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Contents
Posts
The Ides of March
Monday, March 15th, 2010“Beware the Ides of March” is a familiar saying in English. The “Ides of March” is on March 15th – today! It means bad things will happen on this day!
Here’s an interesting note in Cicero’s De senectute et De amicitia, about the meaning of the word ides.
The Romans divided their months into three parts, by Kalends, Nones and Ides. The first day was Kalendae or Calendae, (a calando vel vocando,) from the priest calling out to the people that it was new moon; the fifth day, Nonae, the Nones: the thirteenth, Idus, the Ides, from the obsolete verb, Iduare, to divide, because the Ides nearly divided the month. The Nones were so called, because counting inclusively [including the day you're on], they were nine days from the Ides. In March, May, July, and October, the Nones fell on the seventh and the Ides on the fifteenth.
They had a complicated system of reckoning the month!
The origin of the sinister meaning of the Ides of March is based on the fact that it was the actual day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC by Roman Senators. The actual saying comes from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar, “A soothsayer bids you beware the ides of March.”
The ides of a few different months had special significance in Roman times according to The Mirror of literature, amusement, and instruction, Volume 23 by Reuben Percy…
The ides of May were consecrated to Mercury ; the ides of March were always esteemed unhappy after Caesar’s murder; the time after the ides of June was reckoned fortunate for those who entered into matrimony; the ides of August were consecrated to Diana, and were observed as a feast-day by the slaves ; on the ides of September, auguries were taken for appointing the magistrates, who formerly entered into their offices on the ides of May, and afterwards on those of March.
Today is March 15th. Beware the Ides of March!
Mama Lisa
PS The image comes from “The Dramatic Works of William Shakspeare” (1826). Thanks to Joanne Ladd for reminding me about today!
A Quick History of Daylight Savings
Sunday, March 14th, 2010Today is Daylight Savings in the US. That means we turn the clocks forward so that it’s light out later in the day, rather than early in the morning.
When Ben Franklin lived in Paris, he suggested that Parisians wake up earlier (when it’s light out) to save on the cost of candles. He wrote an essay about this in 1784.
George Vernon Hudson is the person who came up with the idea of actually changing the clocks. He wrote a paper about it in 1895.
William Willett campaigned for Daylight Savings time in Europe. He wrote a booklet called “The Waste of Daylight” published in 1907.
During WWI many European nations finally adopted the idea of changing the clocks in order to conserve coal. The US followed suit in 1918. The decision was repealed in the US a year later due to unpopularity. Daylight savings time was reenacted in the US during WWII. After the war it was left up to each State to decide, until 1986 when Congress mandated Daylight Savings Time in the US once again.
Many thanks to Joanne Ladd for pointing out Benjamin Franklin’s connection to Daylight Sayings Time!
Mama Lisa
The Worms Keep on Crawling!
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010Someone just pointed out that The Worms Crawl In, The Worms Crawl Out post from over 4 years ago is still getting comments and now has 83 of them! People seem to love to discuss this beloved (but disgusting) song.
A New Dictionary of Old English
Friday, February 26th, 2010Here’s a very interesting article that discusses a new project to make a dictionary that covers every single known word in Old English.
The Three Little Kittens – The Book, Poem and Song
Monday, February 22nd, 2010
The Three Little Kittens book illustrated by Kate Greenaway was just posted online at Project Gutenberg. It’s an adaptation of the poem The Three Little Kittens (A Cat’s Tale, with Additions) that was most likely written by Eliza Lee Follen. At the 2nd link you can read the traditional version of the poem and hear it recited and sung.
Alice in Wonderland the Movie and Book
Friday, February 19th, 2010
Alice in Wonderland is coming out in theaters next month in the US… starring one of my favorite actors, Johnny Depp! Adding to the excitement is that it’s directed by Tim Burton. He directed Edward Scissorhands (starring Depp), The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride, James and the Giant Peach, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (also starring Depp), and the list of great movies by Burton goes on!
We’re hoping to re-read the book before watching the movie and introducing these wonderful characters to my daughter before the big event.
Here are some online sources for reading the book, and listening to it read aloud…
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Online Version organized by chapter, illustrated by Sir John Tenniel.
Alice in Wonderland – different versions at Project Gutenberg – you can download them or read them online. The mp3 recordings are the ones with the speaker symbol next to them.
Illustrators of Alice on the Web – Choose the ones with "text" to read the book online or look at different illustrations.
The Original Alice -Written and illustrated by Lewis Carroll – (Requires a Flash Player) – A version where you flip the book on your computer screen and you can hear it read aloud.
LibriVox Recordings of Alice in Wonderland (The recordings below are clips from here so you can get an idea of how they sound.)
Here’s a poem and a song from Alice in Wonderland to get you in the mood. First the poem:
MP3 of How doth the little crocodileHow doth the little crocodile Improve his shining tail, And pour the waters of the Nile On every golden scale! How cheerfully he seems to grin, How neatly spread his claws, And welcome little fishes in With gently smiling jaws!(Recorded by Peter Yearsley.)Below is the song from Alice in Wonderland, based on Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The "Mad Hatter" recites it. (He never really finishes the song in the book because he’s interrupted by the Dormouse saying, "Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle, Twinkle". I edited the recording so the Mad Hatter could finish his rhyme and the dormouse could finish it with “Twinkle, Twinkle…”.) The recording was edited from the original by Peter Yearsley.
MP3 of Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a tea-tray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder where you’re at!Curiouser and curiouser! (I was so much surprised, that for the moment I quite forgot how to write good English.)
-Mama Lisa
Online Fairy Tale Books and Kids Books
Wednesday, February 17th, 2010
Here are some new books posted online by Project Gutenberg…
Indian Fairy Tales translated by Mary StokesThe Brown Fairy Book edited by Andrew LangCeltic Fairy Tales edited by Joseph JacobsViking Tales by Jennie Hall
Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude LandaThe Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling500 Rätsel und Rätselscherze für jung und alt by Joseph Frick (in German - 500 puzzles and riddles jokes for young and old)
Chimney Sweeps are Considered Good Luck in Great Britain – Just ask Mary Poppins!
Friday, February 12th, 2010Yesterday, Nicola Holdsworth told us about some British traditions. She mentioned:
Having a chimney sweep at your wedding is good luck i.e. to bless it I think, is supposed to bring good luck for the newly married couple.
I read more about this tradition (in Folklore and The Journal of American Folklore) and found that chimney sweeps would hang around outside churches to bless weddings and make a little extra money.
By chance, I happened to watch Mary Poppins last night after learning about this tradition. The movie starts with a song about a Chimney Sweep called “Chim Chim Cheree” by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Here’s the part I found interesting…
Chim chiminey
Chim chiminey
Chim chim cher-ee!
A sweep is as lucky
As lucky can be…
…Good luck will rub off when
I shake ‘ands with you
Or blow me a kiss
And that’s lucky too.I looked into the custom further and found that people believe(d) that kissing a chimney sweep was good luck and even that seeing one during the day (any day) was a good sign.
Even in modern day England, there’s a remnant of this custom of the lucky chimney sweep. I asked Frances Turnbull if they currently follow the tradition of having a chimney sweep at weddings. She said:
Actually, my mother-in-law gave me a little plastic chimney sweep, which I didn’t understand at the time – I remember the wedding photographer kept trying to get me to get rid of it because it made my dress look like there was a hole in it!
If anyone would like to share their stories about chimney sweeps, we’d love to learn more about this custom in the UK and elsewhere. Feel free to comment below.
Many thanks to Frances Turnbull, from Musicaliti, for sharing her story about chimney sweeps and to Nicola Holdsworth for explaining British traditions so wonderfully!
Don’t forget to blow a kiss at your chimney sweep for good luck!
Mama Lisa
Holiday Traditions, Giftgiving and Superstitions in the UK
Thursday, February 11th, 2010A while ago, we asked about gift giving traditions around the world. Nicola Holdsworth wrote to us from the UK telling us about British holiday and gift-giving traditions. Here’s what she wrote…
We give horseshoes for marriage, oranges form part of the Christingle celebration, usually with candles and ribbon. 21st birthdays are sometimes symbolized with the giving of a decorative key.
I asked Nicola about Christingle, because we don’t celebrate it here in the States. She wrote:
It’s part of the pre-Christmas celebrations. It’s mainly for school children, it’s usually an orange with a ribbon wrapped round the circumference, a candle stuck in the top and cinnamon seeds stuck into the orange round the outsides.
Here is a photo I found of a Christingle:
Nicole wrote about Easter traditions in the UK:
We also give Easter eggs. The Easter eggs are usually chocolate and vary in size, incidentally my boyfriend works at Nestle which is one of the companies that make them. We also do Easter egg hunts with mini eggs usually for younger children.
Nicole wrote about the anniversary traditions in the UK:
Each annual wedding anniversary has a different meaning and item attached to it i.e. 1st is paper etc.
Our anniversaries over here, they all have “names” and for each, a gift is given which relates to the “name”:
1 paper
2 cotton
3 leather
4 linen
5 wood
6 iron
7 copper
8 bronze
9 pottery
10 aluminum
11 steel
12 silk
13 lace
14 ivory
15 crystal
20 china
25 silver
30 pearl
35 coral
40 ruby
45 sapphire
50 gold
55 emerald
60 diamondNicola wrote:
A few other traditions for you, there’s some English superstitions in there too, so your going to have to sift through cos I’ve included quite a lot!
Maypole Dancing- usually done in spring, it’s quite an old one which involves a tall pole and lots of long ribbons in various bright colours.
Scarecrow Festivals- done in autumn local groups i.e. schools and scouts build and decorate a scarecrow, they are then collected and arranged in fields round a path, people then pay for a map and walk round answering questions about each scarecrow i.e. what colour hat are they wearing or which road are they on, the money is then given to charity.
Bonfire Night – fire works and sparklers and hotdogs etc, also called Guy Fawkes night after he tried to blow up the houses of Parliament in London.
British Saints all have their own day:
St. David – Wales – March 1
St. Patrick – Ireland – March 17
St. George – England – April 23
St. Andrew – Scotland – November 30I asked about St. George’s Day, and Nicola wrote:
St George’s Day is all based around St. George slaying a dragon, from what I can remember it’s a tale that said a village was living in fear of a dragon and young girls were being sacrificed to stop the dragon from eating the livestock. Then a prince came along, slayed the dragon and rescued the latest sacrifice who was the village leader’s daughter. So now around the time there is a parade usually organized by the scout movement, sometimes with floats and brass bands.
Nicola continued telling me about British traditions:
Remembrance Day – November 11th – in remembrance of soldiers killed in World War 1
Queens Birthday – London parade
Queen’s speech – Xmas day
Pantomimes around Xmas, all during November and December – local theatres put on pantomimes, usually with a man dressed as a comedy madam, a pretty damsel in distress and a dashing prince, lots of audience involvement and slapstick comedy. Aladin is one of the main panto’s that’s done along with Jack and the Beanstalk, Snow White and Peter Pan. Here’s the link to the wikipedia page on Xmas Pantomime.
Here’s an old poster for a Christmas Pantomime:
I asked Nicola if she goes to the pantomimes or if it’s for kids and she said, “I go to at least one every year, I’m a cub scout leader so I take the kids to the local one.”
Here are more traditions Nicola wrote about:
Pancake Day – Shrove Tuesday – around Jesus’ resurrection (people eat pancakes before fasting for Lent).
1st Footing in Scotland – Putting coal on your house threshold on New Years Day – to do with good luck and to welcome in the new year, they put the coal on the outside doorstep.
Having a chimney sweep at your wedding is good luck i.e. to bless it I think, is supposed to bring good luck for the newly married couple.
[UPDATE: I talk more about the Chimney Sweep Tradition here.]
Weddings – bride should wear something old, new, borrowed, and blue – it should be one of each, but two or more can be combined.
Picking up a penny is said to bring good luck.
Giving a wooden spoon for baking for a bride.
Don’t walk under a ladder, brings bad luck.
Bride throws bouquet at a wedding, the person who catches it is supposed to get married next.
Breaking a mirror is supposed to bring you 7 years bad luck unless you throw a pinch of salt over your shoulder.
Walking on cracks on the pavement brings bad luck.
Black cat crosses path good luck. (Note by Mama Lisa: in the US, crossing the path of a black cat is considered bad luck!)
Magpies: 1 for sorrow, 2 for joy, 3 for a girl, 4 for a boy, 5 for silver, 6 for gold, 7 for a secret never to be told.
“Magpies” is an old superstition that school children learn, its supposed to be linked to how many you see is what you’ll get and if you only see one your supposed to cross yourself (finger tracing the shape of a cross on your face cheek to cheek then forehead to chin) to get rid of the bad luck.
Here’s a photo of a magpie:
Opening a umbrella inside is supposed to bring bad luck.
Shoes on a table brings bad luck.
Nicola said, “I didn’t think of all of these, I rang my mum and grandma for some more!”
I asked Nicola if most of these are still followed or not? She said, “A lot of them are known but not really followed, it’s mostly the older generations that still follow them.” I believe she meant that British people still follow many of the traditions (like Guy Fawkes Day and Christingle), but not the superstitions as much.
I would like to thank Nicola Holdsworth, and her Mum and Grandma, Susan Holdsworth and Gillian Hamer, for sharing these British traditions with us!
Thanks so much!
If you would like to share your traditions with us, please feel free to comment below or email me at lisa@mamalisa.com .
Mama Lisa
UPDATE: Check out info about some traditions and superstitions in the US and France in the comments below…
Counting-Out Rhymes
Friday, February 5th, 2010We’re thrilled to add counting-out rhymes to our collection of English nursery rhymes whenever we come across them. Counting out rhymes help choose who goes first in a game, or who’s “It”. I found these rhymes below in a book of games called What Shall We Do Now?: Five Hundred Games and Pastimes (1907) by Dorothy Canfield Fisher. It was just posted at Project Gutenberg. I modernized the language of the author’s explanation about counting-out rhymes. It’s from an old book.
To decide who is to begin a game there are various counting-out rhymes. All the players stand in a circle, surrounding the one who counts. At each pause in the rhyme (which occurs where there’s a line in the versions below) the person counting-out touches the other players in turn (usually on the fist) until the end is reached. The player on whom the last word in the rhyme falls is to begin the game. This is one rhyme:
Eena-a, | deen-a, | dine-a, | dust, |
Cat’ll-a, | ween-a, | wine-a, | wust, |
Spin, | spon, | must | be | done, |
Twiddlum, | twaddlum, | twenty-one. |
O- | U- | T | spells | out. |Others:
Intery, | mintery, | cutery | corn, |
Apple | seed | and | apple | thorn; |
Wine, | brier, | limber | lock, |
Five | geese |in | a | flock; |
Sit and sing | by a spring |
O- | U- | T | and | in | again. |*****
One-ery, | two-ery, |
Ziccary | zan; |
Hollowbone, | crack-a-bone, |
Ninery, | ten; |
Spittery | spot, |
Must | be | done, |
Twiddledum, | twaddledum,
Twenty-one.*****
Ring | around | a ring-pot, |
One spot | two spot | three spot | san |
Bob-tailed | winnie-wack | tittero | tan |
Ham | Scram |
Fortune | man |
Singum | sangum | Buck! |Feel free to share any counting-out rhymes you know in the comments below! I’d love to learn more from the English and non-English speaking world.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Double, Double, This, This – Handclapping Rhyme with YouTubes
Friday, January 22nd, 2010Erin Yuki Violet Taylor wrote on the Mama Lisa’s World Facebook Group Hand Clapping Rhyme Discussion:
When I was little we always played “double double”…
Double double, this, this,
Double double, that, that,
Double this, double that,
Double double, this, that.Whenever you said “double”, you tapped the side of your fists with the other persons, when you said “this” you clapped your hands with theirs, and when you said “that” you’d clap the back of your hands with theirs and you go faster every time.
Here’s a video showing the game from the US…
I found a YouTube video of this rhyme showing a variation from Australia…
Double double, this, this,
Double double, that, that,
Double this, double that,
Double double, this, that.Double double, out out,
Double double, cream cream,
Double out, double cream,
Double double, ice cream.Thanks for sharing Erin!
Mama Lisa
Plum Pudding – An Ancient Christmas Carol with Recipes
Saturday, December 19th, 2009Here’s an old carol that sings of the Christmas feast in England that traditionally includes plum pudding…
PLUM PUDDING
Ancient Christmas Carol.All you who to feasting and mirth are inclined,
Come, here is good news for to pleasure your mind.
Old Christmas is come, for to keep open house:
He scorns to be guilty of starving a mouse.
Then come, boys, and welcome, for diet the chief, -
Plum pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.
The cooks shall be busied, by day and by night,
In roasting and boiling, for taste and delight.
Provision is making for beer, ale, and wine,
For all that are willing or ready to dine.
Meantime goes the caterer to fetch in the chief, -
Plum pudding, goose, capon, minced pies, and roast beef.Christmas pudding has long been very popular in England. It’s even mentioned in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol. You can read the passage about the serving of the pudding below and see its importance as an event…
Mrs. Cratchit left the room alone – too nervous to bear witnesses – to take the pudding up and bring it in.
Suppose it should not be done enough! Suppose it should break in turning out! Suppose somebody should have got over the wall of the back-yard, and stolen it, while they were merry with the goose – a supposition at which the two young Cratchits became livid! All sorts of horrors were supposed.
Hallo! A great deal of steam! The pudding was out of the copper. A smell like a washing-day! That was the cloth. A smell like an eating-house and a pastrycook’s next door to each other, with a laundress’s next door to that! That was the pudding! In half a minute Mrs. Cratchit entered – flushed, but smiling proudly – with the pudding, like a speckled cannon-ball, so hard and firm, blazing in half of half-a-quartern of ignited brandy, and bedight with Christmas holly stuck into the top.
Oh, a wonderful pudding! Bob Cratchit said, and calmly too, that he regarded it as the greatest success achieved by Mrs. Cratchit since their marriage…
The plum pudding was traditionally made by mixing the ingredients and putting them in a bag which was tied tightly and boiled for hours.
Here is an old recipe for plum pudding from 1864 to give you an idea of how it was prepared…
One quarter of a pound of beef suet; take out the strings and skin; chop it to appear like butter; stone one pound of raisins, one pound of currants, well washed, dried, and floured, one pound loaf sugar, rolled and sifted, one pound of flour, eight eggs well beaten; beat all well together for some time, then add by degrees two glasses of brandy, one wine, one rose-water, citron, nutmeg, and cinnamon; beat it all extremely well together, tie it in a floured cloth very tight, let it boil four hours constantly; let your sauce be a quarter pound of butter, beat to a cream, a quarter pound loaf sugar pounded and sifted; beat in the butter with a little wine and sugar and nutmeg.
-A Poetical Cookbook (1864) by Maria J. Moss
This youtube shows how the traditional plum pudding was boiled in the olden days…
Here are more Plum Pudding recipes from The Whitehouse Cookbook (1887) by Mrs. F.L. Gillette. The one for Baked Plum Pudding looks the easiest to make if you want to try one.
ENGLISH PLUM PUDDING. (The Genuine.)
Soak one pound of stale bread in a pint of hot milk and let it stand and cool. When cold, add to it one-half pound of sugar and the yolks of eight eggs beaten to a cream, one pound of raisins, stoned and floured, one pound of Zante currants, washed and floured, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in slips and dredged with flour, one pound of beef suet, chopped fine and salted, one glass of wine, one glass of brandy, one nutmeg and a tablespoonful of mace, cinnamon and cloves mixed; beat the whole well together and, as the last thing, add the whites of the eight eggs, beaten to a stiff froth; pour into a cloth, previously scalded and dredged with flour, tie it firmly, leaving room for the pudding to swell and boil six hours. Serve with wine or brandy sauce.
It is best to prepare the ingredients the day before and cover closely.
CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING. (By Measure.)
One cupful of finely-chopped beef suet, two cupfuls of fine bread crumbs, one heaping cupful of sugar, one cupful of seeded raisins, one cupful of well-washed currants, one cupful of chopped blanched almonds, half a cupful of citron, sliced thin, a teaspoonful of salt, one of cloves, two of cinnamon, half a grated nutmeg and four well-beaten eggs. Dissolve a level teaspoonful of soda in a tablespoonful of warm water. Flour the fruit thoroughly from a pint of flour; then mix the remainder as follows: In a large bowl put the well-beaten eggs, sugar, spices and salt in one cupful of milk. Stir in the fruit, chopped nuts, bread crumbs and suet, one after the other, until all are used, putting in the dissolved soda last and adding enough flour to make the fruit stick together, which will take all the pint. Boil or steam four hours. Serve with wine or brandy or any well-flavored sauce.
BAKED PLUM PUDDING.
It will be found best to prepare the ingredients the day before and cover closely. Grate a loaf of stale bread, or enough for a pint of crumbs; boil one quart of milk and turn boiling hot over the grated bread; cover and let steep an hour; in the meantime pick, soak and dry half a pound of currants, half a pound of raisins, a quarter of a pound of citron cut in large slips, one nutmeg, one tablespoonful of mace and cinnamon mixed, one cupful of sugar, with half of a cupful of butter; when the bread is ready mix with it the butter, sugar, spice and citron, adding a glassful of white wine; beat eight eggs very light, and when the mixture is quite cold, stir them gradually in; then add by degrees the raisins and currants dredged with flour; stir the whole very hard; put it into a buttered dish; bake two hours, send to the table warm. Eat with wine sauce, or wine and sugar. Most excellent.
PLUM PUDDING, WITHOUT EGGS.
This delicious, light pudding is made by stirring thoroughly together the following ingredients: One cupful of finely-chopped beef suet, two cupfuls of fine bread crumbs, one cupful of molasses, one of chopped raisins, one of well-washed currants, one spoonful of salt, one teaspoonful each of cloves, cinnamon, allspice and carbonate of soda, one cupful of milk and flour enough to make a stiff batter. Put into a well-greased pudding-mold, or a three-quart pail and cover closely. Set this pail into a larger kettle, close covered, and half full of boiling water, adding boiling water as it boils away. Steam not less than four hours. This pudding is sure to be a success, and is quite rich for one containing neither eggs nor butter. One-half of the above amount is more than eight persons would be able to eat, but it is equally good some days later, steamed again for an hour, if kept closely covered meantime. Serve with wine sauce or common sweet sauce.
***** SAUCE FOR PLUM PUDDING. (Superior.)
Cream together a cupful of sugar and half a cupful of butter; when light and creamy, add the well-beaten yolks of four eggs. Stir into this one wine-glass of wine or one of brandy, a pinch of salt and one large cupful of hot cream or rich milk. Beat this mixture well; place it in a saucepan over the fire, stir it until it cooks sufficiently to thicken like cream. Be sure and not let it boil. Delicious.
COMMON SWEET SAUCE.
Into a pint of water stir a paste made of a tablespoonful of cornstarch or flour (rubbed smooth with a little cold water); add a cupful of sugar and a tablespoonful of vinegar. Cook well for three minutes. Take from the fire and add a piece of butter as large as a small egg; when cool, flavor with a tablespoonful of vanilla or lemon extract.If you’d like more modern recipes for Christmas pudding check out this link.
Here you can see how the plum pudding is lit up with brandy…
Kids don’t try this at home!
I haven’t found the tune that goes with the carol, if anyone can provide it, please let me know.
If you decide to make a plum pudding, please let us know how it turns out, and if you’d like, I’d be happy to post your photos!
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Photo Credit for the Christmas Pudding at Top: Musical Linguist – under terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.
Hang Up the Baby’s Stocking – A Poem with an MP3 Recording
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Below you’ll find a poem about baby’s first Christmas with an mp3 recording. It was written by Emily Huntington Miller (1833 – 1913).
MP3 of Hang Up the Baby’s Stocking
Hang Up the Baby’s Stocking
By Emily Huntington MillerHang up the baby’s stocking:
Be sure you don’t forget;
The dear little dimpled darling!
She ne’er saw Christmas yet;
But I’ve told her all about it,
And she opened her big blue eyes,
And I’m sure she understood it-
She looked so funny and wise.Dear! what a tiny stocking!
It doesn’t take much to hold
Such little pink toes as baby’s
Away from the frost and cold.
But then for the baby’s Christmas
It will never do at all;
Why, Santa wouldn’t be looking
For anything half so small.I know what will do for the baby.
I’ve thought of the very best plan:
I’ll borrow a stocking of grandma,
The longest that ever I can;
And you’ll hang it by mine, dear mother,
Right here in the corner, so!
And write a letter to Santa,
And fasten it on to the toe.Write, “This is the baby’s stocking
That hangs in the corner here;
You never have seen her, Santa,
For she only came this year;
But she’s just the blessedest baby!
And now, before you go,
Just cram her stocking with goodies,
From the top clean down to the toe.”There is music that goes to this poem by Hiram Murray Higgins (1820’s – 1879). Some people sing this as a Christmas song.
You can find the score for Hang Up the Baby’s Stocking online at the Library of Congress. (Click the link to access it.)
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
The Boar’s Head Carol with an MP3
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009As early as the 15th century in England, they served boar’s head at the Christmas banquet. It was the first course in every Baron’s Hall and was brought into the feast with great singing. One song they sang was “The Boar’s Head Carol”.
There are several versions of “The Boar’s Head Carol”. I’m happy to present to you the version that’s most commonly sung today. It was printed in 1521 in “Christmasse Carolles” collected by Wynken de Worde. It’s been sung at Queens College in Oxford since before that time… perhaps a hundred years before! Below you can hear it sung and read along with the lyrics. The Latin part is annotated after the song.
The Boar’s Head Carol
aka Carol on Bringing in the Boar’s HeadThe boar’s head in hand bring I,
Bedeckt with bays and rosemary.
And I pray you my masters be merry
Quot estis in convivio (1)Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino (2)The boar’s head, as I understand,
Is the rarest dish in all this land,
Which thus bedeck’d with a gay garland
Let us servire cantico (3)Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino (2)Our steward hath provided this
In honor of the King of Bliss;
Which, on this day to be served is
In Reginensi atrio. (4)Caput apri defero
Reddens laudes Domino (2)(1) All of you who are at this feast
(2) The boar’s head I offer
Giving praises to the Lord
(3) Let us serve with a song
(4) In the Queens hallBelow you can read the oldest known version of “The Boar’s Head Carol”. It’s from a manuscript from the 15th century, printed in "Reliquiæ Antiquæ".
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
The boar’s head is armed gay.The boar’s head in hand I bring.
With garlands gay encircling,
I pray you all with me to sing,
With Hey!Lords, knights, and squires,
Parsons, priests, and vicars,
The boar’s head is the first mess*,
With Hey!The boar’s head, as I now say,
Takes its leave and goes away,
Goeth after the Twelfth day,
With Hey!Then comes in the second course with great pride,
The cranes, the herons, the bitterns, by their side,
To partridges and the plovers, the woodcocks, and the snipe,
With Hey!Larks in hot show, for the ladies to pick,
Good drink also, luscious and fine,
Blwet of Allemaine, romnay, and wine,
With Hey!Good brewed ale and wine, I dare well say,
The boar his head with mustard armed so gay,
Furmity for pottage, and venison fine,
And the humbles of the doe and all that ever comes in,
Capons well baked, with the pieces of the roe,
Raisins of currants, with other spices too,
With Hey!*Dish
It’s believed that the boar’s head wasn’t actually eaten, but that it was a “show dish”, because there’s reference to only one boar’s head at each feast, no matter how many people were present at the banquet.
If you’re interested in reading more about old carols I refer you to “Christmas with the Poets” (1851) by Henry Vizetelly and Miles Birket Foster.
Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
Edible Schoolyards
Friday, November 27th, 2009What a great idea: Edible Schoolyards, where children help create gardens and take part in a kitchen classroom. “Students participate in all aspects of growing, harvesting, and preparing nutritious, seasonal produce”.
Perhaps this is part of the answer to instilling a love of healthy food in kids… get them involved in growing and making their own healthy school lunches.
On the same note check out Maira Kalman’s latest creation in the NY Times…
Let’s keep the great ideas coming and try to put some of them in practice to help improve the quality of our childrens’ lives!
Mama Lisa
Does Anyone Know a Song with the Line, “The Ship Sailed for the White Cliffs of Dover”?
Tuesday, November 17th, 2009Dan wrote,
I went to school in Chilton (England) when I was six (1972), in California now, and my class sang this song, but that is the only line I can recall, I even recall the melody…
“And when the journey was all over /
The ship sailed for the /
White Cliffs of Dover.”Anybody? Was it maybe a song about a ship with two cats and the crew were all mice, and when they got home all that was left were two fat cats?
Dan
If anyone can help Dan, please let us know in the comments below.
Thanks!
Lisa
Frere Jacques – Brother John with an MP3 Recording in French and English
Saturday, November 14th, 2009Here’s a nice recording of Frère Jacques in both French and English by Ezwa.
Here are the lyrics of the French and English versions of Frère Jacques. The version on the mp3 recording mixes these lyrics…
Frère Jacques,
Frère Jacques,
Dormez-vous?
Dormez-vous?
Sonnez les matines.
Sonnez les matines.
Ding, ding, dong.
Ding, ding, dong.Are you sleeping?
Are you sleeping?
Brother John,
Brother John?
Morning bells are ringing.
Morning bells are ringing.
Ding, dong, ding.
Ding, dong, ding.Enjoy!
Mama Lisa
A Short Poem about the Life of a Child, based on a Persian Verse
Friday, November 13th, 2009This is a short, four lined poem that encompasses a child’s life from birth till death. It seems sad, yet it’s really a wish for a happy life full of people who care for the child…
The Babe
On parent knees, a naked new-born child,
Weeping thou sat’st while all around thee smiled:
So live, that, sinking to thy life’s last sleep,
Calm thou may’st smile, while all around thee weep.William Jones (1746-1794)
William Jones was a Persian scholar and linguist. He translated this poem from a Persian poem by an unknown author. This poem is sometimes called “The Babe”, sometimes “On Parent Knees”, and sometimes “Epigram”. An Epigram is a short, witty poem. It can also mean a paradoxical statement.
If anyone knows the original Persian version, please send me a copy at lisa@mamalisa.com and I’ll add it to this post.
Thanks!
Lisa
A Rain Rhyme that Involves Baking a Cake
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Here’s a rain rhyme from Northumberland that reminds us that rainy weather is a good opportunity to stay indoors and cook!
Rain, rain, go away,
And come again another day,
When I brew and when I bake,
I’ll give you a little cake.Stay dry!
Mama Lisa
PS You can tell it’s raining where I am and that I’m considering baking something yummy!
Dragon fly! – A Rhyme about a Dragonfly, Boys and Fish
Monday, November 9th, 2009
Dragon fly! Dragon fly!
Dragon fly! dragon fly! fly about the brook,
Sting all the bad boys who for the fish look;
But let the good boys catch all they can,
And then take them home to be fried in a pan,
With nice bread and butter they shall sup up their fish,
While all the little naughty boys shall only lick the dish.This rhyme can be found in Rhymes Old and New collected by M.E.S. Wright, (1900).
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