It is often said that the past is a foreign country and when we look back at it, we will find many strange and unusual customs and traditions. This is particularly true with historic celebrations of Christmas. Traditionally in Germany, a character called the Belsnickel would visit children alongside Saint Nicholas. Many cultures have an […]
Belsnickel: German Christmas Brings a Sidekick for Santa Read More »
For many people, myself included, December marks Christmas Card season when our post boxes contain little envelopes with updates from friends and family rather than bills and junk mail. Like many of our modern Christmas traditions, Christmas cards can be traced back to the mid-1800s. With most historical events or occurrences, historians and archaeologists can
Christmas Cards: History & Tracing Origins to the 1800s Read More »
While it is only halfway through November we are starting to get things ready here on the farm for our last big event of the year-Old Time Christmas. This candlelit lantern tour explores the historic celebrations of Christmas during the 1800s, a live nativity, visits from the Belsnickel, and more. To help get ready for
Christmas Superstitions of the Pennsylvania Dutch Read More »
Fermented foods play such a large role in human history and prehistory. Food manipulation and preservation has allowed us to survive throughout unending climate variations. While things that are old and moldy may not be everyone’s favorite treats, we are alive today because our ancestors figured this out. Fermentation is used to detoxify poisonous plants
Sauerkraut: How We Prepare a Pennsylvania German Favorite Read More »
One of our favorite fall activities here on the farm is making some of the best traditional food around. At Harvest Festival, along with the craft demonstrations and games, we prepare heritage recipes for friends and family alike. For this blog post, I am taking a closer look at the processes involved in some of
Apple Butter Preparation & Cooking a Community Affair Read More »
It is always important in business to build partnerships with other businesses. This is particularly true with ones that share similar goals or products as your own (such as carpenters working closely with electricians); as well as forming partnerships with dissimilar businesses as a way to expand potential customers and clientele. This is particularly true
Building Partnerships with Teachers, Educators, Museums Read More »
It’s great when visitors are interested enough in history to ask questions that lead to amazing discussions with interpreters. This summer, we’ve had a lot of great questions that have helped expand our understanding of life during the 1800s. This week’s question was about “Widow’s Weeds” during the mid-to-late 1800s. “Widow’s Weeds” is an 18th
Widow’s Weeds: The Clothing Style of Surviving Spouses Read More »
In my previous post we addressed a question raised by a visitor regarding 1800s toiletries, specifically toilet paper and toilets. This got us curious…what about toothpaste and toothbrushes? TOOTHBRUSHES AND TOOTHPASTE It seems that people have been trying to clean their teeth for as long as we’ve had civilization. Some of the earliest recipes to
Toothbrush & Toothpaste development by the 1800s Read More »
Some of my favorite questions as a living history interpreter are ones that deal with ordinary activities we tend to overlook in our daily lives because they are so common. These activities happen without us thinking about it. For example, when walking from the bright sun into the Cellar Kitchen at Quiet Valley a visitor
Slow Adoption of Toilets & Toilet Paper in the 1800s Read More »
Every day offers another opportunity for the interpreters to learn something new at Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm. Many times these lessons come in the form of questions from our visitors. If you have ever been to Quiet Valley and gone on our tours, you’ve probably visited the 1820s Cellar Kitchen where we discuss life
Hunting in the 19th Century: Animal Diversity & Regulation Read More »