Gingerbread Day is here

We haven't paid attention to our national celebration days. Today is Gingerbread House Day.  Bake ginger bread cookies and use them to fashion edible houses and other architectural models. It is also National Ding-a-Ling Day, and National Poinsettia Day.  What is Ding-A-Ling Day?   Ding-a-Lings on this day call the people they haven’t heard from in a while.  It may be an old classmate, co-worker or neighbor from years ago.  Or perhaps a call will go out to the child who used to mow the grass during the summer.  How about that couple who carpooled for soccer.  What was their name? There are all sorts of people in our lives who manage to slip out of our lives who would love to hear the ding-a-ling of a call from you or me.  Why don’t you join the Ding-a-ling club and call someone this year? Poinsettias are easier to figure out.  The U.S. House of Representatives in 2002 created Poinsettia Day to honour the father of the poinsettia industry, Paul Ecke.  The date of December 12 marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett, the man responsible for bringing the plant to the United States. Tomorrow's celebrations include celebrating cocoa, violins, horses,  national guards and "pathologist pals." Pick a Pathologist Day is observed annually December 13th.  This day was created to encourage us to make friends with a pathologist or coroner because we never know what tomorrow holds.   Here are some of the Grimsby Landmarks from the Grimsby Historical Society's tree this year.  The first is the well-known Nelles Manor, the oldest house between Kingston and Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Facebook Twitter Website Email Instagram

Being British

At this time of year, when many of our traditions trace themselves back to Britain, George Mikes' manual "How to be a Brit" has been republished after 30 years ago.  Here are a few excerpts to start our day.  Once we know how to be British about them, we can rediscover Lost Christmas Traditions. On not knowing anything One thing you must learn in England is that you must never really learn anything. You may hold opinions – as long as you are not too dogmatic about them – but it is just bad form to know something. You may think that two and two make four; you may ‘rather suspect it’; but you must not go further than that. Yes and no are about the two rudest words in the language. Why don’t the British panic? They do, but very quietly. It is impossible for the naked eye to tell their panic from their ecstasy. Why don’t they work harder? They just don’t like hard work. The Germans have a reputation for hard work, so they like to keep it up. The British find it boring. Then, apart from a tiny and despicable minority, the British dislike the idea of taking part in the rat-race. They will give up certain advantages – knowingly and with their eyes open – in order to be able to stick to certain values and a way of life. How would they fight a civil war? Very, very quietly. Our pretty houses decorated for Christmas are at the Niagara Falls Showcase Greenhouse.