Bring on Patriot's Day!

Some people know little or nothing about Patriot's Day, which is on the 19th of April. To New Englander's however, it is a big, big day. In the states in New England, it's a holiday with a day off of work where banks, schools, post offices, and businesses have the day off. Among the better-known commemorative events on Patriots Day is the Boston Marathon, which has been run now for over a century.

Ok, so Patriot's Day commemorates the Battle of Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775. This battle began the American Revolutionary War. It also honors the "Midnight Ride of Paul Revere", that evening when Paul Revere rode through town warning the colonists that "The Red Coats are coming!"

You can take a trip to Concord and, at dawn, stand by the crude bridge that still arches the flood, and watch the Concord Minutemen re-enact the skirmish that started the American Revolution. Alternatively, go to Boston the night before, on April 18th, and join the audience in the Old North Church as descendants of Paul Revere and Robert Newman reenact the procedure that set the business at Concord into motion.

If you are planning a celebration at home then perhaps you would like to serve food popular in Colonial New England, such as fish chowder, baked beans and delicious baked Indian pudding:

Baked Indian Pudding

• 2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup milk

Scald 1-3/4 cups milk, saving 1/4 cup to moisten cornmeal. Stir cornmeal and reserved 1/4 cup milk into scalded milk. Stir until thickened and cook 5 minutes. Add beaten egg, sugar, syrup, and spices mixed together. Cook a few minutes. Add 1 cup cold milk and beat well. Pour into well-greased 2-quart casserole dish, set in pan of hot water, and bake slowly (275 to 300 degrees F), stirring several times, for 2 hours.

And no party is complete without decorations, so thanks to Martha, here a couple of excellent ideas for your decorations including my childhood favourite, pinwheels, and cute little lanterns!

Martha uses clothespins to attach these to items on your table, but of course you can use popsicle sticks!

• Cut two 5-inch squares in different colors from patterned paper
• Glue back-to-back; let dry
  
• Draw diagonal lines from corner to corner
  
• Make a 3-inch cut along each line
  
• Fold every other point toward center; glue
  
• Affix to clothespin with map tack

Lanterns

• Cut construction paper to 6 by 9 inches; fold in half lengthwise
• Fold edges back 1/2 inch for rims, and crease; unfold
• Glue a 1/2-by-9-inch strip of decorative paper on each rim
• Cut slits from middle fold to rims, spacing 3/4 inch apart
• Shape into lantern: Open paper; bring the ends together to overlap slightly; staple
• Staple 3/4-by-8-inch paper handle inside lantern.

Happy Patriot's Day!!