Christmas Markets!

There are many festive Christmas markets scattered around Europe and they all have their own unique history. Visitors can visit the markets to shop, browse, drink wine, and to be immersed in a culture. The oldest market is said to be in Vienna and started around 1294 A.D., but was described as only a December market and not associated with the holidays. Another market, Dresden Strietzelmarket is the oldest Christmas market in Germany starting in 1434 A.D. France’s oldest Christmas market is Strasbourg beginning in 1570 A.D. and is also called the capital of Christmas (I do not think Santa would agree with that statement.)

Christmas markets are another great way to get people involved with a community, to see the history of a culture, to learn, and to have a good time. Christmas markets get the public involved firsthand in the spirit of Christmas and history. Not only are people drawn to the Christmas markets, but they are in the center of cities that have so much history to be experienced. Since Christmas is almost here I am sure there are people who would love to see the history of Christmas by going to the Christmas markets in Europe. Visitors can also see where the home of the first publically was displayed Christmas tree in Tallinn, Estonia. It would be interesting to visit many different markets and compare how the cultures are similar and how they are different. I would love to visit all of the markets to see the decorations, trees, culture, and spirit of Christmas!

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/best-christmas-markets-in-europe

....Another Mummy Post

On Monday December 8^th the Chicago Field Museum lifted the lid of an Egyptian mummy coffin that has been sealed for around 2,500 years. The remains are of a 14 year old boy who was the son of a priest and from a marking found on the linin wrapping his body he would have been a priest like his father when he became old enough. To properly lift the lid the Chicago Field Museum’s conservator and three scientists used special clamps to raise the lid. They had to be very careful because the lid is very fragile. They had to wear blue surgical gloves and walk the lid to a safe location. I am sure they thought out a game plan for how they wanted to go about moving the lid, which is an important step when working with and moving objects especially larger objects.

                

The reason for opening the coffin was not just for curiosity’s sake, but the boy mummy is to travel to the upcoming exhibit “Mummies Images of the Afterlife” at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County then to Denver. So the museum wanted to see if the mummy needed any repairs or special attention for his journey. X-ray scans showed that his feet were detached and partially unwrapped and his shroud and mask were twisted and torn. Working with mummies takes a lot of pre-planning and testing to prevent further damage and unexpected changes. J.P. Brown works in a lab at the museum located behind a large window so school children and visitors can watch him work. I think this is a great idea because it provides a behind the scenes glance at museum work and conservation. There has been a height in mummy exhibits this year and for the coming year, so this is very exciting news! It is also good to hear that the boy mummy is being properly cared for. 

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-scientists-open-egyptian-mummy-coffin-061832763.html

Mummies

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the Ancient Egyptians. I devoured books about them. I watched tv shows and movies (well, the ones my mom would let me watch, aka, the non-scary ones). I memorized practically entire dynasties (easy enough; they were all named Ptolemy!). I've never really grown out of that. Mummification is such a cool process: there are people still around (though obviously deceased) that were around hundreds and thousands of years ago. It is possible to be in the same room as someone who was around before Julius Caesar. Isn't that just the coolest thing ever??

When I was in Chicago a few weeks ago, I stopped by the field museum (it turned out to be a bad idea, but that's a story for another day.) I was rushed on time, so I didn't get to see everything that I wanted to. This meant that I didn't get to see their exhibit on Ancient Egypt, where they have their very own mummy! Can I just say, kicking myself? I would have never missed it if I knew. Well, it turns out that they've opened the mummy's coffin, revealing the boy inside of it.The reason that they are doing this? Their mummy is going to be part of a traveling exhibit. Mummies: Images of the afterlife. From what I can tell, unfortunately the exhibit will be in Los Angelos for the most part, so I won't get to see it. But maybe, if I find myself in LA for a bit in the next few years, I might be able to see a whole bunch of mummies, fulfilling a childhood dream.

The Expansion of the Concrete Jungle

When land developers purchase land to build on, do they think about what impact it would have not only humans, but on wildlife also. The impact is has on humans are environmental and overall annoyances.  What once was a fairly rural residential area can be turned into a new commercial area cramped with oversized box retailer, restaurants and traffic headaches.  In most situations the landscape will have to be changed, if the area has a lot of trees, these usually are removed. It addition, the developer must check to see if there would be any problems with harmful runoff during the winter seasons. 

Most damaging is when the developers purchase land where there is a historic house and instead of trying to save the dwelling, they demolish it. Wildlife lose their homes and food source with the expansion of the concrete jungle.  There are two solutions to this over development of land. The first is to push developers into redesigned existing, empty commercial areas.  The second is if the developer refuses the first, then have them donate funds to the local and historical societies. The societies have to fight and plead for funding to keep them open for the public.  In having developers donate funds, the societies can breathe a little and maybe have enough funds for special projects that honor the donations.

Outreach – Primary Sources

This Friday, December 12, I get the opportunity to assist in an outreach for 10^th grade students at a local high school. These students are learning about primary sources, where to find them and how to critically think using them.  We were given the topics to search for documents and to create assignments for the students. Some of the topics are Jim Crow, immigration, unions and urbanization. Out of these subjects I worked on immigration and urbanization. I decided to give use the Mercer County 1^st and 2^nd papers Naturalization.  In order to relate the people in the ledgers, I found two minors who applied for naturalization. The part of the assignment I am enthusiastic about is what type of backstory these students create for the immigrants.

Now for urbanization, the focus is on how I-675 has increased growth in the suburbs, especially around Wright State University. There are pictures of North Fairfield Road and Colonel Glenn Highway in the 1970s before the completion of the interstate and prior to the buildup of the shopping centers. Outreach is a part of my goals for the program.  Being able to be a part of this outreach has strengthened this goal for me and has shown me what is involved in an outreach program for high school.

Before it is Too Late

The Library of Congress is recording the stories of Veterans for their Veterans Voices Project. Their goal is to record as many veterans from World War II before they pass on. The reasoning behind getting these first is they are passing away at a faster rate than those of the other wars.  They are collecting the stories of the other veterans also. The end goal is to obtain as many first person experiences of war. 

Wright State University gave students the change to partake in this project by creating an oral history class in spring 2014. I was honored to be able to take the class and to work alongside classmates who are veterans themselves. This class inspired me to start recording the oral histories of my family members. Since the Library of Congress is focused on the veterans, I am getting a different view of war with interviewing my mother.  She is the military spouse of an airman who served in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  I am able to better understand of life with and without the husband present since he did three temporary duties overseas. I actually did two interviews with my mother. One focused on her life as a military wife and a comprehensive interview of her life. Pubic historians should be recording or writing down our own history along with obtaining those of family members to preserve our memories for the next generations.