Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Nearly 12% of Americans report being of Irish descent, but all Americans will be celebrating today! St Patrick's Day is arguably the most-celebrated tradition from across the pond in the United States. St Patrick was a Roman Britain who was kidnapped by Irish raiders and transported to Ireland as a slave. After his escape, he became a priest and was determined to convert the Irish to Christianity. The symbolic 3-leaved clover was believed to have been used by St Patrick to teach the Irish about the Holy Trinity.

Celebrate St Patrick's Day today by making a paper plate shamrock, pot of gold or handprint rainbow. Older children can practice some Irish slang or do a word search. Finish the day by making some Irish soda bread, corned beef and cabbage and oatmeal cookies!

Image credit: (Sarah Snodgrass)

Happy Mothering Sunday!

The tradition of Mothering Sunday is believed to have begun in the 16th century, when people would visit their mother church, which meant that most mothers would see their children on this day. Historians also believe that servants were given the day off, so that they could visit with their mothers. As Europe became more secularized, the holiday became more associated with appreciating mothers than visiting the Mother Church. Children would pick wild flowers along the way to give them to the church or their mothers.

Many traditional cakes are eaten for Mothering Sunday. Modern celebrations include the Simnel cake or Mothering Sunday Buns with raisins and butter icing. I can't find a recipe for these, so if you have one, please post in comments below! In Northern England and Scotland, carlings are eaten.

Make mum feel special today with a coffee filter paper bouquet or younger children can make a handprint heart. A personally decorated card and breakfast in bed will make her feel special too!

Image credit: (BTInternet)

Penny Loaf Day

Today is Penny Loaf Day. This holiday originated in the 17th century in Newark, Nottingham, when a man named Hercules Clay dreamt for three nights in a row that his house would burn down. He moved his family out on March 11th and shortly thereafter, his house was burned down during the English Civil War. To give thanks for his unbelievable luck, he created a fund of £100 to buy Penny Loaves of bread, boots and shoes for the poor each year on the 11th of March. To get the bread, the poor had to listen to a sermon first. Although the funds are gone to give bread today, the sermon is still delivered in Newark.

To celebrate, watch a video on making bread and then try some of these family-friendly bread recipes . In the spirit of the day, make an extra loaf of bread and donate it to a local shelter. Older children can make bread dough beads and talk about how grains keep us healthy, while younger children can play with bread themed items in a sensory table or tub, such as oats, corn, barley, measuring cups, funnels and spoons or play Bread Basket Upset.

Image Credit: (Moonimama's Memoirs)

Happy St. Piran's Day!

Happy St. Piran's Day, the National Day of Cornwall! St. Piran's Day has been observed since the late 19th/early 20th century as a way for people to celebrate Cornwall, similar to other national celebrations. Saint Piran is the patron saint of tin-miners and was a 6th century abbot and said, believed to be of Irish descent. He is credited with re-discovering tin-smelting when his tin rose out of his black hearthstone and settled on the surface in the form of a white cross, creating the image used today in St. Piran's Flag. The Cornish celebrate the day by marching across the Penhale sand dunes to St. Piran's cross, carrying daffodils to be placed at the cross.

Many Cornish immigrants came to the United States looking for mining work in the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of these settled areas still celebrate St. Piran's Day, such as in Southwest Wisconsin and Grass Valley, California.

The Cornish also settled in Nevada, not surprising due to our mining industries. To celebrate St. Piran's Day in Las Vegas, big kids can try speaking Cornish, completing a mining word search or make a castle. Younger kids can listen to Jack and the Beanstalk, which is set in Cornwall, or try their hand at colouring pages. Make some Cornish pasties or crab soup, and have some puddings or pastries for desert.

Image credits: (BBC, Wikipedia)

Celebrating St. David's Day!

The Welsh have honored March 1st as St. David's Day since the 18th century. Dewi Sant, St. David, was a Celtic monk who helped spread Christianity in Wales in the 6th century.

Traditionally, school children performed concerts or eisteddfadau, reciting poems and singing. Some schools are open for a half day only to extend the celebrations. Daffodil and leek emblems are typically worn to honor St. David. Daffodils commonly bloom in March, and leeks are the personal symbol of St. David. Additionally, in the Welsh language the words are similar: Cenin (leek) and Cenin Bedr (daffodil, literally "Peter's leek"). In the South of Wales, young men wear leeks while young girls wear daffodils, but in North Wales the daffodil is the most popular. The Welsh traditional costume consists of a long wool skirt, white blouse, woolen shawl and Welsh black felt hat.

To celebrate St. David's Day in Las Vegas, pick up some dadffodils. Big kids can make traditional costume craft or a clay dadffodil magnet , while younger children can do some coloring pages. Finish off the celebration with some traditional Welsh dishes such as welsh rarebit, welsh cakes or Bara Brith, or visit Whole Foods to pick up ingredients for a goat cheese and leek quiche.

Image credits: (Clare Matson, Richard)

Happy Boxing Day!

It's Boxing Day and we are heading off with the LVUK Mums Group for a celebration! Will be sure to update later with some pics.

Boxing Day is not celebrated much in the United States, although some Americans near the US/Canadian border celebrate. Boxing Day is a great time to spend with family that couldn't make it together on Christmas and recuperate from the big festivities from the day before. Historically, on Boxing Day the servants would have the day off and UK families would eat cold cuts or leftovers and play board games or cards.

How are other expats celebrating Boxing Day? Leave a comment below!

My apologies for not posting much lately, the entire house has been sick with the stomach flu and we are just now getting back to normal. Hope that everyone enjoyed Christmas and is counting down to New Year's! Don't forget to submit your posts for the LVUK Mums 2010 New Years Baby Tour!

Thanks AmoeBlog for the Boxing Day pic.

Happy St. Andrew's Day!

Although all of the current members of the LVUK Mums Group are English, not Scots, we wanted to recognize St. Andrew's Day today! (Edited to change Brits t0 English - sorry for typo - and thanks to Anon for commenting!)Anywhere from 20 - 25 million Americans have Scottish heritage - I've got Wilson and Campbell blood in the lineage myself. So what is St. Andrew's Day all about?

St. Andrews Day is named for the patron Saint of Scotland. Andrew, the brother of Peter the Apostle, was also a disciple of John the Baptist. Tradition says that girls wishing to marry would pray to St. Andrew at midnight on November 29th - luckily for us we are a long way from this happening in our house. Instead, I will try my hand at preparing some traditional Scottish dishes, and the kids will do some St. Andrews day themed art.

How are you celebrating St. Andrews day?

Thanks to FreeFoto.com for the picture!

Expat Christmas Crackers

It's almost time for Christmas crackers. I started thinking about it the other day when I visited a craft store to purchase a Guy and saw that they had up to 40% off of their Christmas items. I asked the girl working up front if they had any Christmas crackers, and she had no idea what I was talking about. Many Americans are not familiar with Christmas crackers. They do sell them in local shops - in Las Vegas you can buy them at Cost Plus World Market, Williams Sonoma and Tuesday Morning, in addition to online retailers from both the US and UK. Many of us will undoubtedly have UK visitors during the Christmas holidays and can get the real thing stowed in a suitcase from England.

The more adventurous expats will be making their own crackers. I would love to do this for 2009, but I think the kids are too young and I know they would not understand or appreciate it now. I can just imagine it would be all of us in the room for a total of 15 seconds, before they lose interest and wander off and I am lost in a pile of empty toilet rolls, wrapping paper and trinkets. I think the making your own route is quite noble though - if for nothing else than getting a better prize than a plastic ring and a bad joke. So, I am looking for comments from other expats - where will you get crackers this year (buy, brought over, or homemade)? If you are making your own, what are you putting inside?

Thanks to BBC for the picture.

Pictures from Guy Fawkes 2009

We had our mini celebration last night. The kids did some coloring on their Bonfire Night pictures:

Since the kids are so young, we didn't make a guy, but bought one at a craft store. Here is the condemned:

We had great weather here in Las Vegas last night, so after Guy met his fate, my husband and I sat outside and enjoyed the fire and a few spirits while the kids were dreaming of fireworks in their beds.

Remember, Remember, the 5th of November

Happy Guy Fawkes Day! In November of 1605, a Catholic plot to blow up Parliament and King James I was thwarted. The group, including Guy Fawkes, stored gunpowder in a cellar under Parliament but was unsuccessful in their attempt after the plot was discovered. In the UK, it is traditional to celebrate Guy Fawkes Day with bonfires, burning an effigy of Guy and fireworks, and this well known verse:

Remember, remember the fifth of November,
The gunpowder treason and plot,
I know of no reason
Why the gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot.

Guy Fawkes Day is not celebrated much in the United States, although there are several celebrations on the East Coast or New England parts of the country. Calif Lorna celebrated in Southern California and It's All About Me (Karen) celebrated in Florida, check out their posts. So what about Las Vegas? Instead of a bonfire, we will try a mini one in our backyard firepit tonight with the kids. Don't forget to discuss safety tips for fires and fireworks! The kiddies can try their hands at some Bonfire Night crafts like making their own guy out of a paper bag and doll clothes. Smaller ones can try their hands at some coloring pages. Traditional foods for Bonfire Night include fire cooked foods such as foil wrapped potatoes, sausages and soup. Finish it off with a treacle toffee, and you have a great night!

How are other expats celebrating Guy Fawkes Day?

Thanks to the Sacramento Bee for the photo!