The SAMS Lyceum of Martial and Societal Antediluvian Chronicles An addendum to The SAMS Sporran 2020 Scottish History Do you hang your Cards on the stair railings? ​ There is another time honoured Christmas tradition that of sending cards to one another. You probably surmised it was another creation of the Hallmark Company. However, they’ve been on the go since 1843, (Joyce Hall created Hallmark in1910) when Sir Henry Cole, of Penny Post fame, commissioned London artist John Callcott Horsley to create what is now accepted to be the world’s first commercially-produced Christmas card. The 1st Chriatmas card was a colourful, single-sided card that depicts a large group of family and friends raising a toast to one another with illustrations of charitable acts on either side. Initially, it was seen as encouraging families – children included – to drink alcohol, the card attracted criticism when it was first published, but is now regarded as the first of its kind – according to the world’s encyclopaedias anyway. Boy, does that sound like a feel good story, doesn’t it? But that might not be strictly true. There is a Scottish claim to the Christmas card crown and it dates back two years earlier. The Scottish city of Leith has a legitimate claim to having created the first Christmas card. Not the town but a resident of it. Two years earlier, in 1841 a Leith printer and publisher Charles Drummond sold a festive greeting card from his shop in the Kirkgate. The design was attributed to his friend, Thomas Sturrock and it was fixed on to a copper plate by engraver Alexander Aikman. Scotland at this time was more concerned with the celebration of the than it was of Christmas. This was reflected by the card’s inscription: “A Guid New Year, An’ Mony O’ Them”. Drummond’s card was described in a letter published by the Edinburgh Evening News more than 90 years later in 1934. Part of the letter, which was penned in 1907, read: “The card showed the curly head of a boy, open-mouthed (minus a tooth in the upper row) with fat, chubby cheeks, merry twinkling eyes and an expression of such hearty laughter that the happy combination, by the natural infectious process, produced the desired result on the onlooker, who was greeted with the wish of ‘many happy years’”. A response to the letter was published a few days later. It was from Thomas Sturrock’s grandson, Douglas L. Sturrock, and explained that a copy of the card had been displayed on the walls of Leith Town Hall for decades until it was returned to the Sturrocks in 1920 following the amalgamation of Leith and Edinburgh. Then, in 1946, more than a century after it was first produced, the Evening Dispatch reported that the original plates had been discovered by a scrap metal collector. The plates were badly corroded but featured the happy, cherubic face with missing tooth that had been described years before. Even more incredibly, it was revealed that one of the plates bore the greeting “Wishing You A Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year”, evidence that, at some point, Drummond and Sturrock decided to adapt their card for the Christmas market. While the old Leith’s ownership of the 1st Christmas card may continue to be omitted from the annals of history - at least for a while yet- there does appear to be sufficient evidence for Leith to stake a convincing claim.

A Wee bit o’ Christmas Lore

Many Christmas traditions are rooted in the Celtic celebration of the when the shortest day marked the rebirth of the sun. The Druids, or Celtic priests, would cut mistletoe ​ - a symbol of life - from the sacred oak tree and give it as a blessing .The tradition of the ​ Log was also started by the Druids. They believed the sun stood still for twelve days in the ​ middle of winter and during this time a log was lit to conquer the darkness, banish evil spirits and bring luck for the coming year. Large scale Yule fires remained a common way to mark the season over the centuries in Scotland, particularly in northern harbour towns. They still can be found in places like: The Stonehaven Fireball Festival, The Burning of the Clavie at Moray Firth,Up Helly Aa in Lerwick Shetland, The Biggar Bonfire of South Lanarkshire and The Comrie Flambeaux Procession in Perthshire.

​American History It's Christmas Time and I'll bet you didn't know***? When​ one thinks of Christmas time the first thing that springs into most folks mind, although it really shouldn't, is Santa Claus. Most folks will tell you he is the modern day version of St. Nicholas of Myra. He isn't. Some might say he's our version of the Dutch Sinterklaaus. He isn’t. He is Father Christmas of the UK, isn't he? Nope. Maybe he’s Kris Kringle of Germanic origins. Wrong again. The contemporary American image of Santa Claus is actually an amalgam of several mythical creatures. He’s also annAmerican! So, just what is he? Santa Claus is actually a creation of the famous American writer Washington Irving. ( A ​ ​ Scot whose father hailed from Quholm, Shapinsay, Orkney) He first makes his appearance in ​ ​ ​ one of Irving's earlier satirical works of fiction entitled A Knickerbocker's History of New York. ​ ​ ​ Irving garnered a little piece of trivia from here, another there and quite a few other places and ​ ​ combined them to describe a jolly little character named Nick. However, this Nick is not a saintly bishop that the real St. Nicolas of Myra was or the Saint Nicolas and his Assistant Ziewart Piet (Black Peter, a Moor) of Luxembourg, the but rather an elfin Dutch burger with a clay pipe dressed in a green winter sailor's coat. The coat being borrowed from Father Christmas of the UK. Imagine the jolly old ghost of Christmas Past that Dickens wrote about and you will find part of him in Irving's creation. All these are a part of today’s Santa Claus. Also Nick was part of the Norse god Odin who flew through the night dropping gifts to children. The chimney idea is a throwback to the Italian tradition of La Befana, the kindly old witch whose clothes were covered with coal dust and soot from dropping her gifts down the chimney. The reindeer are Irving's own creation. Washington Irving wrote; “Old Santeclaus with much delight His reindeer drives the frosty night O'er chimney tops and tracks of snow ​ To bring his yearly gifts to you.” (Do keep in mind that the original name of New York was Nieuw Nederland (New Amsterdam) and it was Dutch, hence Sinterclaus.) It is not a secret that Dr. Clement Moore based his character on Washington Irving's Santeclaus in his poem A Visit From St. Nick. It had been his custom to deliver turkeys to his ​ ​ congregation for their Christmas dinner. One year he needed one more turkey so he had to travel back down to what is now lower Manhattan to purchase one more. The trip entailed a snow covered dirt road that led into what then was the small village of New York. He got the inspiration for his poem from the bells on the horses pulling the sleigh. They reminded him of the stories he had heard about Santeclaus and he began to compose a poem for his children. The inspiration for his St. Nick was a combination of Washington Irving's Santecalus and his sleigh driver a portly old Dutch-American who smoked a pipe In Norse tradition and even today in remote areas reindeer are used in place of horses to pull sleighs in winter. You might also be interested in the fact that there were only eight reindeer and their original names included Dunder and Blixem. Dutch words for thunder and lightening. Over time the names were changed to the more Germanic sounding names of Donner and Blitzen. Old glowing nose Rudolph was a creation of Robert L. May. He wrote a small poem for the Montgomery Ward chain of stores. It was immortalized in a song by The Singing Cowboy ​ Gene Autry, before he became a baseball team owner. In this age of Title IX and in the spirit of the season it should be noted that in Winter, male reindeer drop their antlers and replace them with larger ones in the Spring. The female reindeer do not drop their antlers. The reindeer who pull Santa’s sleigh have antlers.So all of the reindeer who pull Santa’s sled are ladies. Here are some other useless facts about reindeer. “Reindeer” are really caribou. Reindeer cannot eat hay, but they like bananas. They have been known to consume marijuana. Reindeer’s milk has more fat than cow's milk. There are more reindeer in Alaska than people. Reindeer have scent glands in their hind toes that enable them to leave trail for other reindeer to follow. The scent smells like cheese. So now I've got you thinking about Christmas traditions. How good is your memory? In the poem A Visit From St Nick by Clayton Moore can you correctly answer the following questions? 1. Three fruits or fruit products were mentioned, name them. 2. Four plants or parts of plants were mentioned. Can you name them? 3.How did St. Nick start his team of reindeer? 4.Can you name all eight of the reindeer? Rudolph doesn’t count! 5.What was St. Nick wearing? It wasn’t red! 6. What did he have in his mouth? 7. What kind of storm was mentioned? It wasn’t snow. 8. Where did St. Nick put the gifts? There wasn’t a tree! 9. Four animals were mentioned. Can you name them? 10. St. Nick spoke twice. What did he say?

Some things you may not know about New Years Eve. The Christmas Star- Sirius, ​The legendary Dog Star,​ ​welcomes the New Year as it rises about 7pm and reaches its zenith exactly at midnight. It is the brightest star in the sky. You can find it by locating Orion's belt (three stars in a row) and follow them in a Southwesterly direction and they point directly at Sirius. It is called the The Dog Star because it is in The constellation Canis Major (The big dog). The islands of​ Samoa ​and ​Kiribati ​are the first to welcome the New Year and ​Hawaii​ is the last to celebrate it..

New Years Day was originally referred to as ​Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day. was the signature song of 's Royal Canadians orchestra. He ​ first heard it being sung by ex-pat Scots in his hometown of London, Ontario. He always played it at midnight on New Year's Eve. This was long before and his Rockin' New Year’s Eve. ( Did you know that the ONLY city where his American Bandstand was not televised was Baltimore? Mr. Clark admitted that everybody there watched The Buddy Dean Show instead.) Countdown Parties. On television one can watch New York drop a lighted ball.- yawn! For ​ unqualified originality how about: Havre de Grace,Md ? It drops a Duck. While, York Pa. drops a White Rose. Lancaster, to be different, raises a Red Rose. Apparentlybthe Warof the Roses is ​ ​ still going on up there inn Southern Pa. While Hersey Pa. raises a Kiss. Ocean City, Md, drops a Beach Ball, naturally. Other places have developed their own dropping traditions: Dillsberg Pa. drops a pickle. , Ga, drops a giant , Eastport, Maine, drops a Sardine and Mobile, Alabama, drops a 600-pound electric Moon Pie, but no R C Cola. In Tempe, Arizona, a giant Tortilla Chip descends into a massive Bowl of Salsa. And Brasstown, North Carolina, drops a Plexiglass Pyramid containing a live Possum! Hagerstown Md, drops a doughnut. Frederick Md. drops a giant Key. Fla drops a conch shell. In Sarasota Fla they drop a giant pineapple. Unadilla Ga. drops a hog. Not to be out done Eastover NC drops a 30 foot wooden flea. A Flying Pig makes an appearance over Cincinnati Ohio. Bethlehem Pa drops a 100 lbs yellow Peep! The Big Apple decided to drop a ball because fireworks were banned. They first dropped it in AD 1907. It weighed 700 pounds and was made of iron and wood with 100 25 watt light bulbs. Scotland, of course, has , which is a two day affair, whose customs vary by ​ ​ ​ ​ region within Scotland, some involve fire, but most involve singing and whisky. Scottish Comedian and TV host Craig Ferguson once said “Hogmanay is a time when people who can inspire awe in the Irish for the amount of alcohol that they consume, decide to ramp it up a notch.” The three most popular destinations for New Year's Eve are Las Vegas, Disney World and NYC, in that order. In Italy folks wear Red Underwear for Good Luck. Eating black eyed peas, cabbage or ham will bring prosperity. While eating lobster and chicken will cause a reversal of fortune. Lobsters because they walk backwards and chickens because they scratch backwards. I wonder what “they” say about crabs and they walk sideways.Maybe that’s why we steam them. New Year Resolutions began in ancient Babylon. In Nassau, Bahamas, the takes place. “Jump in the Line and have a good time!” An annual "Loony Dook" takes place in South Queensferry, Scotland on New Years Day. ​ ​ Several thousand attend the event with over one thousand “Loonies” taking the plunge. They swim completely around the harbor. Participants are referred to as “Loonies” because they only wear a bathing suit and a bathing cap during their "dook". Aside from the regular enthusiasts, most are probably still inebriated from New Year's Eve celebrations and have more than likely lost a bet. It's all part of the 2 day celebration. Up Helly Aa refers to a fire festival held in Lerwick, Shetland, in Scotland, where they burn ​ ​ a viking ship after carrying burning torches through the streets. The Scottish National Dictionary defines UP as used in the sense of something being at an end, and Helly as "a series of festive ​ ​ ​ ​ days, especially the period in which Christmas festivities are held from 25th Dec. to 6th Jan.", while Aa may represent a', meaning "all". ​ ​ ​ ​

New Year's is a harmless annual institution, of no particular use to anybody save as a scapegoat for promiscuous drunks, and friendly calls and humbug resolutions. ~ Mark Twain From The Mass Deck Scalloped Oysters Ingredients: 4 tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter 20 premium Saltines, crushed (about 1 cup) ​ 2 leeks, trimmed, halved lengthwise, and thinly sliced 1 tbsp. all-purpose flour 1/2 c. dry vermouth 1/2 c. heavy cream 2 (16-ounce) containers fresh oysters, drained, reserving 2 tablespoons brine Directions:Preheat oven to 350°F. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and ​ cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 6 to 7 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add vermouth and cook, stirring, until thickened and bubbly, 2 to 3 minutes. Add cream, return to a simmer, then remove from heat. Fold in oysters and brine. Transfer mixture to an 11-by-7- inch baking dish and top with Saltines. Bake until golden brown and bubbling around the edges, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. Scotch Trifle This is a popular sweet, particularly at Christmas time. The version below is known as the "Typsy Laird" as it contains sherry and Drambuie liqueur (or else whisky or brandy). If you don't want to be typsy, you can use fruit juice instead. Likewise, if you don't want to make your own custard, the commercial variety will do. You can make your own Ratafia biscuits or ​ ​ use almond flavoured cookies or dried macaroons instead.

Ingredients: 6 sponge cakes Half pound raspberry or strawberry jam 2oz ratafia biscuits ​ Rind from a lemon, finely grated Vanilla essence/extract 2 tablespoons Drambuie Quarter pint double (whipping) cream Flaked browned almonds, glacé cherries, Angelica Quarter pint medium sweet sherry Ingredients for Custard: 4 egg yolks 2 egg whites 1 pint milk1oz caster (granulated) sugar ​ Method: The custard is made by putting the milk and sugar into a saucepan and bringing to the ​ boil. Mix egg yolks and whites and pour the hot milk over them, stirring well. Return to the saucepan and stir over a gentle heat with a wooden spoon. When the custard runs in ribbons down the back of the spoon, strain into a basin and cover with dampened greaseproof paper to stop a skin forming. Split the sponges, mix with jam and put in a glass dish. Crush the ratafia biscuits and scatter on top with the lemon rind. Mix the sherry and Drambuie and pour over the sponges. Leave to soak. Pour the custard evenly over the sponge etc. Whip the cream until stiff and sweeten a little, if preferred. Spread over the trifle. Sprinkle with flaked almonds, small ratafia biscuits, sliced angelica. If you have any "hundreds and thousands" confection, sprinkle that on too, just before the trifle is served.. Crispie Mars Bars

Mars bars, with their nougat centre with toffee on top and covered with milk chocolate, are a favourite the world over. And the snap, crackle, pop of rice crispies are found everywhere, including Scotland. Put the two together and you get a treat that's enjoyed by children (big and small) everywhere. And not a deep fried Mars bar in sight!

Ingredients: Three 65g (large) Mars bars, chopped up 3 ounces (90g or ¾ stick) margarine ​ Three to four cups of rice crispies 8 ounces (250g) chocolate 1 ounce (30g or ¼ stick) margarine Method: Combine the 3 ounces of margarine and the chopped Mars bar pieces in a ​ microwaveable bowl and melt on a medium heat. Do not overheat. Stir in the rice crispies until they are well covered by the mixture. If the mixture becomes too hard when you stir in the rice crispies, put back in the microwave for a few seconds.

Line a 9" (23cm) square tin with greaseproof paper (vegetable parchment or waxed paper) and spread the mixture evenly into the tin.

Melt the one ounce of margarine and all the chocolate in a microwaveable bowl on a medium heat and spread over the mixture in the tin. Do not overheat the chocolate. If you do, add two or three drops of cooking oil and beat with a spoon until it has smoothed out again.

Allow the mixture and chocolate to cool and cut into squares.

​Hot buttered rum Hot buttered rum is a mixed drink containing rum, butter, hot water or cider, a sweetener, and various spices. It is especially popular in the fall and winter and is traditionally associated with

Ingredients: 1 1⁄2 oz dark rum, ​ Buttered Rum Batter: 4 tbsp. butter, softened 3 tbsp. packed brown sugar 1/2 c. vanilla ice cream, softened 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon Preparation: Mix together the batter ingredients in a large bowl and refrigerate until almost ​ firm. Spoon batter into a hot beverage mug. Add boiling water and stir well until dissolved. Add rum and cream (if using) and stir. Garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg. Served: Hot Drinkware: Coffee cup

​ ​Scottish Crackers Scottish Words of Wisdom A day to come seems longer than a year that's gone. ​ A Wee Bit O’Scottish Christmas ​ Three Scots die in a car accident on Christmas Eve. They all find themselves at the Pearly Gates waiting to enter heaven. On entering they must present something relating to or associated with Christmas. The first man searches his pocket, and finds some mistletoe, so he is allowed in. The second man presents a party snapper, so he is also allowed in. The third man pulls out a pair of stockings. Confused at this last gesture, St Peter asks, ‘How do these represent Christmas?' Answer: ‘They're Carol's.'

Answers to a visit from St.Nick; 1.Sugar plums, cherry, jelly 2.Roses, dry leaves, wreath, thistle. 3.Roof, Window, Shutters, sash, porch, wall, chimney, 4.Head, foot, eyes, belly, face, cheeks, nose, finger, chin, teeth, 5.He whistled. 6.See #13. 7.A fur coat 8.The lawn. 9.He was smoking a pipe. 10.A hurricane 11.In the stockings. 12.Mouse, race horse (courser), eagles, reindeer 13.“Now dasher, now dancer now Prancer and Vixen, on Comet on Cupid on Donder and Blitzen!” “Happy Christmas to all and to all a good night.”

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Nollaig chridheil (nolla-eek chree-yell) Merry Christmas! ​ ​ Bliadhna mhath iar (blee-unnuh va oor) Happy New ​ ​ Year!