The sister of a history teacher

I was doing some research yesterday for a history project when I stumbled upon an unthinkable fact. Did you know that in 1659 the celebration of Christmas was outlawed in Massachusetts?! Apparently it was according to Puritan custom in England or something. But still! It wasn't until about 22 years later that the law was repealed, and can you imagine being forbidden all that time not to celebrate Christmas? Next thing you know we'll discover that in the mean time it was always winter. And it's crazy! What ever happened to "freedom of religion" and our constitutional rights? Oh yeah. They hadn't happened yet.

Hey, and do you happen to know what the term "spooning" means? Why, it's the Welsh term for courting of course! I guess when the young man came to visit the young lady at her house he would carve spoons while she might play music or something. And if the sound of whittling or music stopped, the parents would get suspicious. In the end, the man would present a "love spoon" to the girl for an engagement present.

And, while I'm on a historic note, today I learned something else in history class today. My teacher said it, so I have no concrete evidence to back it up, but did you know that Queen Elizabeth I was almost killed by smallpox? And not only that, but once she had survived the traumatic disease, she hid the scars on her face by painting it with white lead and vinegar, and then to smather on some color she painted her lips and added red dye and egg white to give her cheeks color. Some make-up! And, oddly enough, it was actually the white lead that eventually killed her. Or at least I think that's what my teacher said. Moral of the story? Don't wear white lead and vinegar!

And now that I'm relieved of my watchman's duties, I can breathe a sigh of relief that at least your blood won't by on my hands if you end up trying it. (but take my advice and don't)

Ha. I guess you tell that I'm the sister of a history teacher.