Day’ and ‘Mothers Day’.
  • Mother’s Day is most commonly celebrated on the second Sunday of May.

Mother's Day, Grandma, Mum, Mother, daughter, ladies, girl, formal, Ten Random Facts, Happy

  • The Roman Catholic Church has created a significant link between Mother’s Day and Virgin Mary, by honoring and remembering Mary on the day.
  • Mother’s Day is often celebrated by giving a gift, and cooking dinner or breakfast for one’s mother, or taking one’s mother out for a meal.
  • After the ninth year of the official United States Mother’s Day, Anna Jarvis thought Mother’s day was being disrespected and was not what she had in mind, so she protested against the day, and was arrested.
  • Mothering Sunday, a European Christian holiday, is not the same as Mother’s Day, although it is often celebrated on the same day.
  • Anna Jarvis lobbied for Mother’s Day to become a United States holiday, and succeeded in 1914.
Bibliography:
Mother’s Day, 2012, Sunnie Bunniezz, <http://sunniebunniezz.com/holiday/motherdy.htm>
Mother’s Day, 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mother’s_Day>

ANZAC Day

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ANZAC Day

“Lest We Forget”

  • ANZAC Day is the remembrance day, and a holiday, for the Australian and New Zealand community to remember those “who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations”.
  • ‘ANZAC’ in ‘ANZAC Day’ stands for ‘Australian and New Zealand Army Corps’.
  • ANZAC Day is remembered on the 25th of April annually.
  • ANZAC Day is the anniversary of  the arrival of the Australian and New Zealand forces on the shores of Gallipoli on the 25th April 1915.
  • ANZAC Day commemorates those Australian and New Zealanders who fought in World War I, the first war with a significant number of Australian and New Zealand casualties.

ANZAC Day, Australian, War Memorial, 5th, 6th Machine Gun Battalion, Poppys, Casuality, Ten Random Facts

  • ANZAC Day was first acknowledged on the 30th April, 1915 in New Zealand, with a half day holiday, and the 25th of April became an official public holiday in New Zealand in 1920.
  • ANZAC Day was officially named ‘ANZAC Day’ in 1916, and in Australia became a public holiday in all states of Australia by 1927.
  • Many ANZAC Day services are held at dawn, all over Australia and New Zealand, and generally consist of the ‘Last Post’ played on the bugle, one minute silence, the ‘Rouse’ or ‘Reveille’ played on the bugle, the fourth stanza of the poem ‘For the Fallen’ and the national anthem.
  • On ANZAC Day, wreaths, often consisting of rosemary, and sometimes laurel and poppies, are laid at war memorials by dignitaries; relatives of those that have fought in war; or by those who wish to show respect.
  • On ANZAC Day, many veterans wear medals to show their participation, or bravery and courage, in the war they fought, and will often participate in an ANZAC Day parade.
Bibliography:
The ANZAC Day Tradition, n.d., Australian War Memorial,  <http://www.awm.gov.au/commemoration/anzac/anzac_tradition.asp>

Easter Eggs

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Easter Eggs

Don’t forget the egg’s meaning!

  • Easter eggs are sweets that are eaten at Easter, normally Resurrection Sunday, when Christians celebrate Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead.
  • Christians believe Easter eggs symbolise the empty tomb of Jesus Christ and new life.
  • The first use of Easter eggs were by the early Christians.
  • Easter eggs were originally bird eggs, normally chicken eggs, which had been dyed or painted, but chocolate or plastic eggs have become so popular that they are now more commonly seen.
  • An early Christian tradition was to dye Easter eggs red, to remind people of Jesus Christ’s blood, which was shed when he died on the cross, and this tradition is still practiced by the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic church.

Easter Eggs Chocolate, Hollow, Full, Small, Ribbon, Patternd, Yellow, Blue, Pink, Green, Orange, Purple, Spottty, Nine, LArge, Many, Ten Random Facts

  • Easter eggs are often used in hunts for children, and some parents suggest that the fictional ‘Easter Bunny’ has hidden or left the children Easter eggs.
  • The first time the phrase ‘Easter eggs’ was named in a book, was 500 years ago.
  • Historically, a surplus of chicken eggs at Easter time would have been common, because eggs were forbidden during Lent, the period leading up to Easter, and this custom is still practiced by some people today.
  • Over 90 million Easter eggs are sold every year, just in the United Kingdom.
  • Chocolate Easter eggs were first made in the 1800s in Europe.
Bibliography:
Easter Egg, 2013 Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Easter_egg>.
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