The name of the last month of the year, December, means tenth. It is derived from the Latin word decem which means ten. Now, I know December is no longer the tenth month, as it was in the Roman Calendar. In fact, we all know it is the twelfth and final month in the Gregorian Calendar. It does get to be quite confusing actually, and by this time of the year, most of us must give a smidgeon of consideration to the calendar if not as a gift, then in anticipation of a new month and a new year just around the corner. Besides being the month with the shortest hours of daylight, in the Northern Hemisphere, ((and the longest in the Southern Hemisphere) did you know December starts on the very same day of the week as the month of September? It's true, if you check your calendar for September, you will notice that September first was also on a Monday. I was amazed to uncover that tidbit of trivia when exploring Calendar Awareness Month which December also happens to be.
Monthly Food Celebrations
I'm not much of a television buff. Actually, I rarely watch TV at all. There are a couple of shows I enjoy and appropriately one of them is the series Made in America from the Travel Channel. So, while preparing for this post and the announcement of Made in America Month, it was quite natural for me to check out the website for Made in America. I personally think we should reinforce Made in America Month which was proclaimed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986. From the automatic dishwasher invented by a frustrated socialite, (Cochrane's company later became Kitchen-Aid: & it was patented on Dec. 28, 1883) to the people who invented the popcorn machine, America is over flowing with Tasteful Inventions. I could probably do an entire post on American made products. At one point in my life, I actually had plans and finances to open a store which featured American Made products. Sadly, my partner, my husband, passed away suddenly as did our dream. Anyway, thank goodness Stephanie has a blog and a website which features items Made in the USA. (there are more links below)
National Egg Nog Month: Just in case you didn't know December 24th is National Egg Nog Day, not to worry, December is also National Egg Nog Month! Sometimes, these date makers just get it so right. I mean really, can you think of a better month to celebrate the history of eggnog? Oh, and according to Slash food, it's also National Fruit Cake Month. As an added bonus, there's a recipe posted by Anna over @ Cookie Madness for Iced Egg Nog cookies. They look scrumptious! Whoops, before I continue, you must also check out this adorable egg nog cake and this decadent Eggnog Cheesecake with Caramel Rum from Nemmie at the Cast Sugar blog. Okay, I'm done with Eggnog Day for now. Fruitcake, well for fruitcake recipes, I'm sorry to say, you're on your own:(
There are a few weekly celebrations I would like to remind you about. The first week of December is National Cookie Cutter Week. I posted about Cookie Cutter Week last December. You might want to check it out. Not only does it explore the history of cookie cutters with Aunt Chick, there is also a recipe poem for Ginger Snaps. I've updated the links so they should all be working just fine.
I'm not quite sure which week Gluten Free Baking Week is but, it seems to also be some time in December. I was quite impressed with the Gluten Free Girl blog. The last time I was there, Shauna was introducing Gluten Free newbies to their first Thanksgiving.
Daily Food Celebrations
Although Christmas is the most popular celebrated day in the month of December, the final month of the year has several other days worthy of recognition. There are a few which seem to be named but not actually celebrated (for me celebrated means I need recipes for confirmation:) so, I'm going to avoid them for the time being. The following dates are those which I'm sure of or pretty sure of. Hey! this is a busy month we can't be looking for obscure food celebrations at the moment:)
1st On December 1st in 1885, Dr. Pepper made its debute at the soda fountain of Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store in Waco, Texas. Texas Cooking with Dr. Pepper.
1st Mystery author Rex Stout was born on December 1, 1886. I hope to be posting a tribute on my other blog titled Murder on the Menu...In the meantime, here's a link for Nero Wolfe soup tales.
1st Eat a Red Apple Day! I don't make this stuff up. Really, I don't:) Easy Apple-Chicken Curry from the US Apple Association. Now National Apple Month in October clearly makes sense to me. I even posted about it.
3rd. 3-Charles Alfred Pillsbury of the C.A. Pillsbury and Company (Pillsbury) was born today, December 3, in 1842. He founded the in 1872 with his uncle John Sargent Pillsbury. Did you see the post I did about the Pillsbury Doughboy in November?
5th-The Food Distribution Administration was established within the Department of Agriculture on December 5, 1942.
5th Walter Elias Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in a suburb of Chicago. Did you see my Mickey Mouse post in November? It was his birthday!
5th Today is the birthday of Calvin Trillin. Not only is Calvin Trillen known for his humorous writings about food and eating. He is also One hell of an eater (or so it says:) Some Calvin Trillin quotes to munch on.
6th Hilda Leyel who wrote under the pen name Mrs. C. F. Leyel, was born on December 6, 1880. She was an expert on herbalism and founded the Society of Herbalists (later the Herb Society) in England in 1927, as well as a chain of herbalist stores called the "Culpeper Shops". I won't be posting about her this month but I do hope to post about another of my favorite herbalist Adelma Simmons, her birthdate is on December 16th.
7th The creator of Sweet'NLow, Benjamin Eisenstadt was born today in 1906. The Sugar Packet Collector's Page. The Old Recipe website has an interesting article titled, Refined Sugar versus Fruit Sugar.
8th Joel Owsley Cheek, Cofounder of the Cheek-Neal Company, which would one day brew up to be the Maxwell House Coffee Company, was born on December 8, 1852. The trail of beans leading up to the formation of his company is really quite interesting. You can read this story printed in Time Magazine just to get an idea. I will tell you, there's a drop of presidential history lurking at the bottom of this post I did titled Perk It Up!
8th The Daikon Daki; Japanese radish cooking festival begins on December 8th. I found it most fascinating to read about it. Perhaps, you will too.
9th Lorraine Collett Petersen born on December 9, 1892 was the first Sun Maid Raisin Girl in 1916! Now, you know I'll be posting about her, and, I have a GREAT Sun Maid raisin recipe book to share. Check back...
10th Emily Dickinson, regarded as one of America’s greatest poets, was born today in 1830. When I visited the North pole looking for cookie recipes, (don't ask:) I found this recipe for Emily Dickinson's Gingerbread Cookies.
11th Cheese maker James Lewis Kraft was born on December 11, 1874.
12th-Today, I hope to be sharing a few recipes, over at my other blog, from the Lottie Moon Cookbook. Who was Lottie Moon you ask? Well, I guess you will just have to check back to see. In the mean time, Today, is Gingerbread House Day!
15th-Here's the scoop, the ice cream cone was patented today by Italo Marchioni! I was going to link to the wikipedia website but, they have the wrong patent date. The rest of the informaion does seem to be much the same as other websites. I will have to scoop a bit further:) Here's the patent if you want to dig in.
16th-Adelma Grenier Simmons, one of the leading herbal figures in America in the 20th century was born on December 16, 1903. She owned and operated Caprilands Herb Farm in Coventry, Connecticut for over 55 years you may remember me mentioning her on Halloween.
16th-The once flourishing industry of Saffron, got it's name from Catherine of Aragon. She was born on December 16, 1485. I wrote about her last year on the Feast Day of St. Catherine
16th Minced-pie season traditionally begins in England around December 16. I shared my Fairy Pie die-cut booklet filled with mince pies last January for Pie Day. Speaking about Pie Day, there are those who celebrate Pie Day in December. I have always celebrated it on January 23, the day the National Pie Council proclaims is Pie Day! Hey, you know what they say, you can never have enough pie on any day!
19th Jane Cunningham Croly ("Jennie June"), journalist, author, editor, and woman's club leader was born on December 19, 1829. Getting to Know Jennie June was my post for last year. (click the 19th)
23rd-Night of the Radishes takes place in Oaxaca, Mexico on December 23 each year. This night is also the beginning of the Posadas procession.
25-Christmas
26th-Happy Birthday; Bubble Gum!
26th National Candy Cane Day!
I'm going to post this for now but, I'll be back to add the rest of the days... Enjoy!
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