The Star Spangled Banner, The Diamond Four (ca. 1898)
Berliner 4258, 7-inch 70 rpm record found here. Under the Berliner Gramophone trademark, German inventor and audio recording pioneer Emile Berliner began marketing 7-inch diameter disc records in the United States in 1894. The Diamond Four recorded several other songs for Berliner.
Stars And Stripes Forever, Kendle’s First Regiment Band (1901)Possibly the first recording of John Philip Sousa‘s “The Stars And Stripes Forever March.” Sousa wrote in his autobiography that he composed the march on Christmas Day, 1896, while crossing the Atlantic, after he learned of the death of his band’s manager. In 1987 an Act of Congress declared the song to be the Official National March of the United States of America.
Also known as (I’m A) Yankee Doodle Dandy, the melody goes back to folk songs of Medieval Europe. The earliest words of Yankee Doodle came from a Middle Dutch harvest song of the same tune, possibly dating back as early as 15th-century Holland. It contained mostly nonsensical words in English and Dutch.
In 1978 Yankee Doodle was adopted as the Official Song of the State of Connecticut.
1. Decorate in green, gold and purple.
Dare to be ugly.
2. Have a seafood boil.
Eew.
3. Eat a king cake.
Okay.
4. Mix a Mardi Gras martini.
Okay with that also. Oop, made a mistake. Let’s try another one.
Whoopsie. Did it again. Let’s make three and see which one is best. Then we’ll make that one.
Uh-oh…
8. See some house floats.
Mardi Gras without the flashers, but a good excuse to keep your Christmas lights up.
9. Dress up your dog.
No. It embarrasses you and annoys the dog.
10. Take a virtual tour of Mardi Gras World.
It’s kinda cool in a 2nd grade field trip kinda way, but it’s virtual so it’s more like shopping for mattress covers online.
With a gentle “Ga Ga Ga”, they make their way from house to house, checking that homes have had the appropriate upkeep, whether the floor has been properly swept and every corner has been dusted. Heaven forbid you don’t clean your house correctly – the ancient version of the legend says that, if that’s the case, the Schnabelperchten will slice open your stomach with a long pair of shears and empty all of the rubbish inside!
Let it be said, however, that the Schnabelperchten are generally welcome guests – especially since they bring happiness and blessings for the coming year.
Schnabelperchten (more than one beaked Perchta) roam around the Alpine region of Austria in midwinter, appearing on or before the eve of the Twelfth Night, the last of the “Twelve Days” of Christmas, the “Haunted Season.”
