Blog
Did the Romans Celebrate Halloween?
Halloween originated with the Celtic pagan rituals of Samhain, so it is not a Roman holiday. However, Romans celebrated two days in honor of the dead, and when the Catholic Church started imposing their own holidays on top of existing pagan holidays, they ended up...
Origin of Renaisance Festival is Far from the Renaissance
You know you’re a true history geek when you want to know about the history of a fake historical thing. Last year, I researched the history of fanciful tiki culture and this year, I started wondering about the origin of the Renaissance festival. Yes, the origin of the...
Why are These the Dog Days of Summer?
Dogs often do not appear to enjoy the dog days of summer. It’s hot, and they’re stuck wearing a fur coat that they can only shed one hair at a time. They can’t even sweat to cool off. But the term “dog days” has nothing to do with fur or even dogs. The origin of the...
What Day is the 4th of July?
When I first started working at the local chamber of commerce, my boss told me the most common question I’d get from people is “What day is the 4th of July?” It wasn’t that people couldn’t count, but they wanted to know whether the parade and fireworks were being held...
Worst Pirates in History – Stede Bonnet
The names of most inept pirates are long forgotten because they didn’t really succeed in scaring anyone or taking much of anything. However, there is one infamous pirate who really was known for his stupid mistakes more than anything else. Stede Bonnet was born to a...
Worst Pirates in History – Basil Hood
The best pirates in history are not funny. Pirates who were good at their jobs took other people’s property by threatening violence, and they were prepared to carry out their threats. Even if they spoke in a funny pirate drawl and all looked like Johnny Depp,...
Vaccination Controversy of 1721
Some are terrified by the disease, and others are more frightened by the new vaccine introduced to produce immunity to the disease. While I could be talking about today’s reaction to COVID-19, I’m referring to the situation 300 years ago in Boston. In the spring of...
The Strange Connection Between the Heart and Love
February 14 is a day associated with disappointed expectations and heart-shaped boxes of candy. I don’t think the disappointment needs any sort of explanation. Or, frankly, the chocolate (although you can check out my blogs about growing chocolate and the history of...
A One-Horse Open Obscenity: The Revolting Origin of Jingle Bells
I intended to write about why we sing the song “Jingle Bells” at Christmas, but after doing some research, I now wonder why we sing the song at all. If people knew the origin of Jingle Bells, it would disappear faster than you can say “cancel culture.” Jingle...
Election 2020 — Could Things Be Worse? Looking at The Ugly Election of 1828
When you contemplate Election 2020, it is pretty easy to despair for the future of our nation. But it could be worse. Maybe. Nearly 200 years ago, a relatively young United States endured an election cycle of truly nasty proportions. And that was without social media,...