Whatever industry group planted National Chocolate Day on October 28 did a great job. There’s no better positioning than a few days before Halloween. It’s the holiday dedicated to candy […]
Halloween and the Brach’s Royals
Tag: holidays
“What I Want for Christmas,” an excerpt from Christmas in Illinois
With hopes for peaceful holiday celebrations everywhere, here is “What I Want for Christmas,” by Robert Green Ingersoll, from Christmas in Illinois, along with the introduction by editor James Ballowe: […]
Oh, gnarly tree: A holiday tale
I am fortunately immune to nostalgia about past celebrations of the yule, with one exception: the Christmas tree. Not a tree in the abstract, but the Christmas tree I grew up with, a […]
Let’s observe National Soft-Serve Ice Cream Day one day early
There’s nothing more American than soft-serve ice cream. It provides the dairy and sweetness we crave in an attractive shape atop a sugary cone that encourages mobility. And we dispense […]
National Book Lovers Day: Getting rid of books is impossible
Book lovers enjoy writing/talking about the sanctity of books. The tactile pleasure. The superiority of the physical object to the ethereal electronic version. The knowledge. The immersive experience. The old friend […]
Christmas in the Land of Milk and (Uncle) Honey
Alan Guebert’s book The Land of Milk and Uncle Honey may have been inspired by a little homemade wine. Guebert, has been writing his nationally syndicated column “The Farm and Food […]
Oh gnarly tree
I am fortunately immune to nostalgia about past celebrations of the yule, with one exception: the Christmas tree. Not a tree in the abstract, but the Christmas tree I grew up with, a […]
Backlist Bop: “All Around the Year,” by Jack Santino
Today we venture into the vaults to shed light on a Nineties UIP release. All Around the Year surveys the American year to delve into how and why we celebrate the […]
Christmas in Illinois: Dear Santa
From the UIP release Christmas in Illinois, edited by James Ballowe: Before sitting on Santa’s lap in department stores became the way children let Santa and their parents know what […]
Backlist Bop: Soy meets world
The World of Soy, edited by Christine M. Du Bois, Chee-Beng Tan, and Sidney Mintz It’s the happy season when we feast on all the high-calorie favorites we feel too […]
UIP Holiday James, er, Jams
Recorded music in public places is a leading cause of holiday-related madness, right up there with lack of sunlight. To venture into a mall means exposure to the soaring assault […]