Showing posts with label Negro Election Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Negro Election Day. Show all posts
December 27, 2010
Top Ten New England Folkore Stories of 2010
There are a lot of top ten lists out this week. The top ten movies, the top ten fashion faux pas, the top ten books, etc.
Here's the only list worth reading - the top ten New England folkore stories of 2010, based on the number of hits they received on this blog. Enjoy, and thanks for reading in 2010!
1. Nathaniel Hawthorne Sees A Ghost
A famous author goes to the library and encounters the ghost of someone he never spoke to. Soul searching ensues! This post is so popular it makes me wonder if local schools assign Hawthorne's story for English class and kids are searching the Web rather than reading the assignment.
2. Dungeon Rock: Pirates, Treasure and Spirits
Pirates? Yes. Buried treasure? Yes. A cave and spirits? Yes. Convenient location in Lynn, Massachusetts? Yes. A photo of me looking insane? Yes. Even though I posted this way back in 2008, clearly Dungeon Rock still has everything people want to read about.
3. Cannibal Giants of the Snowy Northern Forest
This one is another oldie (from 2009), but we all like reading about monsters, particularly when they could be lurking in your own backyard. Great reading for a blizzardy day like today. Make sure you stock up on supplies first...
4. The Dogtown Werewolf
Another monster, another popular post. Does a werewolf really haunt Dogtown Common on Cape Anne? I can't decide, but the evidence and coincidences are definitely creepy.
5. Why Babies Shouldn't See Mirrors and Vampires Have No Reflection
Readers are either interested in supernatural advice for new mothers or the vampire craze has spilled over to this blog. Either way, folklore about reflections and the soul is interesting stuff.
6. Full Buck Moon
A good post for hunters, Native Americans, Wiccans and animal lovers. I think I covered a lot of diverse constituencies with one post!
7. Negro Election Day
Election Day used to be THE holiday in New England, but African Americans weren't allowed to vote so they were missing all the fun. It was a conundrum, but human ingenuity and the need for a party triumphed!
8. Thomas Morton and the Maypole of Merrymount
Very, very briefly a multi-cultural, tolerant, fun-loving utopian outpost flourished in Quincy, Massachusetts. Maybe someday it will return! This was also another post with a Nathaniel Hawthorne connection.
9. Grandmother Woodchuck
We all need a wise, grandmother to look after us. The Algonquian hero Glookskap's grandmother just happened to be a magical woodchuck. Anyone have a problem with that?
10. Indian Pudding
It's sweet, it's salty, it's spicy and it's made with cornmeal. Could Indian pudding be the perfect food? The thousands who have read this post clearly think so.
November 01, 2010
Election Day Cake!
The Puritans who settled in New England weren't big on holidays. They didn't condone celebrations like Christmas or Halloween, which they thought were pagan and without Biblical validity. (I think some fundamentalist groups feel the same way even today!)
They did celebrate election day, however. Much as we do now, the Puritans would vote for their local officials in the fall, but they didn't take office until the following May. This day in May was celebrated as Election Day. By the mid-18th century parades, parties and athletic contests became part of the celebration.
If only politics were as sweet and tasty as this cake!
One consistent feature of Election Day celebrations since the early 1600s was a special yeasted cake made with nuts, dried fruit and spices. Because these ingredients (and even flour and sugar) were quite expensive the cakes would only be made for special occasions.
I found this information in the 2009 Old Farmer's Almanac, which also had a recipe for the cake. Of course I had to try it! It wasn't too hard to make and was tasty in a mildly sweet way.
But there was something strangely familiar about the taste. It tasted like an Entemann's coffee cake! Maybe the people at Entemann's are using a 400 year old recipe?
If you don't want have last year's almanac lying around and you don't want to buy a coffee cake at the store, you can find recipes for Election Day Cake here and here. But make sure all that baking doesn't keep you from the polls!
They did celebrate election day, however. Much as we do now, the Puritans would vote for their local officials in the fall, but they didn't take office until the following May. This day in May was celebrated as Election Day. By the mid-18th century parades, parties and athletic contests became part of the celebration.
If only politics were as sweet and tasty as this cake!One consistent feature of Election Day celebrations since the early 1600s was a special yeasted cake made with nuts, dried fruit and spices. Because these ingredients (and even flour and sugar) were quite expensive the cakes would only be made for special occasions.
I found this information in the 2009 Old Farmer's Almanac, which also had a recipe for the cake. Of course I had to try it! It wasn't too hard to make and was tasty in a mildly sweet way.
But there was something strangely familiar about the taste. It tasted like an Entemann's coffee cake! Maybe the people at Entemann's are using a 400 year old recipe?
If you don't want have last year's almanac lying around and you don't want to buy a coffee cake at the store, you can find recipes for Election Day Cake here and here. But make sure all that baking doesn't keep you from the polls!
January 17, 2010
Negro Election Day
Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day, and on Tuesday in Massachusetts we have a special election to fill the Senate seat left empty when Ted Kennedy passed away. Here's a post that addresses both black history and elections. I like it when I can be topical!
Before the Civil War, blacks were not allowed to vote. But in Puritan-influenced New England one of the few public holidays was Election Day, which was celebrated with parades, parties and general revelry. This posed a problem for black New Englanders. If they weren't allowed to vote, how were they supposed to celebrate Election Day?
They held their own holiday, called Negro Election Day. (Negro isn't a popular word these days, but it was commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries). Slaves were given the day off by their owners, and joined with free blacks for parades, athletic contests, dances and dinners. Freemen paid for parts of the celebration, as did slaves, who often earned their own money in their spare time. Strangely, slave owners contributed as well, making sure their slaves were dressed in good clothing. If their slaves looked bad it reflected poorly on them.
Negro Election Days were held throughout New England, in both large cities and smaller towns. The black communities would elect an official, called either a king, sheriff or governor, who rode through town after his election wearing a crown or sash and mounted on a horse. Although he was not legally recognized, this official often served as a liaison between the blacks and whites in his area and ensured that the law was upheld. Sometimes, though, the king was elected simply as a way to mock white leaders and served more as a Lord of Misrule, presiding over the day's festivities.
Negro Election Day was strongly influenced by African traditions, and the it began to wane as the black community lost its connections with Africa over time. By the time of the Civil War the tradition had nearly died out. You can find information about it here, here and here.
If you live in Massachusetts, don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
Before the Civil War, blacks were not allowed to vote. But in Puritan-influenced New England one of the few public holidays was Election Day, which was celebrated with parades, parties and general revelry. This posed a problem for black New Englanders. If they weren't allowed to vote, how were they supposed to celebrate Election Day?
They held their own holiday, called Negro Election Day. (Negro isn't a popular word these days, but it was commonly used in the 18th and 19th centuries). Slaves were given the day off by their owners, and joined with free blacks for parades, athletic contests, dances and dinners. Freemen paid for parts of the celebration, as did slaves, who often earned their own money in their spare time. Strangely, slave owners contributed as well, making sure their slaves were dressed in good clothing. If their slaves looked bad it reflected poorly on them.
Negro Election Days were held throughout New England, in both large cities and smaller towns. The black communities would elect an official, called either a king, sheriff or governor, who rode through town after his election wearing a crown or sash and mounted on a horse. Although he was not legally recognized, this official often served as a liaison between the blacks and whites in his area and ensured that the law was upheld. Sometimes, though, the king was elected simply as a way to mock white leaders and served more as a Lord of Misrule, presiding over the day's festivities.
Negro Election Day was strongly influenced by African traditions, and the it began to wane as the black community lost its connections with Africa over time. By the time of the Civil War the tradition had nearly died out. You can find information about it here, here and here.
If you live in Massachusetts, don't forget to vote on Tuesday!
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