“The Mier expedition was an unsuccessful military operation launched in November 1842 by a Texian militia against Mexican border settlements…. On December 20, 1842, some 308 Texan soldiers, who had ignored orders to pull back from the Rio Grande to Gonzales, approached Ciudad Mier… The Texans were unaware that 3,000 Mexican troops were in the…
“And so we are really going to have a tea room after all; it is to be a perfect love of a place, all little blue and white China teacups, and walls papered in cunning blue figures, and the name of this delicate place of amusement is going to be the ‘Dutch Tea Room.’ If…
“In Cornwall, saffron bread is made on special occasions throughout the year, but in Western Maryland it became distinctly associated with Christmas.”
With parts of Scandinavia so far north that the dark days of winter are endless, its no wonder that the region has rich December holiday traditions. While some of the old Norse Yule symbology made its way into Christmas around the world, other customs remain specific and regional. St. Lucia Day is a particularly iconic…
According to Wikipedia, the word for punch comes from the sanskrit word for “five.” The drink was once made up of five components: water, citrus, alcohol, sugar, and “spice”. According to punch historian David Wondrich, the spice in question could be anything from “nutmeg or tea to ambergris.” (Hey that rhymes!) The flavors of this…