What is Auld Lang Syne all about?

Happy New Year! I am, not surprisingly, sentimental about the old traditional song, “Auld Lang Syne” that we bring out and dust off this time of year. For decades it was sung to bid farewell to the old year or at farewells and endings of other occasions. The chorus says “For auld lang syne, myContinue reading “What is Auld Lang Syne all about?”

Kings, Cakes and Traditions for Epiphany

We’ll discuss the historic nature of the wise men of the east and enjoy the song “We Three Kings.” We’ll make a King Cake for Epiphany. We take the legend with the history, the American traditions, the Catholic traditions, the English and German traditions. And over time, our family’s traditions take shape.

Preparing for Christmas

The south end of our living room is a bump out with four windows, a narrow sunbathed section we use for homeschooling, lining 100-year-old desks in a row. To the right of this section is the front door and porch, on which one of the windows overlooks. Yesterday, on that porch, with a rusty, undersizedContinue reading “Preparing for Christmas”

No Holiday without Ghosts

Each time this year, vivid memories return of the days of December passing, counting down, wondering how long we would stay, seeing the floors empty out as staff began their holiday vacations.

Bethlehem Market Brings in Big Business for Catholic Entrepreneurs

All Saint University Parish hosted the inaugural Bethlehem Market, organized by Leslie Sousa, on December 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Twenty-one vendors registered for the event that featured exclusively Catholic vendors.

Like a picture print by Currier and Ives.

Currier and Ives: A brief history As part of my son’s birthday wish, we visited Yesterday’s Books again. There, I found a hardback copy of Currier and Ives: Chronicles of America (1974). Currier and Ives was a New York City printmaking business that operated between 1835 and 1907. We know them best from their winter scenes and the shout-outContinue reading “Like a picture print by Currier and Ives.”