It was not the French who first thought of what we call French toast.  The Romans did as early as the 4th century.  The term “French horn” was coined around the early 18th century when French horn-makers were quite prominent; however, what is known as the French horn is actually German in origin.  Technically, the horn has French roots as it was the French who were credited for creating the circular horn shape.  But later on, the French-made designs were already replaced by that of the German horns.  To avoid confusion, the International Horn Society has recommended since the 1970s that the term French be dropped, and the instrument to simply be called the “horn”.  The phrase “French braid” first appeared in a short fiction story published in an 1871 issue of a magazine.  It was described as a new hairstyle, when in fact, this type of braided hairstyle has been around for ages.  Early art by the ancient Greek, Sung Dynasty as well as Celtic tribes has depicted this hairstyle, as did some rock art in Algeria that dates back to 6000 years ago.  While people have been saying that French fries are actually Belgian, new research on the history of French fries have shown that they are, in fact, French.   https://www.talkinfrench.com/french-or-not/ 

Toledo-Lucas County Public Library Noon Years Eve Parties

Monday, December 31  11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.  Oregon Public Library  3340 Dustin Road  Oregon, Ohio  Meeting Room A  Join us as we ring in the New Year!  We will have games and plenty of fun, complete with a count down to noon.  http://events.toledolibrary.org/event/855434
Monday, December 31  11:15a.m. - 12:15 p.m.  Point Place Public Library  2727 117th St. Toledo, Ohio  1 Large Meeting Room  Celebrate the new year a little early with crafts and a toast at the stroke of noon.  http://events.toledolibrary.org/event/799914

Celebrate the winter holidays with these five French Christmas cookies including sables, madeleines, palmiers, and the quintessentially French macaron.  The recipes include all the traditional aromas and flavors of the holiday season, so you can mix and match for a delectable cookie platter.  All of these (apart from the macarons) are relatively easy to make.  Macarons are not so hard, they just take a little time.  Rebecca Franklin  Find recipes and pictures at https://www.thespruceeats.com/french-christmas-cookie-recipes-1374969

The Black Eyed Peas is an American musical group, consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap and Taboo.  Originally an alternative hip hop group, they subsequently changed their musical sound to pop and dance-pop music.  Although the group was founded in Los Angeles in 1995, it was not until the release of their third album, Elephunk, in 2003, that they achieved high record sales.  Since that time, the group has sold an estimated 76 million records (35 million albums and 41 million singles), making them one of the world's best-selling groups of all time.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Eyed_Peas 

The black-eyed pea, black-eyed bean or goat pea, a legume, is a subspecies of the cowpea, grown around the world for its medium-sized, edible bean.  In the Southern United States, eating black-eyed peas or Hoppin' John ( made of black-eyed peas, rice, and pork, on New Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity in the new year.  The peas are typically cooked with a pork product for flavoring (such as bacon, fatback, ham bones, or hog jowls) and diced onion, and served with a hot chili sauce or a pepper-flavored vinegar.  The traditional meal also includes collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham.  The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea

Food Suggestions for a Lucky New Year  In most Spanish speaking countries it is common to eat twelve grapes at midnight New Year’s Eve.  There is one grape for each of the twelve months.  You may make one wish for each grape you eat.  Your goal is to finish all twelve grapes during the first minute of the New Year.  As far back as in Ancient Rome it was customary to give and eat sweets for a happy and sweet year to come.  In ancient Rome the sweets consisted of dates and figs soaked in honey.   Be sure to eat at least one teaspoon full of lentils on New Year’s Eve.  According to superstition this will help ensure an increase of wealth the coming year.  In many parts of Asia and especially in Japan it is thought that eating long noodles is lucky.  Long noodles represent a long life.  Rice has a long history being associated with wealth.  Rice dishes are wonderful for the New Year. 

Read more at https://goodlucksymbols.com/new-year-luck/  See also https://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/ingredients/slideshow/foods-to-bring-good-luck-new-year  Ring-shaped foods represent the year coming full circle.     

Three lucky foods in one dish:  beans, beets sliced in circles, bacon

Ales and tales:  Books on Tap at Toledo brewery  Fifteen or so people walk into a bar.  One asks the other, did you believe the murderous protagonist's guilt?  There's no joke here.  Inside Earnest Brew Works, the Toledo Lucas County Public Library hosts its monthly Books on Tap discussion.  Book club members share insights over ales and tales. This idea, modeled off national trends, places the library further into the community.  It also offers a new take for interested but often busy adults, said program coordinator Franco Vitella, a librarian at Maumee branch.  Attendees spend about a half hour discussing the plot and their reactions before diverging into topics beyond the book.  Ryan Dunn  https://www.toledoblade.com/local/community-events/2018/12/23/toledo-library-book-club-earnest-brew-works/stories/20181223036

Frans Hals Portraits: A Family Reunion at The Toledo Museum of Art through January 6, 2019  This exhibition is the first devoted to the family portraiture of Frans Hals (1582/83–1666), one of the foremost painters of the Dutch Golden Age.  Organized by TMA and the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels, the exhibition was prompted by the Museum’s acquisition in 2011 of Frans Hals’s Van Campen Family Portrait in a Landscape, as well as the recent conservation of Brussels’ Three Children of the Van Campen Family.  These two works originally formed one composition, separated for unknown reasons likely in the late 18th century or early 19th century.  The exhibition reunites the sections of the Toledo/Brussels painting along with a third fragment from a private collection, which will be shown with the three other family portraits painted by the artist.  Admission is free for members and $10 for nonmembers.  https://www.toledomuseum.org/art/exhibitions/frans-hals-portraits-family-reunion  Thank you, Muse reader!

http://librariansmuse.blogspot.com  December 24, 2018  Issue 2009   358th day of the year