Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 36
By Cheryl Giraud Special to the Observer At this year’s Thanksgiving Day dinner, instead of asking for the mashed potatoes, you might say, “Please pass the latkes.” Or, at your Hanukkah celebration, you can break culinary traditions of fried foods and dine on, with its air of gravitas, roast turkey. Whichever floats your culinary boat, the centuries old celebration of Hanukkah begins at sundown next Wednesday, November 27, the eve of the widely celebrated American holiday, Thanksgiving Day....
By Cheryl Giraud Special to the Observer Creepy-Crawly Chocolate Cream Pie Trick or Treat! Give me something good to eat! Yes, 'tis the season when costume-clad miniature witches, ghosts, and ghouls run around the neighborhood and ring doorbells asking for a 'trick-or-a treat.' Halloween is nearly here, so keep the apple cider warm because the spookiest day of the year is next Thursday, October 31. Second in popularity to Christmas, Halloween originally was referred to as All Hallows' Eve that...
By Cheryl Giraud Special to the Observer Yodel Away With Braised Red Cabbage Attention all beer lovers: Hang on to your beer steins because the biggest beer consumption festival of the year is about to begin. With its official start this Saturday, September 21 in Munich, ‘tis the season of Oktoberfest, which is set to celebrate 180 years of tradition. Although many cities lay claim to the nation’s largest Oktoberfest gathering, the two-week global party is not just for those of German des...
By Cheryl Giraud Special to the Observer Break-the-Fast Sweet Treat The setting sun this Friday evening has special meaning to those of the Jewish faith. Considered the most important holiday on the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur begins at sundown Friday, September 13, and ends after nightfall on Saturday. Yom Kippur marks the last of the Jewish High Holy days that began with the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah 10 days earlier. Yom Kippur falls on the 10th day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the...
The Recipe Spot Yom Kipper: The Holiest Day Break-the-Fast Sweet Treat The setting sun this Friday evening has special meaning to those of the Jewish faith. Considered the most important holiday on the Hebrew calendar, Yom Kippur begins at sundown Friday, September 13, and ends after nightfall on Saturday. Yom Kippur marks the last of the Jewish High Holy days that began with the Jewish New Year Rosh Hashanah 10 days earlier. Yom Kippur falls on the 10th day of Tishrei, the seventh month on the...
Even though the calendar indicates the fall season is right around the corner, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer when the kids head back to school and family vacations end. But, as Southern Californian’s know, the hot weather lingers long into September and October. Considered a day of rest for American workers, Labor Day is next Monday, September 2. Originally coined as the “workingmen’s holiday,” the annual holiday is observed on the first Monday of September. With its origins steeped...
The Recipe Spot Little Labor Berry Pie Even though the calendar indicates the fall season is right around the corner, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer when the kids head back to school and family vacations end. But, as Southern Californian’s know, the hot weather lingers long into September and October. Considered a day of rest for American workers, Labor Day is next Monday, September 2. Originally coined as the “workingmen’s holiday,” the annual holiday is observed on the first Monday...
The Recipe Spot Independence Day Coleslaw At the ripe old age of 237, Happy Birthday, America! Also known as Independence Day, next Thursday, July 4, America celebrates its independence from the ‘Mother Country,’ laying claim to be a free and independent nation. Celebrating the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, which was signed on July 4, 1776, the historic document set America free from the iron-grip that the British Empire had on the colonists. The ruckus bet...
The Recipe Spot Hey Kids: It’s The First Day Of Summer! Better rest up, because if you don’t live in the Polar Regions found at earth’s northern and southern extremes, Friday is both the longest day, with the shortest night of the year in the northern hemisphere. According to the ‘Old Farmer’s Almanac’ the official start of summer, also known as the Summer Solstice, is Friday, June 21st at 1:04 a.m. EST, when the sun reaches its farthest point north of the equator. Since almost the beginning o...
The Recipe Spot Manly Father’s Day Grub Move over mom, because it’s dad’s turn to take center stage. If the man of the house can safely emerge from his man-cave this Sunday then it’s o.k. to celebrate all things dad because it’s Father’s Day. Paying tribute to fathers goes back to almost the beginning of time, as scholars claim that the ancient origins of Father’s Day can be traced to nearly 4,000 years ago in the ruins of Babylon. With no particular time of year cited, anthropologis...
Luscious Holiday Berry Slush As a day of remembrance and a time to reflect, this Monday, May 27, America will celebrate Memorial Day. Not just a three-day weekend with a roster filled with barbeques, parades and gathering with friends and family, but central to the holiday is a time to honor the generations of the fallen brave men and women in the United States armed services who gallantly served our country. Formerly known as Decoration Day, early observances of the holiday began in 1868,...
French Toast for The World’s Best Mom As kids navigate their way through the annual celebration this Sunday making mom “belle of the ball,” one of the best gifts she can get is a well-deserved day off from her usual routine. This Sunday the world stops to say “Happy Mother’s Day.” It’s the day in which mom is honored and showered with extra doses of love, gratitude and probably some much needed rest. The 99-year old official observance of Mother’s Day began in 1914 when President Woodr...
Zesty Salsa For Cinco de Mayo It was the little army of 2000 that could. This Sunday, May 5, 2013 commemorates the 151st battle anniversary south of the border, the Battle of Puebla. Often mistaken as Mexican Independence Day, Cinco de Mayo was the Battle of Puebla fought on May 5, 1862 near the city of Puebla, Mexico. In what seemed impossible at the time, Cinco de Mayo marks the unlikely victory of Texas-born General Ignacio Zaragoza’s poorly trained loyal army of 2000 against the invading Fre...
Eco-friendly Asparagus for Earth Day Get out the party hats and blow up the balloons because it’s time to celebrate Earth Day’s 43rd birthday on Monday. Blazing new trails to promote a clean and healthy planet, Earth Day was born April 22, 1970. Although Earth Day’s unofficial beginnings are a bit older than its years, the founder, U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson was well aware of environmental degradation and its impact. Best known as ‘The Founder of Earth Day,’ the Wisconsin senator and environme...
The Recipe Spot Sloppy Joes Hit A Home Run Super Bowl has come and gone and March Madness is in its final days, and now it’s finally time to sing the praises of ‘Take me out to the ballgame.’ Yes, baseball fanatics, the 2013 Major League baseball season begins Monday. Marking the end of the seven-week spring training camp, the unofficial American ‘holiday’ that is often compared to a near-religious experience, gets underway with 12 opening day games. The Dodgers will host the Giants for a 1:1...
Passover Or Easter Springtime Salad The religious spring holidays begin this weekend with Palm Sunday marking the beginning of Holy Week, followed by Passover on Monday and ending the week with Easter Sunday. Easter is celebrated by those of the Christian faith and the eight-day spring festival of Passover is celebrated by the Jewish faith. While both religions share Prophetic similarities steeped in ancient beliefs, with varying traditions, the spring holidays of Passover and Easter are...
Luck O’ The Irish Brownies If thoughts of Irish whiskey, corned beef and cabbage, and visions of dancing leprechauns are beginning to cloud your head, you are probably right in thinking that this Sunday is St. Patrick’s Day. Although some details are still unclear about St. Patrick’s life, Ireland’s esteemed patron saint, March 17 commemorates the death of St. Patrick, 461 A.D. at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland. As an integral part of Irish history during the fifth century, St. Patrick was the Chr...
A Little Decadence To Sweeten Valentine’s Day It’s February and that means idyllic thoughts of cupids, hearts, red roses and candy wrapped with oversized pink satin bows. Valentine’s Day is today, February 14, the day in which love is celebrated. It’s a day associated with exchanging of flowers, chocolates and greeting cards with words of love, all as tokens of affection. Difficult to trace and shrouded in mystery, there are several stories surrounding the true origins of Valentine’s Day. One...
Mandarin Oranges Symbolize Good Fortune For 4711 For many Asian communities worldwide, 2013 marks the Year of the Snake. Considered the most important and longest holiday of the year on the Chinese calendar, the Chinese New Year begins this Sunday, February 10. Commonly referred to as the Lunar New Year, it begins with the new moon and ends on the full moon 15 days later when the moon is at its brightest. With its origins steeped in 4,000 years of history, the ancient Chinese lunisolar...
The Recipe Spot Score A Touchdown with A Super Bowl of Flavor Not only will the winning touchdown of the Super Bowl bring grown men to tears, but the big-game snacks of sinful foods will as well. Broadcast to an estimated 225 countries, the uber-sporting event of the year is on Sunday when the XLVII championship of the National Football League will be decided at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. Going head to head in the demolition derby will be the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore...
Pop the champagne cork because it’s time to ring in the New Year on Monday night. With an effervescent mood in the air, the turn of the year is an auspicious time to turn away the old year and face the new one. New Year’s Day is the oldest and most universal holiday. The earliest recording of a New Year’s Eve celebration is thought to have taken place in Mesopotamia, c 2000 B.C. The origins of the first day of the year can be traced to the Romans who were the first to observe New Year’s Day in...
Christmas is a special time of year, so let the shopping, caroling, tree decorating, kissing under the mistletoe, roasting chestnuts on an open fire, cooking and eating begin. Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus of Nazareth on December 25thand has been recognized by a majority of Christians in the western world since AD 354 when the First Feast of the Nativity was celebrated in Rome. With no evidence at all of the exact date of the Nativity, historians and theologians speculate that Jesus...
The Recipe Spot Its turkey time, so let the eating marathon begin. Thanksgiving officially kicks-off the eating frenzy when people go party to party, gathering with friends and family indulging in a feast or two during this time of tradition and sharing. With burgeoning appetites soaring into the atmosphere and for those who have prepared their palate all year, Thanksgiving Day is celebrated next Thursday, November 22. With its long history dating back to colonial times, Thanksgiving is an...
Trick-or-treat? It’s that time of year to get in touch with your inner ghost, when the Halloween spirit fills the air with spooky little ghouls, goblins and witches trick-or-treat their way through the neighborhood, navigating glimmering jack-o-lanterns, draping cobwebs, errant bats and other haunting decorations. Second in popularity to Christmas and secular in nature, Halloween originally was referred to as Old Hallows Eve. Celebrated on October 31, the day before All Saints Day, which was c...
Do the ships the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria bring back fond memories from elementary school American history lessons? It was in 1492 when a young Italian explorer named Cristoforo Colombo and his crew of 120 departed from Palos de la Frontera, setting out on a long journey in search of a route to India, seeking an edge in the growing and competitive spice trade industry, but instead accidentally stumbled upon the Americas. This Monday, October 8, marks 520 years since the eager explorer first...
