The Origins and History of Easter Eggs: Dept 56 and Much More

Department 56 villages bring to life our Easter traditions.  We find churches, parishioners, Easter bunnies, Easter egg hunts, chocolate eggs, and so much more.  To appreciate these traditions more fully, I have explored various theories on the symbolism and history of eggs, particularly Easter eggs, in our western culture.  From a myriad of internet sources, I have teased out some information that strikes me as plausible, as well as interesting.

Persepolis,
National Geographic

Zoroastrians and Persepolis  The earliest indications of the use of ceremoial eggs may date from the Zoroastrians in Persia, which is modern-day Iran, in the 6th century BCE.  Sculptures of people carrying eggs can be found on the walls of Persepolis, which was an ancient Persian city about 40 miles northeaster of present-day Shiraz, Iran.  The painted eggs were for the king to celebrate Nowrooz, their New Years celebration, which fell on the spring equinox.

Dept 56, Christmas in the City,
"Central Synagogue," 56. 59204

Jewish Traditions  During the Seder meal for Passover, Jews serve a hard-boiled egg.  According to several sources, the egg symbolizes 1) the sacrifice brought by the Hebrews to the Temple in Jerusalem in biblical times, and 2) the mourning for the destruction of the Temple in both the 6th century BCE and the 1st century AD.  For these reasons, the egg also became a traditional food for those in mourning.  For more information, go to this link:  http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/faq/seder-plate.html

St. Bede the Venerable

Eostre and Gregory the Great  In the 7th century, an English monk, given the name of the Venerable Bede, wrote a text called "The Reckoning of Time," (Temporum Ratione).  It was about the solar and lunar cycles, and included a chapter on "months," or times of the moon.  According to Bede, April was called Eosturmonath,  named after the goddess of fertility, Eostre. www.manygods.org.uk/articles/essays/Eostre.shtml

Pope Gregory the Great

The symbol of Eostre was said to be an egg, which was associated with fertility.  Pope Gregory the Great, who created the goal to convert the English Isles, wrote in the 6th century that pagan rituals should be adapted to the "praise of God," rather than dismissed.  It is not a stretch to believe that Irish pagan customs concerning eggs were absorbed into Christian culture, just as Christmas trees were adopted from non-Christian sources.

Dept 56, Christmas in the City,
"Cathedral of St. Nicholas," 56.59248

Christian Egg Traditions  In Orthodox traditions, eggs are frequently dyed red to represent the blood of Christ.

Icon of Mary Magdalen,
with words on the red egg,
"Christ is Risen"

This practice may be based on a legend that Mary Magdalen met with the Emperor Tiberius in Rome to tell him about Jesus and the Resurrection, offering him an egg as a symbol of this event.  Scornfully Tiberius  protested that a man could no more rise from the dead than that egg could turn scarlet.  As he said it, legend says that the egg turned red in Mary Magdalen's hands.  Frequently, images of her will include a red egg.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Happy Easter Church," 56.55325

For Western Christians, the egg symbolizes a complex of simple, but very profound ideas, probably adopted from many religions and cultures:  potential; rebirth; hope; resurrection;  renewal; metamorphosis from one life to another; rejuvenation.  Another author adds a further level of symbolism:  "...the egg represents the Creation, the elements, and the world itself, with the shell representing the firmament, the vault of the sky where the fiery stars lie; the thin membrane symbolizing air; the white symbolizing the waters; and the yolk representing the earth."   http://www.fisheaters.com/symbols.html

In my next blog I will take you on a tour of Easter eggs, painted, sculpted, wired and embroidered!

Department 56: Evoking Easter Memories

Easter is delightful, and Department 56 has found a way to bring back joyful memories of traditions played out during every spring of my childhood.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Easter Egg Painting Studio," 56.55385

Dyeing Easter Eggs  This delightful pastel building is obviously a master rabbit's dyeing studio and school.  Admission standards to the Egg Painting Studio are high, resulting in an immensely qualified and creative student body.  Peter Cottonfur and other students study the art of egg preparation, pigment production, egg decoration, drying processes, basket procurement, and egg distribution schemes.  Though the students grow weary of the daily routines, they know that becoming a certified master of egg painting will give them artistic license to create their own lines for discriminating buyers at the finest shops, Bloomingeggs, Eggcy's, Neiman Mareggs, and Sak's Fifth Eggsenue.

Depart 56, Snow Village,
"It's the Easter Bunny!" 56.55164

Easter Bunnies  While Easter Bunnies take their professions seriously, they recognize that it is seasonal employment.  They do have continuing education, mostly during the summer, including courses on public relations and product distribution techniques. In the fall, Easter bunnies embark on a severe regimen of physical training to preparing for the arduous job of hauling around millions of baskets and tons of eggs in such a short period of time.  It isn't just carrying heavy baskets, it is the constant squatting down and standing up, necessary in the egg hiding process, that wreaks havoc on bunnies' knees.  Attempts at Easter Bunny unionization have failed, given that most professional bunnies wish to maintain independence in their artistic endeavors and personal relationships with children.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"One Hop Walk," 56.55160

Green Grass and Warm Sunshine    Easter Village Event Planners take great care in the production of the best possible traditional holiday activities, including Easter Egg Dyeing for Amateurs;  Easter Egg Hunts for Children; fashion acquisition of adorable, yet up-to-date, attire, particularly for infants and children; and other pursuits that will create lifelong memories.  However, the most difficult job for the Easter Event Planner is to ensure sunshine, green grass, and cheerful flowers.  Given web technology, it is easy to identify Easter dates far in advance, and to plant adequate acreage of seasonally-appropriate flower species.  However, the procurement of good weather is very complicated, and only journeyman level Easter Event Planners have mastered the art.

Dept 56, Dickens Village,
"A Basket Full of Blooms," 56.58583

Beautiful Flowers  Easter lilies are symbolic, elegant, fragrant, and evocative, and necessary to lifelong Easter memory-making.  The natural white shade of Easter lilies is the color standard used by Master Egg Painters in selecting perfectly "white" eggs for their best artistic pieces. Easter bunnies have long favored Easter lily foliage as a perfect natural background for pastel eggs.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Lily's Nursery and Gifts," 56.55095

Easter Event Planners can count on adequate supplies of Easter lilies to embellish any party venue, in part due to Lily's Nursery and Gifts, which always plans for all the lilies that Easter requires.

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Dressed in Our Easter
Best," 56.55327

Easter Clothes  A prerequisite for any Easter event, and the making of any Easter memory, is new finery.  Stylish new clothes serve to celebrate renewal, the beginning of spring, the celebration of life.  New Easter attire has lately been ignored in favor of the practical jeans and t-shirts.  However, childhood memories can tell of us days past, when a new dress, new hat, new shoes, or new jacket made us smile. Dressed in Our Easter Best

Dept 56, Christmas in the City,
"Window Shoppers," 56.59481

In urban areas, such as CIC, elegant and festive Easter parades afford men and women the opportunity to gather, mostly to see what everyone else was wearing.  Especially anticipated are the big hats, with feathers, and flowers, and even birds perched in netting.  Children are not allowed to laugh and point at the hat birds.  Parents admonish them, with threats that the Easter Bunny will not visit.  Development of Child Manners is also a course at the Easter Egg Painting Studio.  It is taken very seriously. 

Dept 56, Snow Village,
"Happy Easter Church,'
56. 55325

Easter Morning Church  Many show off their new finery for the first time on Easter morning at church.  Easter is the best time ever at church, especially when coffee and donuts are served afterwards, and everyone is smiling.  Sometimes the Easter Bunny forms an alliance with the pastor of the church for an egg hunt post-service, but more frequently the egg hunt is at home or a local park.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Easter Egg Hunt," 56.55326

Easter Egg Hunts  The highlight of Easter for many young children is the Easter Egg Hunt.  Of course, the Easter Bunny knows this, and is careful to search out hiding places that are age-appropriate for the family.  A one-unit course at the Easter Egg Painting Studio, called "Demographics and the Egg Hiding Paradigm," is required for all certified Easter Bunnies. Quite rightly.

The hunt frequently takes place right after church, during which the children display extraordinary anticipation, and before lunch, which leaves them so hungry that they tend to indulge in "Sucrose Satiation," a malady common to children that affects not them, but their parents.

Dept. 56, Snow Village,
"Chocolate Bunny Factory," 56.55355

Candy, Candy, Candy  Sucrose Satiation is a result of ingesting lots and lots of candy. During "hiding-of-the-eggs," HOTE,  it is critical for an Easter Bunny to disperse exact proportions of real eggs, properly painted; plastic eggs filled with gum drops and jelly beans; yellow (not pink, and certainly not blue) marshmallow Peeps; and chocolate bunnies. Easter Bunnies must never leave chocolate bunnies in sunny hiding spaces, because they will quickly form bunny baths.  While these are loved by young children, parents find them disconcerting to find bunny bath traces all over their new Easter clothes.  Easter Bunnies also find it disconcerting to find their images melted into brown puddles.

Miniatures: Easter Villages with Kinkade, Retablos, and Erzgebirge Wood Carvings

Items Guaranteed to be lost during packing.
Dept. 56, "Village Pink Flamingos,"
Reorder #56.52595

There are bad things about the end of Christmas...saying good-bye to the festivities, going on a diet, facing the implication you are a year older, and several stiffer.  But those pale in comparison to the shivers evoked by the packing away of the Christmas village boxes.

It isn't just remembering exactly each figure and the group it belongs to, so you can put it in the appropriate box. Or remembering to pack each little part, like the sign from "JD Nichols Toy Shop," or the dangling little toy from the "Portobello Road Peddler," or the lid to the overflowing CIC garbage can.

My husband's storage shed.
Mine would look different.

Worst, it is fitting all of those boxes in exactly the right jigsaw pattern in your storage area, so that every box fits, without crushing or being crushed.  Then, of course, all those boxes have to be covered in unperforated plastic bags to be protected....really, I don't have to say more.  The audience to whom I am speaking also constitutes my chorus.

But after all of this effort post-Christmas, how could I ever consider starting an Easter or spring village?

Dept. 56 Easter Decorating Idea
www.department56.com

Personally, when January hits, I could attend the "put a few buildings in a basket so it can be moved on and off the table easily" school of village decorating.  But there is another approach:  miniature scenes.  Easy to open, set up, display, take down, and store!  By miniature, I mean even smaller than most Department 56 or Lemax villages.  I mean smaller than the "creches" or "presepe" of Italy; smaller than the "santos" of Provence.  I mean, real miniature sculptures of entire villages.

I hope you enjoy your visit to Thomas Kinkade, folkart Retablos, and the wood sculpture from the Erzgebirge Mountains of Germany. 

Thomas Kinkade,
"Beloved Bible Stories"

Thomas Kinkade Easter Miniatures  In America, the artist who has mastered the craft of miniature religious villages is Thomas Kinkade.  His small table sculptures are complex, portray entire stories, and each contain an extraordinary number of scenes and figures.  This LED-illuminated tabletop piece, "Beloved Bible Stories," is only about 16" high and contains 3-dimensional depictions of 14 Old Testament stories, containing 60 figures.  I was able to pick out the stories of Noah's ark, Joseph and his coat of many colors, and the parting of the Red Sea, and there are 11 more.  The sculpture is made of resin and the figures are hand-painted.  The detail is remarkable.  This is a special edition of 3000.  Thomas Kinkade Beloved Bible Stories Illuminated Tabletop Sculpture: Religious Home Decor by Hawthorne Village

Thomas Kinkade, "Testament to Faith Lighted Wreath"

Kinkade's "Testament to Faith Lighted Wreath" depicts the events of the Passion, which is particularly appropriate for Easter.  While I have never seen this wreath in person, I know that it is crafted from artist's resin, and depicts 9 scenes from Holy Week.  Measuring 14.5", it is lighted and has more than 30 figures, all hand-painted.  And it doesn't take up a lot of room.  There is a companion piece, a cone-shaped sculpture similar to the "Beloved Bible Stories," which is about 15" high, with 13 scenes and 45 figures.  Thomas Kinkade Testament To Faith Lighted Wreath: The Passion Of The Christ Religious Art Wreath by The Bradford Exchange

Dept. 56
North Pole Woods
Oakwood Post Office Branch

Department 56 Miniatures The Department 56 miniature series that most closely resembles Kinkade's miniatures is the North Pole Woods. While Kinkade depicts an entire series of events and locations, each Dept. 56 piece consists of only one tree house.  And, while the Kinkade sculptures have serious themes, the North Pole tree houses are whimsical and enchanting.  Each Dept. 56 miniature is about 11" high, and portrays a Santa or elf scene, like Santa's Retreat or the Oakwood Post Office Branch. Retired in 2002, the series has only 8 tree houses, none of which could be used for an Easter display.

Luis Rodriguez, "Easter Procession"

Retablos  Thomas Kinkade sculptures and the North Pole Woods series are part of a long tradition in western culture.  In Central and South America, folk artists produce "retablos," miniature scenes of stories, frequently religious.  This retablo represents an Easter Procession in Ayacucho, Peru.  The priest leads the procession, while villagers carry statues of the Virgin Mary and Christ.  Only 6" X 6" square, the scene was created by Luis Rodriguez, who represents the folk art tradition of his family and his region.  Again, retablos do not depict the scope of the Kinkade sculptures .  www.lucuma.com/craft_gallery/p_RET062C.asp

Erzgebirge Wooden Miniatures  True village representations in miniature, a la Kinkade, can best be found in wooden sculpture from the Erzgebirge region of Germany.  The Erzgebirge (Ore) Mountains are south of Berlin on the Czech border.  Artisans there still practice the traditional art of wood carving in miniature.  While much of the work is produced for Christmas, there are miniature candle "pyramids" and "schwibbogen" which depict Easter and other scenes.

Gunther Studios,
Seiffen Village Pyramid

"Pyramids"  About 10" wide and 7" high, this hand-crafted wooden scene, "Seiffen Village Pyramid" by Gunther Studios, really does approach a miniature village similar to Kinkade's.  The scene includes a German church, along with trees, Erzgebirge style houses, street lanterns, and carolers.  "Pyramids" are scenes surrounded by candles, whose heat causes a fan above to rotate,  The fan, in turn, rotates the scene.  Pyramids have as many as four tiers, with each level displaying a difference scene.  While this is a traditional Christmas item, because of the carolers and the evergreen trees, it could be surrounded by fresh lilies and pastel candles, and work as nice Easter display.  http://www.handcraftedgermangifts.com/212-083.html

Knuth Neuber,
"Dresden City Scenery" Schwibbogen

"Schwibbogen"  A similar Erzgebirge sculpture form is the "Schwibbogen," or decorative candle holder, featuring a candled arch over a traditional design or local theme.  This "Dresden City Scenery" Schwibbogen by Knuth Neuber has 7 electrical candles.  It depicts the church, called the Frauenkirche, the Steigenberger Hotel, the Burgerhaus (town hall,) trees, carolers, vendors, children, and Santa.  It is definitely a village in miniature, being 26" wide and 16" high.  http://www.handcraftedgermangifts.com/202-537.html

Neuber Workshop,
"Easter Bunny Workshop"

Matchbox Scene This final scene is not a miniature village, but it was so cute I had to include it.  It is a matchbox scene of the Easter Bunny Workshop.  It is only 2" X 1.5" in size, yet you can see the wooden eggs, the work bench, and the Easter Bunny using a wood crafting tool! There are many such miniature scenes available at the following website. http://www.handcraftedgermangifts.com/mami1.html


Satisfying Our Whimsy, or Just Getting it Done
Of course, when putting out such miniature sculptures villages, we can't move buildings and accessories around to create different scenes each year.  We can't add or subtract people and buildings, or create our own village utopia.  In short, our whimsies can't dictate how a story is to be told.  But sometimes, we just have to get the decorating done, and with miniatures, it's just plain easier.

St. Patrick's Day in the City: Dept 56 "Christmas in the City" Tribute

Dept 56, Snow Village,

"Lucky's Irish Souvenirs," 56.55157

We have a lot to thank St. Patrick for.  First, he ran the snakes out of Ireland, so when you bike on those narrow, lorry-ridden roads, you don’t have to worry about running over a rattler.  St. Patrick also made famous the Shamrock.  This modest bit of clover has been put to good use by the Irish.  First, St. Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans.  Then it was used as a symbol of emerging Irish rebellion against the English rule.  And now promotors use it to label souvenirs as authentically "Irish," regardless of where in the world they are made! 

Pres. Obama Presenting the Medal of Freedom 

to Celtics Legend Bill Russell

(Photo by Ben Golliver)

It may even be said that St. Patrick is responsible for making the Boston Celtics great….. well, sometimes great….. and thrilling us with the likes of Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, Larry Bird, and  (bagpipe flourish, please.....) Bill Russell,  all of whom are undeniably Irish.  And, who is to question if Chicago is 100% Irish, when... under the watchful eye of St. Patrick... every year their river miraculously runs green in mid-March? 

For all that St. Patrick has done, his greatest miracle is that every March 17, every man, woman and child, regardless of their race or creed, may become Irish for a day. Indeed, some decide to remain Irish forever.

Irish Pubs  The Irish in America have been repeatedly celebrated by Department 56.  A great piece is the 1999 introduction of “Molly O’Brien’s Irish Pub” in the Christmas in the City series.    Though Mollie O'Brien's is meant to depict a New York building, the pub, as an institution, is deeply rooted in Ireland's culture.  The word “pub” itself derived from “public house,” which refered to an establishment that did not require private membership.  In contrast to the wealthy, who could afford to join a private club, the working class frequented pubs.  

Dept 56, Christmas in the City

"Molly O'Brien's Irish Pub," 56.58952

Irish pub landlords fell into a long tradition of “hospitallers,” who ensured visitors experienced, “..a never-dry cauldron, a dwelling on a public road and a welcome to every face.”  Pubs were places for neighbors to gather, relax, gossip, even foment rebellion. A pub was also extremely important to the village because it sold 95% of all foodstuffs  before supermarkets were introduced.  And pubs were open every day of the year, except Christmas, Good Friday, and……. St. Patrick’s Day!!  In fact, it was not until after 1960 that Irish pubs opened on the feast day of their patron saint.

Dept 56, Snow Village

"McGuire's Irish Pub," 56.55066

Frequently, pubs were named after their owners:  McGillin's, O'Doul's, McSorley's, or Maguire's.  Dept 56 celebrated the family pubs with its Snow Village piece, "McGuire's Irish Pub," introduced in 2001.  

The most famous McGuire’s Pub in the US is in Pensacola, Florida.  The Gator's McGuire's is known for its food, ale, ambiance, and the fact that approximately 250,000 $1 bills have been stapled to its ceiling!!  A highly-reviewed cookbook celebrating McGuire's pub fare was published in 1998.

Irish Immigration to the US  In 1790 there were about 400,000 Irishmen in the US, half of whom had immigrated from Ulster.  These were descendants of Protestant Scottish and English tenant farmers, who made their way to America's colonial frontiers to settle .  Called Scots-Irish, they formed a distinct cultural group, and fought in the American Revolution.  Scots-Irish were also  among those who worked on the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.  

The Great Irish Migration really began in 1845-46, however, when a blight hit the Eire’s potato crop.  Since many poor Catholic Irish survived largely on potatoes, the crop's destruction proved disastrous.  Starvation and typhus claimed over 350,000 victims.  The Irish began to flee for their very lives, and by 1854 nearly 2 million Irish, a quarter of their population, had immigrated to the U.S.

Dept 56, Snow Village

"St. Patrick's Day Parade

56.55207

St. Patrick's Day Parade  In 1737 it has been reported that a small number of Irish colonists took to the streets in Boston to celebrate their patron saint.  In 1766, St. Patrick's Day was celebrated in New York City by Irish recruits in the British Army, who called themselves the Society of the Friendly Brothers of St. Patrick.  They marched with "...fifes and drums, which produced a very agreeable harmony."  (www.history1800s.about.com)  

Through the 19th century, Irish Aid societies, such as the Hibernian Society, sprang up to help the immigrant poor, widows, orphans, and invalids, and to provide information on citizenship and education.  In 1848, a number of these societies joined forces for a combined St. Patrick’s Day Parade in New York City.  Now  the annual parade attracts over 2 million spectators, who line the streets of Manhattan to cheer on the 150,000 participants.  Savannah, Chicago, Boston, and Philadelphia are among the other cities that host huge celebrations, all created to honor the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick Himself. 

White Horse Bakery: An Homage to English White Horse Hill Drawings

Dept 56, Dickens Village
White Horse Bakery, 56.59269

Memories of a Hill Horse

My best memories are generally shutter flash moments of something new and beautiful, unexpectedly revealed.  I’ll never forget one of these moments in England, about 15 years ago.  It was a clear, warm day.  We were driving on a small road somewhere between Bath and London, when I happened to turn my head, then jerked back in surprise.  In the distance, on a hill, was the shimmering drawing of a white horse.  We pulled the car over and got out, simply in awe.  I don’t know where we were exactly, and I don’t remember the details of the horse.  I just remember how I marveled at its presence.  Years later, when I first started collecting Dickens Village pieces, I was perusing a catalog of buildings. I noticed the figure drawing on the sign of the White Horse Bakery.  Though the building had been retired, I knew I had to find one.  I did, and the modest little bakery is still one of my most highly-regarded pieces.

English White Horse Drawings

Uffington Horse, Oxfordshire

Photograph copyright © Dave Collier of Mugshots

English white horse drawings are actually “hill figures,” which are generally created by cutting into a hillside, revealing the chalk or limestone underneath.  Other times, shallow trenches are dug, and chalk is filled in to create a figure.  In either case, the white of the stone stands out in sharp contrast to the greenery surrounding it.  There have been close to 24 white horses in England, though some have been lost through neglect and the inexorable march of nature.  The greatest concentration of horses are in Wiltshire.

The Uffington Horse in Oxfordshire, however,  is the oldest horse figure in England.  Recent tests indicate that it probably dates from 1200 BC-800BC, which makes it Bronze Age.  It is extraordinarily graceful, with highly-stylized curving lines, about 365 feet long.  No one knows the purposes of this horse, or other ancienthill carvings.  It may have been a symbol of a horse-goddess Rhiannon, or of the sun god Belinos, who was associated with horses.  Most other hill drawings are recent, many from the 19th century.  

Osmington Horse, Dorset

The hill figure that might most closely resemble the horse on the sign of the White Horse Bakery is the Osmington Horse in Dorset, east of Weymouth.  Cut around 1808, this figure measures 320 feet high and 280 feet long, the largest of the hill horses. It is also one of only four horses that faces to the right

New Devizes White Horse, Wiltshire

The new Devizes White Horse is also a close match to the White Horse Bakery, but was actually created in 1999 in honor of the milenium, eleven years after Department 56’s release of the White Horse Bakery!  The original hill figure, the “old” Devizes White Horse, had almost disappeared through neglect.  When this new cutting was made , the basic shape was maintained, but the new figure faced right instead of left.

For an in-depth exploration of English white horses, you may wish to begin at this website: http://www.wiltshirewhitehorses.org.uk/faqs.html

White Horse Inn in Duns Tew

English White Horse Inns

I have not been able to find a White Horse Bakery in England that resembles the Dickens Village model.  However, I did find two White Horse Inns that shared certain characteristics of the Bakery.  The first is the White Horse Inn in Duns Tew, between Oxford and Banbury.  The Inn, a 17^th century coaching house, is made of gray stone and has a central front door, flanked by windows, with dormer windows above.  The inn’s symbol is the profile of a white horse, reminiscent of the one on the sign of the Dickens Village bakery. http://www.whitehorsedunstew.com/index.html

White Horse Inn
Sutton Coldfield

The second White Horse Inn is near Sutton Coldfield, which is north-east of Birmingham.  A building has been on its site since Georgian times, and the present building has interesting paneled windows that evoke a memory of the White Horse Bakery. http://www.vintageinn.co.uk/thewhitehorsecurdworth/

Nantucket: Whaling, and the Sea Shanties That Tell the Story

Nantucket Sleigh Ride, whaling captain, widow’s walk, candles and corsets, and sea shanties.  What do all of these have in common?  They are all part of the history of Nantucket Island, which was the whaling capital of the world  in the19^th century.  The heyday of Nantucket’s colorful history has been honored by a  series of Department 56 buildings and accessories in the New England and Snow Village Series, and they provide the beginning points for a visit.  No exploration of whaling, however, would be complete without hearing some sea shanties, or work songs, so I have included links to a couple at the end of the story. Get ready to shake a leg!

Nantucket:  Captains, Candles, Corsets
At the turn of the 19th century, Nantucket became the third largest city in Massachusetts, and one of the richest cities in the US.  As many as 150 ships a year made port in the island’s bay.  Whaling captains' bounty caused Nantucket to prosper, not only from the sale of whale and "spermaceti" oil, but from the growth of ancillary industries like candle-making, nautical provisioning, paper and wick manufacturing, and shipping.

Depart 56, New England Village Series
"Platt's Candles and Wax", 56.56614

Between 1815 and 1860, whalers unloaded more than1.3 million barrels of precious whale oil, which Herman Melville described as “…rare as the milk of queens.”  There were essentially two kinds of oil.  Whale oil was rendered from whale blubber  on the whaling ship and brought to port in barrels.  "Spermaceti" was an oil from the head of the sperm whale, and was rendered in try works after it arrived in port.  Whale oils were used for fine candles, ointments and cosmetic creams, and luminants for lamps and even lighthouses, in addition to being a lubricant for the machines driving the industrial revolution.  Department 56 New England Village Platt's Candles & Wax

These were not the only products of the whaling industry. Baleen, comb-like plates in a whale’s mouth used for filter feeding, also became commercially important.  Called whalebone, the baleen was valued for its use in corsets, hoop skirts, buggy whips, collar stiffeners, and parasol ribs.

Whale Bone Corset

The most valuable product of whaling, however, was ambergris, a secretion of the whale’s digestive system. This rare find was used primarily as an odorant and fixant in perfumes and cosmetics, although there is also a history of its use as an additive in beverages and medicines. Around 1880 ambergris sold for $10,000 for 1/8 pound, an extraordinary amount in any day.

Dept 56, New England Series
Captain Kensey's House, 56.56651

The whaling trade was good for the seamen, financiers, and merchants of Nantucket, many of whom  began to grace the town with lovely residences in downtown Nantucket, many close to the wharfs.

Hard Life as a Whaler
Everyday life on a whaling ship, however, was hard, dangerous, dirty, and yet frequently monotonous.  Whaling voyages generally lasted 2-3 years, and sometimes much longer.  Whaling “widows” would say good-bye to their men, not knowing if they would return, when, or whether they would even derive income from the voyage.  Department 56 Captain Kensey's House

At sea, sailors could face weeks of heat, cold, and boredom, looking in vain for a pod of whales. And then, suddenly, they could face hours of terror, being hauled on a “Nantucket sleighride," their small whaleboat lashed to a harpooned whale, flying through the waves at speeds up to 23 mph, sometimes far away from the mother ship.  If the men were lucky, the whale didn't thrash the boat with its flute as it tried to escape, or turn on it and attack intentionally.   If the seamen made the kill, backbreaking work was then needed to tow the whale, weighing up to 40 tons, back to the ship, sometimes miles away. Then the ship would then be converted into a floating factory, where the sailors rendered the whale fat into oil by boiling it in vats, called try works, while black clouds of sooty smoke roiled into the sky.  Whalers earned their money.  

Rockwell Kent, illustration
from 1930 edition
Moby Dick

Herman Melville commemorated Nantucket’s whaling prowess by basing his novel Moby Dick on the Nantucket whaling ship, the Essex, which was rammed and sunk in 1820 by a whale about 2000 miles west of South America.  Goaded on by hunger and thirst and its resultant dementia, the surviving sailors were forced to resort to cannibalism in order to live for the three months in their small whaleboats before being rescued.  Ironically, one of the ships who came to their rescue was from Nantucket also, the Dauphin.

Sea Shanties
Sea Shanties were songs sailors used on-board whaling ships.  Many shanties were sung to create rhythms to synchronize hard and tedious work.  Listen to one of the most famous “Blow the Man Down,” a bawdy “halyard” or long-haul shanty sung while the sailors the hoisted topsails or performed other time-consuming tasks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOza9I92TU0&feature=related

One of my favorite sea shanties is the mournful song of men who are returning from the Arctic south toward Hawaii through the ice, wind, and rain after “…six hellish months ... passed away on the cold Kamchatka Sea.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0F_f7xYOD3g

Dept 56, "Snow Village,"
Nantucket Renovation, 56.54410

Nantucket’s whaling industry declined after 1840 due to the sifting in of its natural harbor, the introduction of petroleum products that made whale products less profitable, the discovery of gold in California, which beckoned the workforce, and a devastating fire that destroyed its wharves.  Nonetheless, historians and hobbyists continue to wish to evoke the island's  colorful history.  Nantucket Renovation - Department 56 (Retired)

Hi-De-Ho Nightclub and Cab Calloway: Christmas in the City

Cab Calloway

New York City in the 1920’s and1930’s had a vibrant music scene, with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Dizzy Gillespie…and then there was Cab Calloway, a most interesting and innovative musician.

Cab Calloway and the “Hi-De-Ho Nightclub"

Cab Calloway was bandleader of some of the most popular African American big bands in the 1920’s and 30’s, a ‘scat singer’ influenced by Louis Armstrong,  a dancer and choreographer, an actor, an innovator, and a pathfinder who helped break the color barrier in the music industry with his sheer talent, energy, and charisma.  Cab Calloway became identified with a jazz riff, "Hi-De-Ho" from the song, “Minnie the Moocher,” that he wrote for one of a series of Betty Boop animated shorts.

For a foot-tappin', smile-inducing intro to Cab, watch his performance of "Hi-De-Ho" on Sesame Street in 1978, with the Muppet backup band and singers.  Listen for how he uses  nonsense syllables or sounds, transforming his voice into an instrumental solo, a technique called "scat singing."  Cab's charisma draws you in, and his powerful voice, smooth delivery, and moves keep you there. Not bad for a guy over 70 years old at the time! (Click the following link to see the clip.)  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esnDnIK2v1g&feature=related

Rotoscoping
Calloway not only wrote and sang the song "Minnie the Moocher", but he provided the dance choreography for the animation for the Betty Boop short film as well, through the innovation of “rotoscoping.” 

Rotoscoping is a technique where live-action movements are traced over, frame by frame, for use in animated films.  To see Cab Calloway performing legendary dance moves and then the corresponding dance in animation, click on this YouTube site.  By the way, if you think Michael Jackson invented the "moonwalk," watch this very closely…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQyQ4NprVA0

Cab Calloway at Harlem’s Cotton Club

Cab Calloway arrived in New York City in 1929, performing at Harlem’s Savoy Ballroom, run by Chick Webb, legendary bandleader and drummer.  The next year Calloway and his band was hired to replace the touring Duke Ellington Orchestra at the famous hip jazz venue, the Cotton Club in Harlem.  NBC began recording twice-weekly shows from the Cotton Club, which raised Cab’s visibility in the public’s eye.  The bandleader became so popular that he was invited by Walter Winchell to be a guest artist on the “Lucky Strike” radio program, and he joined Bing Crosby in performance at the elegant Paramount Theater at 43^rd and Broadway.

Department 56, Christmas in the City
"Steppin' Out on the Town," 56.58885

Porgy and Bess, Sesame Street, and the Blues Brothers

In 1942 Cab returned to the Paramount Theater for a 2-week run, breaking all attendance records.  Throughout the rest of his life Cab performed, not only touring internationally, but appearing in a series of films and plays.  In 1950 Cab starred in the Broadway revival of Gershwin’s “Porgy and Bess,” playing “Sportin’ Life.” In 1965 he starred in the movie “The Cincinnati Kid” with Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson, and two years later joined an all-black cast in a revival of “Hello Dolly.”

In 1978, at the age of 71, Calloway was still vibrant and engaging, appearing in three episodes of Sesame Street, and then in the 1980 acclaimed film “The Blues Brothers” with Belushi and Aykroyd.  He died in 1994.  If you want to see what I am going to be like at age 81, check this out:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqxzT4vXc1k&feature=related

A Final Note
In my very first blog I mentioned that I wield the power to create, in my villages, my conception of a perfect society.  In my Dickens village there are no fires or people with criminal proclivities, so I have no need for firemen or policemen.  In "Christmas in the Village," I would wish to create a society without racism or sexism, where talent and hard work would give a person success.  In my village, men and women would work with dignity, in a job with dignity, with no need to resort to drugs or other vices to make their life palatable.  This is not always the world Cab Calloway inhabited.