The Tingle Factor Box

But What Is It? Frankincense

Imagine, you are a child and Christmas is approaching. You have heard all the stories of Christmas, about the baby Jesus in his manger, and the Shepherds who came to see him, and the Wise Men who came from the East. There is something you don’t really get though. The Wise Men brought gifts, and you know what gold is, but Frankincense and Myrrh are a mystery. What exactly are these things, and why did the Wise Men think they were such wonderful gifts?

When I showed this packet of Frankincense to the children, they were utterly fascinated. Many of the children have heard the Christmas story, even those who are not Christian, and most were left wondering about the gifts brought by the Wise Men. They were amazed to see exactly what Frankincense was and fascinated to be able to touch and smell the famous item. Yet the children were also perplexed as to why sap was so valuable.

Frankincense and Myrrh are two of the three gifts famously presented to the Baby Jesus by the Wise Men or Magi, who came from the east. Both are actually made from the sap of trees, with Frankincense being the sap of the Boswellia tree while Myrrh comes from Commiphora trees. The sap oozes out when the bark is cut or damaged and dries into chunks of resin which is sometimes then steamed to make essential oils. Both are edible, and can be chewed, but are most famously burned to release their fragrant smells. Frankincense smells sweet and citrusy, while Myrrh is more of a bitter pine scent. Both resins have been traded in the Middle East and Northern Africa for at least 5000 years.

Frankincense and Myrrh were both valuable in the ancient world (and actually continue to be reasonably valuable today), being burned during religious ceremonies, and used in everything from perfumes to insect repellents. In Egypt, they were also both used in the embalming process, to make Mummies. Myrrh oil was also used as a facial treatment, while frankincense was burned to a char and used as Kohl eyeliner. So why were they gifted to the Baby Jesus? By the time Jesus was born, both resins were worth more than their own weight in gold (which essentially means they were actually the two most valuable gifts, not the gold at all!) All three gifts were extremely valuable, and traditional offerings made to a king, or a God. In addition, Frankincense and Myrrh had practical uses – they were widely used and well known in the ancient world as medicines. In fact, both Frankincense and Myrrh were used to cure everything from coughs and indigestion, to poisoning, and are being investigated by modern scientists to find uses in modern medicine!

They Should Sell These Today - Christmas Cake Wrappers

Imagine you are a little girl helping your mother put the finishing touches on the Christmas cakes. Your mother has allowed you to help make the cakes which are given as gifts to family and friends this year, and you are very excited to be involved. You love to cook, and Christmas cake is such a central part of Christmas celebrations – you feel very special to be allowed to help make and decorate it! Your mother even let you choose the paper band which will be put around the cakes this year and you had such fun together selecting the perfect pattern. You can’t wait to see the completed cakes!

When I showed the children these Christmas cake wrappers they were quite confused. They recognised the Christmas theme but had no idea what the simple strips of paper could have been used for. They were amazed to discover they would have been used to wrap around a Christmas cake, either to decorate the Christmas table or to give as a gift. They thought the idea was a lovely one and as one child said ‘I think they should sell those today – they’d be great!’

Christmas cake (being a cake full of spices and dried fruit) has a fascinating and long history dating back to the early years of the Christian era. However, this forerunner of the Christmas cake was not really a cake at all but a porridge – plum porridge. The porridge was eaten on Christmas Eve to line the stomach after a long day of fasting and as time went by spices, dried fruits and honey were added to create a more luxurious dish in honour of the celebration. Eventually, there was so much fruit and spice inside that the porridge became a pudding, being tied in a cloth and boiled for hours. This is where Christmas Pudding comes from. In the 16^th century though many people replaced the oats with flour and added butter and eggs – creating a Cake, though it was then known as plum cake. This cake was very exclusive as the ingredients were very expensive and only fine houses had an oven in which it could be baked. The spices and exotic fruits were very significant though, representing the gifts of the wise men and the east, from where they came.

The cake was not a Christmas Cake though, but a Twelfth Night Cake, served on the 5^th of January to celebrate the end of the Christmas season or even reserved until the 6^th and served to Priests who would visit for the feast of the Epiphany to bless the parish houses. So how did this cake become Christmas cake? After the Reformation in Britain the Twelfth Night celebrations became frowned upon by Puritans and in 1870 Queen Victoria actually banned the feast day. The confectioners who made the cakes were left with sugar figurines and out of pocket, but they quickly hit upon a solution. They baked the cakes but decorated them with snowy scenes, flower gardens and romantic ruins and then sold them to people for their Christmas celebrations in December. The Christmas cake was born, as was the tradition of decorating them. As time went by and housewives began to bake their own cakes to be used at their own feasts or given as gifts a new market for cake shops emerged in selling readymade decorations which could be used to decorate the cakes – including the vintage paper bands (from circa 1950s) which I showed the children.

It's Cute, But Needs Sparkle - Pipecleaner Decoration

Imagine you are a child living in the 1960s. You are waiting excitedly for your father to come home – he has gone to buy a beautiful fresh tree for the family to decorate in preparation for Christmas. You love Christmas time, with the presents and songs and wonderful foods, but perhaps most of all, you love to decorate the tree. Each of the decorations has a story, from the decorations which you made with your mother to the beautiful spun glass decorations which depict characters from the Christmas story.

When I showed the children this little Christmas figurine they were somewhat underwhelmed. Children today are used to grand, sparkling decorations for their trees, or simple homemade decorations (which often still sparkle with the ubiquitous glitter!) This simple little pipe cleaner figure was very different to what they are used to today. Many of the children thought the figure was ‘cute, but needs a little sparkle’, and others set out to create their own versions of the simple little person.

Christmas trees and the decorations which are used to decorate them are thought to have originated in Germany though the idea of using evergreens to decorate the home during certain festivals dates back to before Christ was actually born. Originally, the decorations on Christmas trees were simply candles, but in the 17^th century other decorations were added. Early decorations were much simpler than what we are used to today though. Well into the 1800s nuts and fruits like apples were used to decorate trees and not only did they make the tree look festive, they celebrated the eventual return of spring (which in the Northern Hemisphere, where such traditions originate, people longed for). Soon paper streamers and shredded, reflective foil were added to the tree as were hard, decorative cookies like gingerbread. Of course, in the end the edible decorations would be consumed.

It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that glass decorations began to become more common. These blown glass decorations appear to also originate in Germany, as do the wooden and pressed paper decorations which emerged at a similar time. Trees began to be decorated in a way which we might be more familiar with today, but such decorations were costly and many could not afford them. Homemade decorations were used instead with strings of berries or even popcorn used in place of tinsel and simple decorations made by hand used in place of the expensive glass baubles. People even used illustrations cut from newspapers as the basis of decorations! It was not until the 20^th century, and the entrance of other countries into the production of decorations (notably Japan in the 1920s) that decorations became more affordable. Still, homemade decorations and decorations like the one I showed the children which were merry additions to the tree and relatively cheap to buy remained popular and most households would have at least a few homemade decorations included in their display, even today.

It's Kind Of Boring Compared To Today - Showbag Game

Imagine you are a child going to the Royal Easter Show. You are looking forward to seeing the animals and the produce, and of course the amazing cakes and sewing which are displayed! You are also looking forward to the sample bags – who knows what there will be this year. You hope there will be some games inside though. Last year one of the bags had a board game sheet inside and it was such fun to play. You hope there will be more this year!

When I showed the children this simple game from an old showbag, they were rather underwhelmed. While they enjoyed playing the game a few times, compared to the new showbag merchandise they are used to the simple game appeared rather anticlimactic. Today, children want and even expect their showbags to be full of food and toys, not ‘just a printed piece of paper’ as one child described the old game. When they discovered though that showbags in the past were a very different thing – even free – they were intrigued and wanted to know more.

Showbags (often called sample bags) have been a feature of Australian shows for more than a century, though the first known example which appeared in 1876 was not aimed at children, instead containing a free scoop of coal. They always offered a great value experience though – even that free scoop of coal would have been a prized and valuable gift to show goers. The thing which most set these early bags apart from their modern counterparts though was the cost. Today showbags are often expensive (and quite possibly the bane of parent’s existence when visiting a show) but in the past they were true sample bags, offering samples of a company’s products for free. They were worth the cost to the manufacturer though as it was an opportunity to introduce the public to their products and, if all went to plan, get them to buy such products in the future. This was particularly important in an era when advertising was more difficult for companies (especially in the era before TV became widespread)

The products in these early sample bags were also quite different to those found in showbags today. In fact, according to many a family could actually live off the contents of their sample bags for a few days, if they planned their collection well enough. From sauces, to cereal, canned meat to canned fruit, biscuits, tiny jars of jam, even flour and sugar was included. Of course there were also lollies, toys and games, like the board game I showed the children. Sometimes the toys were even a way of packaging samples of lollies – Life Savers once packaged their sample packets of lollies inside a tin truck. As the 20^th century progressed though, manufacturers started to see a commercial value to the bags and charged for them. At first this was just a nominal fee, but as time went by the bags became less about providing samples and more about selling a product. Today, the sample bag of the past is all but gone.

That's A Cool Piece Of Paper - Hold To The Light Postcards

Imagine you are a child living in the early 1900s. It is Christmas Day and you are so excited. There are presents to open, a feast to enjoy later today and of course, the amazing hold to the light postcard which your Grandparents always send. These postcards are something you always look forward to seeing and you can’t wait to find out what postcard they will have found this year. It’s usually a snow scene, but the way they appear to change from day to night depending how you hold them is just like magic.

When I showed the children these postcards, they were astonished. To see ‘an old piece of paper do something so cool’ was unexpected and the way the scene seemed to change from day to night was amazing. Postcards are something of a rarity today, and the children are always intrigued to see the types of cards which were once available. This particular type was, as far as they were concerned, the most amazing yet.

‘Hold to the light’ postcards are an amazing type of postcard. There are two separate types, die cut and transparency, but we are only examining die cut cards in this post. Die cut hold to the light cards are made of several layers of paper, with the ‘front’ layer, usually printed with a scene, having pieces  cut out. These cut out pieces, when held up to a light source allow the light to shine through the inner layers, which are often made of coloured paper. Many hold to the light cards appear to change from day to night when held to the light. When held flat the printed card seems to show a daytime scene (though often it appears to be late in the day!) When held to the light, cut out windows, doors and even moons become illuminated and change the scene to evening. These cards often feature wintery Christmas scenes, like the ones I showed the children.

Hold to the light postcards began to appear in about 1898 and, as far as I can discover, they first appeared in Berlin. They appear to have first been produced by the Wolf Hagelberg company, who issued a number of different designs. The Hagelberg design cards, as die cut cards are sometimes known, were quite simple to produce. A postcard would be printed with a scene using chromolitho or collotype processes – just like a normal postcard would be. A forme would also be created of the card though, which had the areas which needed to be die cut on it. This forme would be placed over the card and used to stamp out whatever areas were to be illuminated. Another, address side, would be printed separately and between the two pieces another sheet of paper would be placed. Often this sheet was yellow. When the three layers were glued together, the card was complete.

It Seems Like So Much Work - Festive Recipes Booklet

Imagine you are a housewife living in the 1970s. It is coming up to Christmas and time you started to plan for the feast which you will have to prepare. Food is such an important part of Christmas, but cooking all the delicacies you need is such a chore. You are particularly nervous this year as you have a new gas stove, and you have never used it so intensively – will it stand up to the pressure and more importantly, will your recipes work? Luckily, you have received a little booklet of ‘Festive Recipes’ which was written by the Australian Gas Light Companies’ Gas Advisory Service – they should know all about how to cook luxurious Christmas dishes with the new stove!

When I showed the children this Australian ‘Festive Recipes’ book, they were really very interested. Food remains a central part of Christmas celebrations, but they could not imagine their parents preparing many of these dishes. They are used to an elaborate feast, but their parents want as much as possible to be prepared beforehand and many have a cold meal due to the Australian heat. These recipes seemed ‘far too much work’ for a relaxing Christmas Day! The children then became curious about why we celebrate Christmas with food. When did we start and why?

Today, although the food may vary, feasting is an important part of Christmas celebrations, both religious and secular, around the world. At its root Christmas is a Christian festival, but it wasn’t until the 4^th century, 400 years after Christ was resurrected, that celebrating occasions from his life became popular. People wanted to celebrate his coming, but exactly when he was born was unknown (though we do know it didn’t happen in Winter because St Luke says the Shepherds were in the fields watching their flocks and they don’t do that in Winter!)

The day we celebrate as Christ’s birth, Christmas, and the feasting we associate with it, was not chosen because it was when Jesus was born but because it was already celebrated in the pagan Roman world with the feast of Sol Invictus or Unconquerable Sun. What better way to celebrate Jesus – the Unconquerable Son? Originally Christmas was not dedicated specifically to celebrating the date of Christ’s birth, but the idea of his coming and certain other events in his life. The feasting associated with the day continued to be part of the festival and as time went by and the date became more firmly tied in our minds to Jesus’ birth, the feasting continued. For some, Christmas is now a time to show off culinary skill (which is what the recipes in the book I showed the children aimed to do), but for most it remains a time to enjoy a special and particularly sumptuous meal with family and friends. For some, it also remains a time to celebrate the life of Jesus, the Son (and Sun) of Righteousness.

So It's Not Really The Easter Show? Royal Agricultural Show Ephemera

Imagine, it is the 1960s and it is Easter Time. You are so excited, because this year, your parents are giving you a special treat. They are taking you to the Royal Agricultural Show, the Easter Show. This will be the first time you get to see the show, but you have heard so much about it. You aren’t sure if you are most looking forward to seeing the animals, or the exhibitions of produce, but it will be grand! You are also looking forward to getting your free samples in the showbags.

When I showed this Map of Sydney Showgrounds and Agricultural Show Guide to the children they were a little confused. They didn’t have any idea what the Agricultural Show was! Today the children have almost all been to the Royal Easter Show, but they don’t realise that it was originally called the Agricultural Show, or that it has a very long history. Indeed, some don’t even realise that the show is an agricultural show at all, just thinking about the famous showbags and rides.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show has an exceedingly long and important history, dating right back to the convict era in Australia. In 1822 some of Sydney’s leading residents joined together to create the Agricultural Society of NSW. They wanted to improve the quality of Australia’s agricultural production by holding contests and competitions. Within a year the Agricultural Society (which still run the show today, though they are now known as the Royal Agricultural Society!) held their first show in Parramatta which was then the agricultural centre of the colony. When this show was held it was very important that Australia’s primary production was improved as there were now about 30000 people living in NSW (half of them convicts), and the colony was struggling to provide for them. The original shows were a huge success but from 1836 the annual show was not held because of drought and depression

In 1857 the Agricultural Society began holding shows (then known as exhibitions) again, still at Parramatta. In 1868 the exhibitions were moved to Price Alfred Park and in 1881 the Royal Agricultural Society started to look for a new location to hold the shows. The city council offered 40 acres of sandy scrub land at Moore Park for the low rent of £10. The Royal Agricultural Society agreed to this and with the help of the NSW Government and of public subscriptions, they built the Sydney Showgrounds. The showgrounds remained the home of the show for another 115 years, other than during the Influenza epidemic of 1919 when the showgrounds were used as a hospital and morgue, and during World War II when they were requisitioned for military use. By the late 1980s though, the Sydney Royal Easter Show as it had become known had become so big that the old showgrounds were no longer sufficient. In 1994 the NSW Government agreed to allow the show to be held at what was to be the Sydney Olympic Park site and the first show was held there in 1998.

It Looks Beautiful - Irish Lace Patterns

Imagine you are a mother living in Ireland during the 1840s. Times are really tough with not enough food to go around and your husband is having trouble finding work. You had to find some way to support the family, and when you heard that classes were being offered in lace making, for free, you decided to join up. You discovered you were quite good at lace making, with your small fingers being very nimble. You don’t make a lot of money, but with the lace you make and sell, you have enough to keep your family going.

They Look So Different - Souvenir Album Of Sydney

Imagine, it is the early 1900s and you are from England. You have been visiting relatives all the way on the other side of the world, in Sydney Australia and you have loved the experience. If only you could afford a camera to take photographs with, but they are so expensive. Luckily, the people in Sydney seem to realise that many visitors just don’t have a camera, and there are plenty of beautiful souvenir books available, full of pictures of the places you have visited. You’ve even seen long ones full of panoramas of the beaches, city and mountains!

When I showed this Sydney Souvenir book to the children, they were really intrigued. Many of the places in the book are familiar to them, yet they often looked very different to what the children see today. They were intrigued by the clothing the people were wearing, and the transport which was being used – horse and cart, trams and old cars were quite a topic of discussion. They thought it would be lovely if such books were still available, but supposed that cameras were so easily available today that they probably wouldn’t sell very well.

We tend to think of souvenirs as ‘holiday tat’ and often as disposable items, but throughout history they have been important to remembering travel. The word souvenir comes from the French and means memento or memory, but even before the term souvenir was coined, souvenirs were collected. In fact, souvenirs have a remarkably long history and for as long as people have been travelling they have collected things to remind them of where they have been. Indeed in 330 BC, 3000 camels and mules were needed to pull the 'souvenirs' (or spoils of war depending on your perspective) collected by Alexander the Great in Persepolis (Persia) back to his homeland! More recently, we think of souvenirs as toys, knickknacks, photos, books and functional items, like spoons and sugarbowls. In the ancient world though, they could be anything from a looted (stolen) statue to a slave!

Some of the most popular souvenirs in recent times have been photographs and pictures. Even before the invention of the camera, images of a place were a popular way to ensure you remembered your trip, and paintings or lithographs were common. After the camera was invented though, souvenir albums containing commercial photos of places became both common and popular. Today, many people take their own photographs to remember their experiences, but in the early part of the 20^th century cameras were expensive and most people preferred to buy pictorial postcards and souvenir albums instead of spending the money on a camera. The one I showed the children was created by the Kodak company and would have been a wonderful way to remember a trip to the Sydney region. It also came in various editions, with some only showing Sydney, while others also displayed surrounding areas like the Blue Mountains. Today, the photos are not only beautiful, they give us an insight into popular holiday areas, fashion, transport and even photographic techniques. A valuable souvenir indeed!

It's Very Grand, But Too Much! - 1919 Christmas Dinner Menu

Imagine, it is 1919 and Christmas has just passed. Today is Boxing Day, and you will need the peace of the day to recover from the magnificent meal you enjoyed yesterday! After years of rationing and being careful with foodstuffs, this Christmas just past was truly splendid. You enjoyed a meal at the beautiful restaurant in The Royal, in Katoomba. The cool mountain air was a lovely change from the hot summer days you have been having in Sydney and the food was sumptuous and plentiful – very reminiscent of Christmas in England you suppose!

When I took this Christmas Dinner Menu to show the children they were gobsmacked. They are, of course, used to big meals and wonderful food being presented at Christmas, but the sheer quantity of food advertised in the menu was surprising, especially when I pointed out to them that this meal took place only 1 year after World War One ended. The other thing which surprised them was the different types of food served. Most of the children are used to a cold meal at Christmas as the Australian Summer is so hot, but the meal served at The Royal in Katoomba followed a very traditional English style menu and much of it would have been served hot. The children thought it sounded ‘very grand, but it’d be way too much in Summer!’

Today, Christmas menu’s tend to be very generous and full of good food, but compared to Christmas meals of days gone by, many of our modern menus are actually quite small and simple! Christmas has always been an important festive season and, as is so often the case with celebrations, food has always played an important role.  Even before Christianity was established, the season was celebrated as, in the Northern Hemisphere, the shortest day of the year is around what we know as Christmas. Pre-Christians encouraged the light to return and lengthen by lighting fires and, on December 25^th, they would have evidence that their efforts had worked. They would celebrate with great feasts, a tradition which carried on into the Christian era as Christmas became the festivity celebrated.

Most of our Christmas traditions originate in the Northern Hemisphere, and this is where the idea of feasting on many meats and side dishes came from. During the Winter months old and extra animals were often slaughtered as they were more difficult to keep alive and this meant that there was plenty of fresh meat for the Christmas feasts. An excess of meat became a tradition early in the history of Christmas! Many menus in the middle ages would have featured multiple roasted birds (sometimes including Swan!) and joints of meat. This tradition carried on through the ages and Queen Victoria ate meats including beef, boar’s (pig) head, gamebird pie, woodcock (a type of bird) pie, roasted fowls and even tongue as part of her Christmas buffet in 1899. Yet other luxury foods were also saved up for Christmas, like sugar, spices and dried fruits. These were special foods which were expensive and so they were very important to a sumptuous celebration! Although the menu I showed the children was from 1919 and was an Australian menu, it reflects many of these traditions, with 6 types of bird, three roasted joints, 5 types of vegetables and seven ‘sweets’ available.