You may be familiar with the tradition of “popping” Christmas crackers during the holidays.

In Medieval England gingerbread meant preserved ginger. The hard cookies were a staple at Medieval fairs in England and on the continent. These became known as “gingerbread fairs” and the cookies called “fairings”.

Mincemeat pies, or Christmas pies, are a traditional main course dish dating back to Tudor times.

The idea of sugaring plums and other fruits and roots originated in the 1600’s in England as a way, along with smoking and salting meats, to preserve foods.

Paper dolls in various forms appeared in Japan as early as A.D. 900 and were used in purification ceremonies. In France in the mid 1700’s, “patins”, or “Dancing Jack” puppets were popular.