The parade traces back to mid-17th-century roots, blending elements from Swedish, Finnish, Irish, English, German, and other European heritages, as well as African heritage. The parade is related to the *#%$ Play tradition from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Revivals of this tradition are still celebrated annually in South Gloucestershire, England on Boxing Day and in parts of Ireland on St. Stephen's Day and also in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador around Christmas. Swedes, Philadelphia's first settlers, brought the custom of visiting neighbors on "Second Day Christmas" (December 26) with them to Tinicum. This was soon extended through New Year's Day with costumed celebrants loudly parading through the city. Traditional New Years' celebrations of firing guns (Swedes and Finns) and recitations of traditional rhymes (English and Welsh) joined common practices of visiting neighbors. The Belsnickle, an early German version of Santa Claus, inspired comic masqueraders riding through Tinicum and Kingsessing dressed as clowns. U.S. President George Washington carried on the official custom of New Year's Day calls during the seven years he occupied President's House in Philadelphia. The *#%$ continued their traditions of comic verse in exchange for cakes and ale. Small groups of up to twenty *#%$, their faces blackened, went door to door, shooting and shouting, spoofing General Washington and the English *#%$s' play St. George and the Dragon. Philadelphia's 19th-century Carnival of Horns drew thousands of merrymakers in festive costumes to the vicinity of Eighth and South Streets in the South Philadelphia section. An 1808 law decreed that "masquerades" and "masquerade halls" were "common nuisances" and that anyone participating would be subject to a fine and imprisonment. It was apparently never enforced and was repealed in 1859. Henry Muhlenberg, writing in 1839, reported, "Men met on the roads in Tinicum and Kingsessing, who were disguised as clowns, shouting at the top of their voices and shooting guns. Southern plantation life's contributions include the parade's theme song, James A. Bland's "Oh, Dem Golden Slippers" (introduced by Charles Dumont in 1903), as well as the 19th-century cakewalk, dubbed the "*#%$s' Strut" or the "2 Street Strut". Other ethnic groups have been integrated into the parade through the years. Italians began to participate in large numbers after World War II. Gotta love Philadelphia. I replaced the name of the group wherever it appears in the Wikipedia article with symbols. This may be too Philadelphia-only to be fair. Feel free to check out my link last week to see if you can figure it out. Even though they are the types who might have thrown snowballs at Santa during football games, I have a soft spot for these South Philly guys. Wouldn't be NYD without them! Cynthia

I received a spooktacular prize box from Sandy today!!! Thank you so much!!! I love everything! This is what I received: Seeds: Catnip, Sea Holly, Mixed Anemones, Pansy 'Black Prince', Poppy, 'Black Beauty', Broomcorn 'Sorghum', Pumpkin 'Baby Boo', Viola 'Frosted Chocolate', White 4 O Clocks, and Indian Corn. (I got hooked on Winter Sowing last year, so these will go into my seed bag for this coming years' sowing!) Bulbs: Allium Persian Blue, Pink Buttercups, Giant Daffodils 'King Edward', Iris Blue Magic, Mediterranean Bells, 'Queen of Night' Tulips, Lycoris, and a Garlic Bulb (to ward off Vampires, lol) Live plants: Some iris rhizomes and sweet potato. And for the sweet tooth, some Blood suckers (strawberry flavored) and a cute little pumpkin with Bubblegum inside. Thank You so much Sandy!! I still need to look some things up online, and learn a bit about them. It has been so dreary and rainy this week, but I think it should clear up on the week end, and then guess what I'll be doing!! Planting all my goodies! Oh, and the seeds came in cute little Halloween gift boxes, with pictures of the flowers included. Thanks again!, Karen This image is from Halloween Graphics

why was there a limit of 5 words put on this anyway So the game would go faster and people wouldn't end up skipping posts because it was taking them so long thinking of words. Plus... I just like to see who can follow the rules. LOTS of rebels here at the KT! lol

I wanted to thank everyone for their generous help. Many of the suggestions made were for books she already had and loved, so you were right on target as to the kind of books I wanted. In the end, I wandered up and down the bookstore shelves picking off cozy-looking mysteries at random. Several had Christmas themes, which I thought she might enjoy, perhaps even extending her holiday enjoyment. Surely she will like some of them. In case anyone else is interested, I am providing a list of the ones I bought for her. Mistletoe Murder (a Lucy Stone mystery) by Leslie Meier Mrs. Malory and No Cure for Death by Hazel Holt Secrets on Saturday (a Lois Meade mystery) by Ann Purser Mrs. Jeffries and the Silent Knight by Emily Brightwell Not a Girl Detective (a Cece Caruso mystery) by Susan Kandel Dead Guy's Stuff (a Jane Wheel mystery) by Sharon Fiffer Mum's the Word (a Flower Shop mystery) by Kate Collins Organize Your Corpses by Mary Jane Maffini Sit, Stay, Slay (a Kendra Ballantyne Pet-Sitter mystery) by Linda O. Johnston Birds of a Feather (Maisie Dobbs) by Jacqueline Winspear I may look around for one or two more, since the box I bought will nicely hold two more paperbacks. It was a pleasure finding these books for her. I don't know how much longer she will continue to read. Rosefolly