Holidays and Celebrations

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What is a Mardi Gras king cake?

In addition to the iconic shape and decorative colors, the king cake also usually includes a small plastic baby either baked inside or placed underneath the cake. This baby figurine is intended to represent the infant Jesus Christ. The person who is served the piece of king cake with the baby inside may win a prize or assume some sort of duty, such as becoming responsible for hosting the next year's Mardi Gras celebration. In the past, a bean may have been used to symbolize the baby Jesus in king cake.

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How did "trick or treat" become part of Halloween?

Some of the first Halloween celebrations are attributed to the Celtic holiday of Samhain that took place in the Middle Ages. Participants dressed up as scary creatures in animal skins and went around to homes performing antics for food and drink.\nWhen Christianity supplanted paganism around the ninth century, the holiday became official when November 2 was designated All Souls Day. In Scotland and Ireland, young people participated by wearing disguises. They would dress up and go around to houses performing tricks in order to get treats such as fruits, nuts and coins.\nLarge numbers of Irish ..

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What is a funny team name for a scavenger hunt?

Digital applications are widely used in contemporary scavenger hunts, with clues given via text message or scanning bar codes. Team names sometimes reflect this using names with technological terms, such as Rising Cache Stars or Web Wanderers. Funny word play is another popular choice for team names, such as Eye Spy, The Clues Brothers or We Thought This was Bingo.

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What is the history of engagement and wedding rings?

Wedding rings began appearing in Asia around the 1st century B.C., during which the Sheiks and Sultans would use rings to mark each of their wives. The year 1477 marked one of the first recorded uses of a diamond engagement ring, when Archduke Maximilian of Austria proposed to Mary of Burgandy, influencing other members of the upper class to do the same. The Age of Enlightenment brought forth the use of gimmal and posie rings, however posie rings were often just used as an expression of sentiment rather than a formal engagement.\nThe discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1866 helped flood t..

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What are some funny sayings for retirement?

Some famous wits contributed one-liners about the ups and downs of retirement. Groucho Marx said, "There's one thing I always wanted to do before I quit...retire!" Ella Harris made the cutting remark, "A retired husband is often a wife's full-time job."\nSince retirement, by definition, is the end of a life of toil, many witticisms deal with work itself. Examples of these types of quotes include this quote from Abe Lemons: "The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off."\nRetirees often have to learn to get by on a fixed income, and many choose to laugh at their reduced..

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What are some printable shamrock-themed activities?

MelissaAndDoug.com offers a printable shamrock maze that is suitable for young children, as well as a PDF coloring page with shamrocks, a leprechaun, a rainbow and a pot of gold. Older children may enjoy making and putting together the jigsaw puzzle published by KidsCanHaveFun. Print the PNG file, attach it to heavy card stock, and cut out the pieces. This site also has printable greeting cards, door hangers, crossword puzzles and word searches with shamrock themes.\nModernMami.com publishes a tutorial with a free printable shamrock template to make paper shamrock flowers. Children also need g..

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What is the meaning of finding a button in your Christmas pudding?

There were both male and female versions of the Christmas pudding tradition that dictated one's marital fate, according to the Why Christmas website. While men were given bachelor's buttons, women who were destined to remain single for another year were given what was known as the spinster's thimble. On the other hand, the website explains that a ring in your pudding meant you were either to be married within the year or to become very rich.\nSometimes six-pence golden coins were used instead of rings to indicate health, wealth, happiness or that the receivers would have all the..

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What are some suggestions for a 65th birthday gift for a man?

If the birthday boy is still active and able to get around, a coupon book is a fun gift. The book can include homemade coupons or purchased gift cards for activities that he likes to participate in. Coupons can also be made out for chores or errands that the recipient does not like to do or cannot do anymore.

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What are some uses for dry ice on Halloween?

To create fogging-cocktail drinks, witch cauldrons or punch bowls, first break the dry ice into appropriate-sized pieces using a hammer, and chisel while the dry ice is contained inside a large towel. One by one-inch cubes are an ideal size for dry ice going into cocktail drinks. Once the dry ice is broken up, use a set of tongs to place the dry ice inside the liquid. Before serving any drinks containing dry ice, warn guests not to ingest the dry ice cube. If children are being served dry ice beverages, wait until the dry ice has fully sublimated to avoid its ingestion.\nTo create fog-filled b..

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Why do people celebrate Christmas Eve?

Christmas Eve is also known as the Christmas Vigil, and signifies the anticipation of Christ being born. Many churches hold a mass or service at midnight Christmas Eve.This holiday is also observed by non-Christians as the night that Santa Claus visits and brings presents for the children. In many cultures, Christmas Eve is a time for family and friends to gather, enjoy meals together and celebrate the season.

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