Tag western europe

NATIONAL SHRIMP DAY

Jensperspectiveblog 6 Comments

Each year on May 10th, National Shrimp Day recognizes America’s favorite seafood. Americans eat more shrimp than any other seafood, and this is the day to celebrate this delicious seafood.

We use the word “prawn” loosely to describe any large shrimp, sometimes known as “jumbo shrimp.”  Some countries use the word “prawn” exclusively for all shrimp.

Preparing the shrimp for consumption usually involves removing the head, shell, tail, and “sand vein.” There are many ways to cook shrimp. Standard methods of preparation include baking, boiling, broiling, sauteing, frying, and grilling. Cooking time is delicate for shrimp, and they are at their best when not overcooked.

365 Ultimate Shrimp Recipes: Not Just a Shrimp Cookbook!#NationalShrimpDay
365 Ultimate Shrimp Recipes: Not Just a Shrimp Cookbook!
Shrimp 365: Enjoy 365 Days With Amazing Shrimp Recipes In Your Own Shrimp Cookbook! (Shrimp Food Dish, Bbq Shrimp Recipe, Pumpkin Shrimp Food, Shrimp Recipe Book, Vegan Shrimp Food) [Book 1]#NationalShrimpDay
Shrimp 365: Enjoy 365 Days With Amazing Shrimp Recipes In Your Own Shrimp Cookbook! (Shrimp Food Dish, Bbq Shrimp Recipe, Pumpkin Shrimp Food, Shrimp Recipe Book, Vegan Shrimp Food) [Book 1]
The Tried & True Cookbook#NationalShrimpDay
The Tried & True Cookbook
Simply Shrimp: With 80 Globally Inspired Recipes#NationalShrimpDay
Simply Shrimp: With 80 Globally Inspired Recipes

A healthy food, shrimp, is low in calories and high in omega-3, calcium, iodine, and protein levels.  Shrimp is also known to be considered good for the circulatory system.

 Popular North America Shrimp Dishes:
  • Seafood Gumbo:  A stew or soup that probably originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century.  Seafood gumbo typically consists of a strongly-flavored stock, shrimp and crab meat (sometimes oysters), a thickener, and seasoning vegetables. Cooks categorize Gumbo by the type of thickener used: okra, the Choctaw spice, file powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves), or roux, the French base made of flour and fat.
  • Shrimp Cocktail: The Golden Gate served shrimp cocktails before any other restaurant. Their menu listed shrimp cocktails for .50 cents in 1959. It is now a Las Vegas cliché. Called the “Original Shrimp Cocktail” on the menu, it is a favorite among tourists and the locals. The original Shrimp Cocktail consists of a regular-sized sundae glass filled with small salad shrimp and topped with a dollop of cocktail sauce.
  • Shrimp DeJonghe: A specialty of Chicago, it is a casserole of the whole, peeled shrimp blanketed in soft, garlic, sherry-laced bread crumbs. Restaurants often serve it as an appetizer or a main course. It originated in the late 19th or early 20th century at the DeJonghe’s Hotel and Restaurant.
  • Shrimp Scampi: This dish has its own day on April 29, and it is cooked in butter, garlic, lemon juice, and white wine.

Shrimp and other shellfish are among the most common food allergens.

Explore More Seafood…

HOW TO OBSERVE #NationalShrimpDay

Celebrate this fantastic food day by making your favorite shrimp dish. Need some ideas?  As Bubba Blue from the movie Forest Gump would say, “Shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi, fried shrimp, broiled shrimp, spicy shrimp…”  Be sure to share your favorite shrimp dish using #NationalShrimpDay.

New York Steak & Seafood Gourmet Dinner for 2 - Jumbo Shrimp Appetizer for 2, Surf N' Turf Main Course of 2 6oz Fillet Mignons and 2 4oz Lobster Tails, 4 Potato Pancakes, 2 New York Mini Cheesecakes#NationalShrimpDay
New York Steak & Seafood Gourmet Dinner for 2 – Jumbo Shrimp Appetizer for 2, Surf N’ Turf Main Course of 2 6oz Fillet Mignons and 2 4oz Lobster Tails, 4 Potato Pancakes, 2 New York Mini Cheesecakes
Cameron's Seafood Fresh Jumbo Cocktail Shrimp - 2 pounds#NationalShrimpDay
Cameron’s Seafood Fresh Jumbo Cocktail Shrimp – 2 pounds
Bumble Bee Tiny Canned Shrimp, 6 oz Can - Wild Caught Shrimp - 22g Protein per Serving - Gluten Free - Great for Appetizers, Shrimp Salad & Other Seafood Recipes#NationalShrimpDay
Bumble Bee Tiny Canned Shrimp, 6 oz Can – Wild Caught Shrimp – 22g Protein per Serving – Gluten Free – Great for Appetizers, Shrimp Salad & Other Seafood Recipes
Omaha Steaks Exquisite Seafood Sampler (Wild Alaskan Skin-On Sockeye Salmon, Mahi Mahi Fillets, Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp, Split Lobster Tail Skewers, and Signature Seafood Seasoning)#NationalShrimpDay
Omaha Steaks Exquisite Seafood Sampler (Wild Alaskan Skin-On Sockeye Salmon, Mahi Mahi Fillets, Wild Argentinian Red Shrimp, Split Lobster Tail Skewers, and Signature Seafood Seasoning)

YULE – Day of Winter Solstice

Jensperspectiveblog 2 Comments

On the arrival of the Winter Solstice, we observe Yule.  December 21, 2025.

Also known as Jul, Yule predates the Christmas holiday by thousands of years. Linguists debate the origin of the word of the word Yule. Some suggest the word is derived from “Iul,” the Anglo-Saxon word for wheel. This makes a connection to a Celtic calendar, the Wheel of the Year. However, in the Norse culture, “Jul” refers to the god, Odin. Odin was celebrated during Yule as well.

Yule celebrations included bonfires, decorating with holly, mistletoe and the boughs of evergreen trees, ritual sacrifices, feasts, and gift-giving.

Many Christmas Traditions Borrowed From Yule

Many of the traditions we use at Christmastime were borrowed from Yule traditions of old. Whether they are from myths, feasts, folklore, ancient beliefs, oral stories told, or festivals, we have woven them into the fabric of our modern-day customs. Do you recognize any Christmas traditions borrowed from Yule?

  • The midwinter feast usually lasted 12 days.
  • Vikings decorated evergreen trees with gifts such as food, carvings, and food for the tree spirits to encourage them to return in the spring.
  • Mistletoe combined with a mother’s tears resurrected her son, the God of Light and Goodness, in a Viking myth. The Celts believe Mistletoe possessed healing powers as well and would ward off evil spirits.
  • In Norse tradition, Old Man Winter visited homes to join the festivities. The Viking god, Odin was described as a wanderer with a long white beard and is considered the first Father Christmas.
  • Viking children left their shoes out by the hearth on the eve of the winter solstice with sugar and hay for Odin’s eight-legged horse, Sleipnir.
  • Children traipsed from house to house with gifts of apples and oranges spiked with cloves and resting in baskets lined with evergreen boughs.
  • The Yule log was a whole tree meant to be burned for 12 days in the hearth. The Celts believed the sun stood still during the winter solstice. They thought by keeping the Yule log burning for these 12 days encouraged the sun to move, making the days longer. The largest end would be fed into the hearth, wine poured over it. They lit it with the remains of the previous year’s Yule log. Everyone took turns feeding the length of timber into the fire as it burned. Letting it burn out would bring bad luck.

YULE HISTORY

While we observe the winter solstice around the world, Germanic cultures of northern and western Europe primarily celebrated Yule. At the midpoint of winter, they celebrated the rebirth of the sun and the light it would bring to the Earth.

Explore More…

  • Yule
  • Christmas
  • Kwanzaa
  • Winter Solstice
  • Festivus
  • Hanukkah

HOW TO OBSERVE #Yule

Share your observations, stories, and traditions related to the holiday. Examine your holiday traditions and compare them to those of yuletide. Where do they cross and blend? Explore the history and lore of Yule. Read Yule: A Celebration of Light and Warmth by Dorothy Morrison for more insight. 

Share other traditions we missed and use #Yule to post on social media.