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Not Friday the 13th in 2024

Today, January 13, holds a couple anniversaries for me.  I remember the day of the Air Florida Flight 90 Crash in 1982 so well. We were living in the Metro DC area and our young son had just turned 2 in December.  Tom, my DH, worked in DC and I was never sure the route that …

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Today is…National Shortbread Day

Shortbread is a classic Scottish dessert  traditionally made with: 1 part white sugar (I use powdered) 2 parts butter 3 parts flour (I usually use rice flour) And a bit of salt Shortbread is so named because of its crumbly texture which is caused by its high-fat content, provided by the butter.   “Shortening” is …

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It’s Red Hackle Day

Today is Red Hackle Day. This annual celebration on 5 January commemorates the award to The Black Watch of the right to wear the Red Hackle. Originally thought to be as a reward for their achievement at the Battle of Geldermaisen in 1794, in fact there is evidence to show that the Red Hackle was worn by …

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First Foot on Hogmanay

  In Scottish folklore, the first-foot is the first person to enter the home of a household on New Year’s Day and a bringer of good fortune for the coming year. Although it is acceptable in many places for the first-footer to be a resident of the house, they must not be in the house at …

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Happy New Year, 2024

       

Happy Hogmanay!

  Hogmanay is the Scots word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year (Gregorian calendar) in the Scottish manner. It is normally followed by further celebration on the morning of New Year’s Day (1 January) or, in some cases, 2 January—a Scottish bank holiday. The …

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Happy Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day! Boxing Day is a holiday traditionally celebrated the day following Christmas Day, when servants and tradesmen would receive gifts, known as a “Christmas box”, from their masters, employers or customers, in the United Kingdom,The Bahamas, Barbados, Canada, Hong Kong, Australia, Bermuda, New Zealand, Kenya, South Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica and …

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Merry Christmas!

Lockerbie Anniversary

  The Lockerbie Cairn, through its 270 blocks of red Scottish sandstone, memorializes the 270 lives lost in the terrorist attack on the United States when Pan Am Flight 103 was bombed Dec. 21, 1988, over Lockerbie, Scotland. It is a gift of the people of Scotland to the people of the United States, financed …

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The Nicholas Brothers

I know that I promised in Major Excitement to post about the Nicholas Brothers and this is it!     I can’t remember the first time I saw the Nicholas Brothers in a movie but I’ve sought them out ever since.  I even bought their biography in 2010, Brotherhood In Rhythm: The Jazz Tap Dancing of the Nicholas Brothers. …

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