Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Way Back When-sday


Happy New Year, 2013!

January 1st is always one of my favorite days of the year. There's a sense of newness and promise for the year to come. It's a wonderful time to look back over the past year and analyze the things we've done.

I've had some time to think about my blog and what I want to do with it in 2013. As a new feature this year, I'm going to share my favorite Way Back When-sday discoveries on Wednesdays. I love history and I spend a great deal of my time researching it for my stories, so I thought it would be interesting to share some fun facts I come across. We have a lot to learn from our predecessors - in what to do and what not to do.

I also want to continue sharing my Minnesota Life. Instead of Fridays, I'm going to share Minnesota Mondays. There will be pictures and information about life in Minnesota - whether through the activities my family enjoys, the places we visit, or the people who make Minnesota one of the best places to live - now and in days gone by.

Fridays will be reserved for my thoughts on faith, the writer's life, parenting and marriage. Often my thoughts on writing, parenting and marriage are tied to my faith, so I've decided to call my posts Faith-Filled Fridays.

As always, I reserve the right to deviate from my plans, especially when I host guests bloggers or when something else presents itself to me that I'd like to share. It's my hope that having a schedule for my posts will help me stay focused, and will help you know what to expect when you visit me here.

I want to offer a heartfelt thank you for reading my blog and commenting below. Your friendship and support encourage me to keep pushing toward my dream of publication. May God richly bless you in the coming year.

Waiting for callers New Year's Day
I'll leave you with a fun Victorian New Year Tradition. Before 1890, it was the custom for men to go calling on New Year's Day. From noon to six o'clock, the Victorian women would be in their drawing rooms, with tables laden with food and drink, and would eagerly await the gentlemen who would come calling. Often, the women would receive up to 100 or more callers in one day.

Gentlemen would go from home to home, trying to visit as many acquaintances as possible, wishing them a Happy New Year. They would strategically plan out their six hour trek, staying for just a few minutes at each home, and would leave their calling cards, as a reminder of their visit. It was advised to not wear brand new shoes for this tradition, as their feet would protest the next day.

The homes of young, unmarried women were especially popular on New Year's Day. It was a great honor to be among the women who received the most callers, and had the most calling cards, at the end of the day.

Alexander Ramsey, the first Territorial Governor of Minnesota, wrote in his journal, on Jan. 1, 1875: "Day was pleasant and wife had about 100 callers."

What about you? Do you have a New Year Tradition?

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I am honored to be a guest on my friend Melissa Tagg's Welcome Mat Wednesday Blog today! I'm talking about making - and keeping - a New Year's Resolution in 2012 that changed my life. Please come and visit me there!

27 comments:

  1. So excited for you as God directs your writing ministry, Gabrielle! Looking forward to fun days ahead on your blog!

    I love the Victorian era!

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    1. Cynthia, the Victorian Era is one of my favorites for so many reasons, but I really do love the traditions and etiquette they adhered to - I wish we still followed some of them...but definitely not all of them! :) Thanks for stopping by today.

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  2. I wish you a ☆ :: * Happy-New-Year * :: ☆ From Japan.!! God bless you during 2013!
    Ryoma Sakamoto.

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    1. Happy New Year, Ryoma Sakamoto! God bless you, too.

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  3. Fun to learn about the context behind the men come calling.

    Not really, it's not a favorite holiday for me. I usually am out cold by 10:30. ;-)

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    1. Wendy, I'm such a night owl. We had friends over and they didn't leave until after 1 a.m. on New Year's Eve! I'm going to regret the late night/late mornings of Christmas Vacation when we have to start getting up early for school tomorrow! But, it's been fun. :)

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  4. I stayed home, sick like dog, New Year's Eve. New Year's Day was alot of "coughcoughnoIcannottalkcoughcough".

    A friend of mine was going through her (pack rat) parents garage and found her great aunt's calling cards. They were in a sterling silver case, beautifully embossed and in perfect condition!

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    1. I hope you're feeling better, Jennifer! I hate coughing. :(

      I would LOVE to find a case of beautiful calling cards! Wouldn't that be a great find? It's such a fun tradition - kind of like all of us writers at ACFW walking around handing our cards out to everyone. I came home with at least fifty or more cards!

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  5. I learned something new about an olde time New Year's tradition. Happy New Year, Gabrielle!

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    1. Good morning, Lisa! I hope to share many fun things on my Way Back When-sday posts this year, so hopefully you'll learn lots of fun new olde time traditions and facts. :) Happy New Year!

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  6. Yay, I'm excited for your new blogging schedule! :) My New Year's tradition is hanging out with family...which is what I'm doing right now.

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    1. Melissa, that sounds like a fun resolution to make - and one you won't fail to keep. :) Today is the last day of break for my girls, so we're going to relax and just hang out. A great way to start the new year.

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  7. So looking forward to your way back when-sdays! What a great way to tell the world about the fun things you've discovered and will continue to discover! That is the hardest part when researching by myself - I just want to share the neat tidbits with someone :)

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    1. Melissa - I know! That's why I love researching with you - I always know you're going to love to hear what I discover - and vice-versa! If you find something you'd like to share, let me know and I can put it on my Way Back When-sday posts. I have to go to the Weyerhaeuser Museum this week, let me know if you need to go and we can rendezvous there.

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  8. Fascinating tradition. I also hope not ALL the men looked those three in that picture as it would be a looooong day. LOL

    Your new schedule sounds fabulous! Looking forward to it, friend.

    The only tradition we have is cooking black-eyed peas and cornbread on New Year's!

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    1. Jessica - I kind of thought the same thing when I found that picture! :) Wouldn't it be funny to imagine all of your male acquaintances coming to your doorstep New Year's Day - or your husband and son spending the day going from house to house, wishing all your friends a Happy New Year?

      I've never heard of cooking black-eyed peas and cornbread for New Year's - is that your personal tradition, or a southern thing?

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  9. Love your new ideas! Very Clever. I love living in Minnesota, too. Our only tradition is a New Year's Eve party every year.

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    1. Michelle - I love Minnesota. I know it has it's drawbacks (like the bitter cold today!), but it also has so many wonderful qualities that out-weigh the cold. :) We also have a New Year's Eve party, but it's a recent tradition (only two years in a row so far), but I foresee it lasting a long time. We invite our friends with small children. It's a loud evening with all those kiddos running around, but it's a fun family time. Happy New Year!

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  10. Gabe, I LOVE your proposed weekly blog categories for 2013. I can't wait to read the wonderful insights God lays on your heart. Happy New Year!

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    1. Thank you, Donna! Welcome home. :) And Happy New Year to you, too. It's going to be an incredible year for you.

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  11. I love the title of your Wednesday posts!! So cute! :)

    No real New Year's traditions here, except of course, kissing at midnight. ;)

    Do I really get to see you in less than 2 months?! Eek!!

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    1. Thanks, Lindsay! I've been trying to figure out how I want to focus my blog and it just came to me while I was doing some historical research. Dave and my children are usually the only people who get to hear me exclaim: "Oh, my goodness! Listen to what I just discovered!" Now the blogging world gets to hear it, too! :)

      Yes! Less than two months and we get to spend an entire week together!!!! I can't wait. :)

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  12. Hi Gabrielle!
    Yay! for your new changes. I hope to start one myself this year.

    We spent most of the day with the family. Just us. No running to and fro split up and wondering where the day went. It was great!

    Blessings!

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    1. Alena, I can't wait for you to start a blog! More ways to stay in touch. :) Your New Year's Day activities sound perfect. I love how purposeful you are about your family time.

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  13. Loving your new blog schedule, Gabrielle! Can't wait to hear more from you in the days to come!

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    1. Thanks, Sherrinda. I haven't been as good at blogging since I came home from ACFW as I'd like to be, but hopefully I can get back into the swing of things in the New Year. I love seeing your smiling face here and can't wait to see it more often in the days to come. :)

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