I always thought that “Yanks” and “doughboys” were the nicknames for American soldiers in World War I. Who knew that there was a brief craze for “Sammies” as in “Uncle Sam’s boys”?
Apparently, they liked to smoke.
Two observations about this one: (1) those are awfully effeminate-looking warriors (not that there’s anything wrong with that) and (2) they were incorrectly using apostrophes to pluralize even back then.
Here an Uncle Sam in shirt-sleeves uses a left jab to give it to the Kaiser. How merry it must have been to sing this around the parlor piano.
Here a French and American officer look approvingly on a group of American enlisted men who appear to be practising the French national anthem, so as to pass it on to “the Hun”. The Germans had a number of nicknames in World War I: “Fritz”, “the Boche”, “the Heinies”, but the most offensive was “Hun”. Kaiser Wilhelm had urged his troops being sent to China to quell the Boxer Rebellion to behave like Huns, and the name stuck.
We all rightly the lament the murder of Tsar Nicholas II and his family by his Bolshevik captors in 1918 but we forget that his overthrow in February 1917 was widely hailed in the West. Here is some sheet music that celebrated the toppling of the Romanov dynasty.
Everybody Took a Kick at Nicholas
Mister Romanoff who was the Russian ruler,/Now is roamin’ off to where the weather’s cooler;
Just twinkle little Czar,/We’re glad you’re where you are.
Every gate is locked up with a big Kerens key,
He’s all alone,/Nick and his Queen, his old Czardine
Were thrown off the throne.
Everybody took a kick at Nicholas/He was kicked in the nick of time.
They took his motor car,/Drove him far,
Let him in the woods and said,/“Now there you’se are.”
Left-o-witch or Right-o-witch took all his coins away,
I really don’t know which is which but that is what they say;
That “every body took a kick at Nicholas/And Nicholas is nickeless now.”
Nick once sat upon a throne and gave out orders/Now he’s got a 12-room flat and takes in boarders;
And that Rasputin gent,/Owes Nick a whole month’s rent.
Mister Nick is married to the Kaiser’s sisters/She cooks his meals
Where sauerkraut, pushed in his mouth/Just think how poor Nick feels.
Now the Czarine says, “there’s no disputin’ why I cry,
It’s all because I miss the way Rasputin winked his eye.”
So “everybody took a kick at Nicholas/And Nicholas is nickeless now.”
A portrayal of St Andrew from a 5th century Roman fresco
November 30 is the feast day of Saint Andrew, brother of Saint Peter and one of the original twelve disciples of Jesus. As described in John 1: 40 Andrew was the first to follow the Messiah and the first to bring others to him, so the Church has placed his day at the beginning of the church calendar: Advent Sunday is the Sunday nearest to St Andrew’s Day. In parts of Germany it was once the custom for children to put out their stockings on St Andrew’s Eve and to find them the next morning filled with nuts and apples.
In much of Europe it was a day for prognostications, especially for girls seeking husbands. In Romania, vampires rise from the grave. In Germany, if a woman throws a shoe over her shoulder toward the door at midnight, and the shoe lands pointing to the door, the woman will receive a marriage proposal within the year.
Because Andrew was crucified on an X-shaped cross, the St Andrew’s cross often appears on flags, such as that of Scotland or the Russian navy.
Free trade (or Reciprocity) between Canada and America has always been a hotly-debated issue. Here is an 1876 cartoon in which a Canadian trade representative, Joseph Xavier-Perrault, secretary of the Canadian commission at the Philadelphia Centennial International Exhibition in 1876, brings goods to the US and Uncle Sam vows to retaliate. The captions reads: “Uncle Sam: “Wah! Yeuo aire a bringin deown a might sight o’things, ain’ t yer?” — Secretary Perreault: “Yes, Sir! We are going to show you what we can do up our way in various lines of growth, manufacture, and art. We will astonish you!” — Uncle Sam: “All right young man. (Aside) Just what I want. Then I’ll know better what to fetch up and undersell them across the line 45.”
The stuff you find lying around while you are poking your nose into things historical. Here is an 1892 love poem to Canada from America — hoping his affection will lead to annexation. John Bull in the last verse is the personification of Britain, much as Uncle Sam is of the USA or Johnny Canuck is of our own dear land.
LOVE-SONG
Charles Henry Phelps
Century Magazine
“O Canada, sweet Canada,
Thou maiden of the frost,
From Flattery Cape to Sable Cape
With love for thee we’re crossed.
We could not love thee less nor more,
We love thee clear to Labrador;
Why should we longer thus be vexed?
Consent, coy one, to be annexed.
Canada, sweet Canada,
Our heart is always true;
You know we never really cared
For any one but you.
Your veins are of the purest gold
(We’ve mined them some, the truth be told.)
True wheat are you, spite chaff and scorn,
And O, your dainty ears (of corn).
O Canada, sweet Canada,
John Bull is much too old
For such a winsome lass as you, —
Leave him to fuss and scold;
Tell him a sister you will be,
He loves you not so much as we;
Fair maiden, stand not thus perplexed,
Come, sweetheart, come and be annexed.”
Last year I posted the following notice with the caveat that I had found little to back it up, but another source has confirmed its truth (thank you). So here you go:
Altoona, Pennsylvania, and a growing number of communities in the Boston area celebrate Buzzlewitz Day on November 11. According to the Lowther tradition, Buzzlewitz is the elf that is sent by Santa to collect children’s Christmas lists. On 11 November of each year at 11 pm, children leave their Christmas lists and a snickerdoodle cookie on the mantle or in the kitchen. Buzzlewitz comes in the night to collect the lists. In return, he leaves a mint and an acorn.