Welcome to our series sharing Holiday Insights, Daily Holidays, Traditions, Facts, & more! April 26th. Slowly I am catching up. Thank the Lord. Take a look at the Holidays below and let me know which one you most would like to celebrate and why.
It’s Hug an Australian Day. Go ahead and give a big bear hug to any and all Australians today. Show an Australian how much you (errr…we) love them.
It’s a great opportunity for you to do your part in improving international relations. Hugs benefit the receiver as well as the giver.
If you know an Australian make sure you give them a hug today. Hugs will do you both good!
Charlie would like to let you know we don’t know any Australians. Do you?
National Pretzel Day celebrates pretzels of all shapes and sizes.
How do you like your pretzel? Thick or thin? Straight or twisted? Crisp and crunchy, or soft? Salted, unsalted, mustard flavored, perhaps? There’s no shortage of types of pretzels.
If you like Charlie and me you might not care for Pretzels. While David loves them and would buy them every chance he had if he could. Suzzane and my sister Debbie would as well.
If you are having trouble deciding what type you would like, I suggest you mix a bunch of different types in a big bowl. Close your eyes and grab a handful, or two.
Pretzels are believed to be the world’s oldest snack dating back to 610AD in Southern France. Catholic Monks baked thin strips of dough into the shape of a child’s arms folded in prayer. Add a little salt, and Voila! …the pretzel industry was born.
Pretzels were first baked in France, but they have been popular in German bakeries for hundreds of years. In the U.S., the first pretzel was baked in 1850 in Lititz, Pa., by Julius Sturgis.
If your a little shaky or experiencing tremors, today is Richter Scale Day.
Richter Scale Day celebrates the birth of the inventor of the Richter Scale Charles F. Richter. Who was born on April 26, 1900 and is a American Seismologist invented the Richter Scale in 1935.
The Richter Scale measures the amount of energy released by an earthquake measuring the magnitude or seismic waves produced by an earthquake.
The Richter Scale measures from 0 to 9. On the scale, each increase in number represents an earthquake 10 times more powerful. At 4.5 an earthquake can damage buildings and structures. At 7 on the Richter scale, severe and catastrophic damage can occur.
One of the deadliest/ Strongest Earthquakes was August 24, 70: Mount Vesuvius, Italy erupts, burying Pompeii and Herculaneum. Thousands killed.
The year I was born which was in 1964, an Alaskan earthquake measured 8.4. I am sure glad I was too little to remember that.
A Recent Major Earthquakes happened on October 2, 2005: Kashmir, Pakistan, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake kills more than 80,000 people. Could you imagine that many people being killed and how many of them you would have knew. That is if you had survived.
Recipe for Pretzels:
- In a bowl, mix water, salt, and sugar until combined. Add yeast, and let rest 5 minutes until yeast starts to foam.
- Add flour and 2 tablespoons of oil, and mix thoroughly until a dough forms.
- Remove the dough and use the remaining oil to cover the bowl.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 450°F (230°C).
- Cut dough into 8 pieces and roll them out into thin ropes, twisting the two ends to form a pretzel shape.
- Add baking soda to a large pot of water, and bring to a rolling boil. Boil each pretzel for 30 seconds per side.
- Transfer pretzels to a baking sheet, brush with egg wash, and sprinkle with salt. Bake for 10-15 minutes, until golden brown.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
