It’s hard to believe that it’s just a few days until Thanksgiving! Some of us are getting reading to make the trek to be with family; others are getting ready to celebrate at home with family and friends. The illustration above makes me think of a childhood song, “Over the river and through the woods, to Grandmother’s house we go….” Whether travelling or staying, spending the day with family and friends (or a family of friends!) is a beautiful thing. It shouldn’t take a special day to count one’s blessings. On the other hand, it’s nice to have a special day dedicated to appreciating just how blessed one is, and be grateful.
Thanksgiving Greetings 1900-Football and Turkey
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, a big turkey dinner, hours of football are all time-honored traditions in the American Thanksgiving. However one celebrates, the important thing is to recognize the good things in one’s life and appreciate them when there is an opportunity. I hope your Thanksgiving is beautiful. Thank you for reading my blog!
As the festive season approaches, I am seeing more and more advertisements for scents for the home. Pine, bayberry, the warm scents of cinnamon and vanilla… The all important creation of the holiday atmosphere. The sense of smell is so important-a quick sniff of a particular odor can bring a place to mind; a waft of a special perfume, a face immediately appears. Scent has been an important issue down through time. My old cookbooks render numerous recipes for a variety of scented products for the home. Roses were an extremely popular scent.
‘Julia Gathering Roses’ by Daniel Ridgeway
THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE by Eliza Smith contains a recipe “To make the burning Perfume”, which appears to be a form of incense. The ingredients include damask rose leaves (petals), musk, civet and sugar in rosewater, formed into little cakes and dried in the sun. I have seen biblical references to “burning perfume in vessels” and imagine Eliza’s recipe smoldering in a saucer, or possibly even tossed on a fire, as we toss pine cones or other scented material. The same volume also includes instructions “To make a sweet Bag for Linen”-dried citrus peel, dried roses, coriender, nutmeg and cloves, as well as other herbs are combined, to be put into silk bags to put with linens or possibly garments.
The Jane Austen’s House Museum blog recently gave Martha Lloyd’s recipe for pot-pourri, which combined roses with lavender, cloves, cinnamon and other ingredients. This is designed to be kept in open vessels in a room, or in bags to place in linens or clothing. In earlier times, when rushes were strewn on the floor, sweet-smelling herbs, including lavender and rosemary were included to make the atmosphere more pleasant.
In our modern time, with our plug-in air fresheners, commercially scented candles, and other devices to sweeten the air, it is easy to consider this a modern concern. I enjoy thinking of the history behind them, the purely human desire to make one’s atmosphere as pleasant as possible.
Sources:
Smith, Eliza. THE COMPLEAT HOUSEWIFE. The Sixteenth Edition, with Additions. Reprint published 1994: Studio Editions Ltd., London, England.
