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Whether you live in New Orleans, or elsewhere, Mardi Gras can be celebrated.

Considering present day Mardi Gras celebrations, it might surprise you to learn that the festival has religious roots. Festivities start in New Orleans each year on January 6, the Twelfth Night feast of the Epiphany, and the day it is believed the three kings first visited Jesus Christ. Mardi Gras, French for ...

From patriotic magnetic flags or yellow ribbons on cars, mailboxes, tied to trees in our yards, and Old Glory flying high and proud, patriotism is on the rise, and has become ever more important to us in our day to day lives. Annual Independence Day celebrations on the 4th of July, Memorial Day celebrations, Flag Day celebrations, Veteran...

Some comedians joke about regifting these but Christmas fruitcake giving is a time honored tradition. When properly prepared and aged fruitcake is really a tantalizing treat. Sometimes brandy or rum soaked cakes are aged for years.

This is a very old tradition going back to an English tradition that predates Christmas. There was even a version of it baked by the ancient Romans. Although the ingredients were very different they were still forms of fruit, nuts and grain. There are many di...

The history of America's legal holiday of Thanksgiving is not complete without mention of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tradition has this and other parades scheduled in the morning while the holiday meal is being prepared. Whether by design or accident, the parade distracts family members from the kitchen where the mammoth project is underway.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade was devised by a large department store in New York City in 1924 as a way to kick off the Christmas sho...

What could be more timeless than Thanksgiving Pilgrims as a decorating motif for this uniquely American holiday? Other countries have a similar fall banquet custom but this one is filled with the history of our country's founding.

Thanksgiving pilgrims are attractive on cakes, candles, table cloths, plates and napkins. Together with the cornucopia they form the most common symbols of the fall harvest. Theirs is a slim form that celebrates what has become the homage to gluttony. Statuesq...

After the cookies are baked and frozen; after the party goods are ordered off the internet; when the guest list has been made out and invitations are addressed and sent then the question arises: what Christmas party games are there to play?

That's when the party planning gets tough! It might help to ask the guests ahead of time what sorts of games they like to play. The answer may be as simple as looking at the game shelf. A small gathering might be happy playing old games before the ne...

Homemade gifts and decorations are the best kind and those made in the moment as part of a Christmas day crafts project are the most enjoyable of all. There's something cozy and comforting to staying in the warm on any cold winter day with hot chocolate and cookies. Add the crafting projects to the day and things are about as good as it gets.

Almost anything of a hobby or arts and crafts nature qualifies for this cold winter day activity. But those special for the holiday are probably a...

In a time when many Americans are fighting for our freedom, and the freedom of others less fortunate, Fourth of July celebrations are undergoing a metamorphosis before our eyes. No longer just the joyous Fourth of July celebrations of my past, this day now brings to mind those who have made the choice to give their all in their defense of the freedom of others.

While this note of solemnity is present, I think it is important to continue to celebrate the day of our independence. I don...