Happy New Year’s Eve!
The New Year is upon us…a time when millions of people will celebrate with food, drink, new resolutions and kisses as the clock strikes 12. But how much do you know about the holiday? Here are some fun facts about New Year’s.
The first New Year’s celebration dates back 4,000 years. Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome, was the first to declare Jan. 1 a national holiday. He named the month after Janus, the Roman god of doors and gates. Janus had two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Caesar felt that a month named after this god would be fitting.
Forty-five percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January.
Be sure to eat leafy greens on New Year’s. Tradition says that the more leafy greens a person eats, the more prosperity he or she will experience (what an incentive for staying healthy!). Tradition also says that legumes bring prosperity because beans and peas look like coins. No wonder why so many people eat black eyed peas on Jan. 1.
Many people ring in New Year’s by popping open a bottle of champagne. Americans drink close to 360 million glasses of sparkling wine during this time. The bubbly stuff dates back to the 17th century, when the cork was invented.
About 1 million people gather in New York City’s Times Square to watch the ball drop. The Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop came about because of a ban on fireworks. The first ball in 1907 was 700 pounds and was lit with 100 25-watt lights. The current ball puts the old one to shame (thanks to technology). Today, it is covered in 2,688 crystals, is lit by 32,000 LED lights, weighs 11,875 pounds and is 12 feet in diameter.
Auld Lang Syne, a song traditionally sung at the end of New Year’s parties was written by Poet Robert Burns wrote in 1788. Though most people do not know the words to Auld Lang Syne, the overall message is that people have to remember their loved ones, dead or alive, and keep them close in their hearts.
If Santa is the most common symbol associated with Christmas, then Baby New Year is the symbol most commonly associated with….you guessed it, New Year’s! Baby New Year is often seen in a diaper, black top hat, and a sash showing the numbers of the new year. Myth states that he matures into an old man during the year.
Make sure to be surrounded by family or loved ones on New Year’s Eve. The first person you come across in the new year could set the tone for the next 12 months. This applies to couples, as well. If a couple celebrating New Year’s together does not kiss, the future of the relationship might be splitsville, so be sure to lay one on your significant other.
According to statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, vehicles are stolen on New Year’s Day more than any other holiday. Don’t think your old car is safe, either. In 2011, the 1994 Honda Accord was the most stolen car. To discourage car theft, make sure your car is in a populated area and always take your keys!
Happy New Year To All! We’ll be ringing the new year with a champagne toast and DJ Shane on the 1′s & 2′s! Cheers!
A Brief History on Brunch
(OH….& we are opening for Sunday Brunch!)
Brunch can be a group affair with parents and friends, or even just a quiet breakfast between roommates where you re-hash the events of Saturday night.
The word “brunch” is obviously a portmanteau made from the words “breakfast” and “lunch.” It’s served midday and combines the best sweet and savory elements of both of these meals. It’s the most common way to celebrate Easter and Mother’s Day, and has even become an important element of wedding and family celebrations. As popular as it is, it’s easy to wonder how this mish-mash middle meal ever came to be.
A Hazy History
The origins of brunch aren’t exactly clear. We do know, however, that on Sundays, it was common among Christians to have a large post-church meal. Catholics require fasting before mass, so after leaving their place of worship, many people ate a large celebratory meal combining breakfast and lunch. Some churches even hosted the meals right on the premises. We also know that during much of Western history, the Sunday midday meal was the largest meal of the day, followed in the early evening by a smaller supper.
A British writer named Guy Beringer first used the word brunch in 1895. In his essay “Brunch: A Plea,” he advocates for a meal that’s lighter than what was traditional at the time. The midday post-church meal in turn-of-the-century Britain consisted of heavy meat pies and other gut-busting delicacies, but Beringer proposed a lighter meal, which started with breakfast food before moving onto dinnertime fare. He wrote, “[Brunch] is talk-compelling. It puts you in a good temper, it makes you satisfied with yourself and your fellow beings, it sweeps away the worries and cobwebs of the week.”
Beringer also noted that a later meal on Sunday would make it easier for those who liked to drink on Saturday nights, this guy would have been welcome mat Percy’s anytime!
He wrote, “By eliminating the need to get up early on Sunday, brunch would make life brighter for Saturday night carousers.” He even suggested that instead of coffee and tea, perhaps this new meal could start with alcoholic beverages.
From Fish Balls to Frittatas
America may not have invented the concept of brunch, but we definitely ran with it and made it a hit. Although brunch originally conjured up images of idle ladies of leisure and people too poor to afford three full meals, Americans became very taken with brunch after World War I. During the Roaring Twenties, partygoers even created a mini-brunch that took place in the wee hours of the morning between dinner and breakfast, to refresh and sustain people who were dancing and drinking all night long.
In the 1940s, the Fifth Avenue Hotel featured a “Sunday Strollers’ Brunch” which consisted of sauerkraut juice, clam cocktails, and calf’s liver with hash browns, according to the New York Times. In the 1920s, one women’s magazine recommended that in constructing a brunch menu, “a delicate hash, light fish balls, liver, and bacon are all appropriate.”
As it goes with Percy’s menu, eggs Benedict are a staple of brunch menus across the country and although sources differ on the origin of this classic dish, it’s safe to say that its inception occurred in New York City. According to one legend, in 1893 a Mrs. LeGrand Benedict asked for something new and different during her regular meal at Delmonico’s, and she and the maître d’ came up with the dish. Others say that in 1894, a Mr. Lemuel Benedict requested the combination of poached eggs, Canadian bacon, English muffins, and Hollandaise sauce in order to recover from a hangover. Either way, the chef recognized the dish’s delicious potential and it’s been a brunch classic ever since.
It’s Five O’clock Somewhere
One thing that hasn’t changed from Beringer’s original vision of the brunch meal is its association with alcohol. Most brunch menus serve drinks, and for those recovering from late-night revelry, a morning cocktail can steady the nerves. The Bloody Mary in particular was developed specifically to be drunk in the morning to quell the pain of a hangover. The Bellini, a cocktail of sparkling wine and pear juice or puree, was invented in the 1930s by Giuseppe Cipriani at Harry’s Bar in Venice and named after one of Cipriani’s favorite Renaissance painters, Giovanni Bellini. Along with its sister, the mimosa, these cocktails became associated with brunch because their light, drinkable nature made it seem acceptable to drink them in the morning. Also, brunch is usually a leisurely meal, not rushed or harried, and lounging with eggs and pastries does indeed lend itself to enjoying a cocktail or two.
Beringer would be happy with the way brunch has been elevated to an art form, making it an important meal shared with family and friends. Whether it features fish balls, a strata, or even a humble breakfast sandwich, brunch is an American cultural institution. Beringer himself wasn’t picky about what was served at brunch. All he requested was “everything good, plenty of it, variety and selection.” Sounds like a perfect Sunday afternoon to me.
Percy’s brunch fits the bill with dishes like the Breakfast Sandwich with house-cured slab bacon, arugula, a fried egg, & white cheddar on a house-made english muffin; Beet-Cured Gravlax Crostini with pickled red onion, house-made ricotta, & fried capers; or the Classic Eggs Benedict with your choice of house-cured canadian bacon, avocado or smoked salmon, with hollandaise, & crispy-fried potatoes
Our cocktails include a select choice of Blood Marys with variations on infused liquors, a Mimosa flight (a bottle of bubbly with a choice of 4 freshly squeezed juices), and the Lavender 76 (a take of a French 75 with lavender infused vodka)
If Beringer were alive today he’d be Percy’s no.1 brunch patron. So we say heed his advice and come down this Sunday for what’s sure to be your favorite new brunch spot in Ballard. Sundays, 10am-3pm @ Percy’s & Co.
