Advent Calendar

24

We wish you and your families
a peaceful holiday season.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

23

Women's Christmas is also known as "Little Christmas", or "Old Christmas". The term refers to the traditional name for January 6 among both Irish and Amish Christians. The day itself, is the official end of the Christmas season.

The origin

Originally, Christmas was celebrated on two different days. It depended on whether one went according to the calendar of the Eastern or Western Roman Empire. While in the Western Empire, Christmas was celebrated on December 25, in the Eastern Empire the festivities started on January 6.

The reason for this was the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. As a correction to the Julian calendar, which had too many leap years, harmony with the solar year was to be restored. This has mainly liturgical significance, since the calculation of the date of Easter assumes that the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere occurs on March 21. To correct the error that had arisen, he ordered that the date be moved forward by ten days.

Most Roman Catholic countries adopted the new calendar immediately, while Protestant countries did not follow suit for another 200 years. In particular, the British Empire - including the American colonies - did so starting in 1752 with the Calendar (New Style) Act. By that time, the divergence had grown to eleven days. With Christmas Day on December 25, the feast thus occurred 11 days earlier than the "old Christmas."

The Christmas of women

In Ireland, Little Christmas is also called Women's Christmas (Irish: Nollaig na mBan). The tradition, which is still strong in Cork and Kerry, is so called because Irish men take over household duties on this day. A goose is traditionally served on this day.

Some women host parties or go out to celebrate the day with their girlfriends, sisters, mothers and aunts.

22

We often associate the term "X-Mas" with an American origin. But is the shortened spelling actually based on American roots?

Christmas card "I bring you a Merry X-Mas" ca. 1910

The answer at this point is: No! The X in this spelling does not come from the Latin alphabet, but is the Greek letter "Chi" (Χ) to assign. The word ΧΡΙΣΤΟΣ (Christos) begins with just this and Χ is only the abbreviation and symbol for Jesus Christ. Together with the second letter "Rho" (Ρ) it forms the Christ monogram ☧.

The letter "Chi" was often used in old English abbreviations for the syllable "Christ". For example, "Xian" was a common abbreviation for Christian, "Xianity" stood for christianity. The earliest word relationship to X-Mas is probably the word "X'temmas" (pronounced christemmas) and goes back to the year 1551.

21

"Some cowboys have too much tumbleweed
in their blood to settle down."

20

Christmas is in four days! For all those who have not yet thought about what will fill their stomachs, we have prepared something! Today we reveal the recipe for a delicious Irish Stew. The advantage is that this dish is also great for freezing. We wish you a lot of pleasure in preparing it!

Irish stew with lamb

Ingredients:

• Lamb (26.5 oz)
• White cabbage (21 oz)
• Potatoes (21 oz)
• 3-4 Carrots
• Parsnip (5.3 oz)
• Pearl barley (2-4 oz)
• 3 Onions
• Marbled bacon (5.3 oz)
• Salt, pepper, thyme

Preparation:

1. Remove fat from meat and cut into cubes of about 1 inch.
2. Remove the stem from the cabbage and cut into pencil-thick sticks.
3. Dice onions, peel potatoes and slice carrots and parsnips raw.
4. Cut the bacon into thin slices.
5. Precook the lamb for about 15 minutes and keep the cooking water!
6. In a large pot, overlap the bacon slices on the bottom and sides of the pot and pile them up slightly.
7. Now add the prepared ingredients in layers to the pot, starting with the potatoes.
8. Then add carrots, parsnips, barley, meat and white cabbage.
9. Pour the cooking water over the meat so that all the ingredients are covered about a finger's breadth.
10. If necessary, add more broth (barley will absorb a lot of liquid).
11. Add spices to taste.
12. Seal the pot as well as possible and cook in the oven for about 90 minutes at about 338°F.

This also works great with the Dutch Oven over an open fire!

Goile maith - Enjoy your meal!

19

Behind today's door we want to present another traditional song: The Arkansas Traveler. The song was first published in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1847. The title of the song was deeply involved in the history of Arkansas from the 19th century. Not only did the song get this name, but a painting, a baseball team, and even newspaper columns were named after it. The terminology was even carried among the population to the point that groups of people who came from Arkansas were called Arkansas Travelers.

Version of the 2nd South Carolina String Band

The origin of the Arkansas Traveler

The Arkansas version of the Traveler is believed to have originated in 1840 and can be traced back to Sandford Faulkner.

Sandford C. (Sandy) Faulkner was an iconic figure from the early history of the state of Arkansas. Although he never held official office, he made significant contributions to the development of the young state through his political and economic activities.

One day, Faulkner got lost in rural Arkansas and asked for directions at a humble log cabin. A born performer, he turned the experience into an entertaining presentation for friends and acquaintances. The "squatter" or homesteader, permanently dodged the lost Faulkner's questions in a humorous manner while playing a tune on the fiddle. Faulkner recognized the tune and offered to play the second half for him. The homesteader was so delighted by this that he offered all of his hospitality and guided Faulkner back on the right track. However, he also offered that he could come back to the cottage at any time - if he could manage it - where he could sit down and play on this melody for as long as he pleased.

The Arkansas Traveler - The accompanying image to the story of Sandy Faulkner.

The term "Arkansas Traveler" quickly developed into a certain rural stereotype that negatively affected the state. Humorous performances, solidified the term "Arkansas Traveler" as a country bumpkin or hillbilly.

18

Behind our today's door we will go a little bit into the tradition of greeting cards at Christmas time. Where do they actually come from originally? Are you planning to send a Christmas greeting? Why not do it this year in the style of the old days?

The first Christmas greetings from England

The first Christmas greeting card probably comes from England. It was sent by the German doctor Michael Maier to King James I of England and his son Henry Frederick, Prince of Wales in 1611.

The words were:

"A greeting on the birthday of the Sacred King, to the most worshipful and energetic lord and most eminent James, King of Great Britain and Ireland, and Defender of the true faith, with a gesture of joyful celebration of the Birthday of the Lord, in most joyand fortune, we enter into the new auspicious year 1612."

From then on Christmas greetings were sent again and again. The first commercial Christmas card was designed by John Callcott Horsley in 1843.

The first commercial Christmas greeting card from 1843

A collection of Christmas greeting cards from back then

17

"Let us put our minds together
and see what life we can make for our children."

16

Door number 16 will again contain a little quiz today. We will dive into the world of cowboys, who of course had to work a lot with horses.

What does the term "Bronco Buster" stand for?

15

Today we present a special and yet quite simple recipe. On the eleventh day of our advent calendar, we told you about the traditional tobacco pipes of the American Natives. During such rituals, a berry soup was served, which we do not want to withhold from you.

Berry soup in the style of the American Natives

Ingredients:

• 14 oz of Blueberries or blackcurrants (dried) or
• 2.2 lbs blueberries or black currants (fresh)
• 12.5 cups of meat broth
• 8.8 oz of sugar
• 7 oz of meat (cut very small)
• 1 cup of water stirred up with 2 oz of flour
• Side dish: Flatbread

Preparation:

1. Add the fresh or soaked berries to the stock and cook until the berries are soft.
2. Add the pieces of meat before the berries are fully cooked.
3. Stir in the mixture of water and flour and bring to the boil briefly so that the soup thickens.
4. Add the sugar before serving - done.
5. A flat bread is served as a side dish.

The combination of the sweet berries along with the meat harmonizes perfectly!

Enjoy your meal!