Happy New Year, friends!

   It has been frosty and cold here in Oklahoma, and from what the weather man says, its only going to get colder. In other words, the perfect weather to settle in with a good book and some hot tea!

   We ended our holiday season with a 12th Night/Epiphany tea and dinner with friends last week, and since the kids and I are studying colonial history at the moment, we went with a Colonial America theme for our gathering. I stopped in at a local craft store and bought a small trunk to store our tea bags in and shined up my grandparent’s old silver tea set. A friend allowed us to come pick some Magnolia leaves off of their beautiful old Magnolia tree– add some fruit and– voila! A tea party fit for Colonial Williamsburg Ladies and Gents!

 For dinner we had ham, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans and homemade bread. For dessert we had 12th Night Cake (it was good but a bit dry- needed a sauce but was very good dipped in hot tea!) as well as Whipped Syllabub as found in “Felicity’s Cook Book.” I had a great time looking through my colonial cookbooks and books about Christmas in Colonial Williamsburg (turns out, I have a LOT!) and greatly enjoyed some Virginia historical site inspired tea sent to me by a Virginia friend! The Yorktown Yuletide was especially good with the 12th Night Cake.

 An Epiphany tea party lends itself beautifully to a Colonial Virginia theme because it was such a fabulous time for celebrating there. Virginia was largely celebrated by Anglicans who still kept the liturgical calendar, therefore keeping up the celebration of the 12 Days of Christmas. 12th Night was a time for games, dancing and general merriment, with religious observance kept more on December 25.

  Celebrated Virginians Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both married to their wives during this season, as it was a fantastic time for weddings with everyone’s family and friends gathered together. Thomas Jefferson married Martha Wayles Skelton New Year’s Day 1772 and George Washington married Martha Dandridge Custis on Epiphany (January 6) 1759.

  If you’re a tea and history lover, an Epiphany or 12 Days of Christmas party is a lot of fun. I used tea things I had on hand and elements from nature to decorate- just as our colonial ancestors would have done! I had to keep the kids from cutting into the pineapple until after it had done it’s job as ‘ambiance’, but there is something very satisfying in using edible decor! It was beautiful and delicious.

 In these next few years, we will be marking many of our nation’s founding events on their 250th anniversary. December 16th marked the 250th anniversary of the Boston Tea Party, and 2025 and 2026 will see the anniversaries of such events as the Battle of Concord & Lexington and the writing of the Declaration of Independence. It’s inspired me to paint scenes from this era, and I can’t wait to share more with you.

Until then- Take Joy!

H