Step inside, and follow that garden of rose petals leading from the front door to the bedroom. See the candles surrounding the comforter stretched across the floor, that special someone waiting for you in the center wearing next to nothing and holding a rose stem in his teeth. Now close your eyes. Listen to the soft mellow hum of Kenny G. from the iPod dock. Feel the first traces of cloth start to leave your body as you writhe against your lover’s touch. And try not to envision this:

That’s a little something we like to call the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. It’s the real thing, too, kiddies, the aftermath of when Al Capone sent some gunmen to rub out a few rival gang members. It’s also a pretty good representation of how our wallets feel on Feb. 15. So with that said, here are a few things you may not know about this most pesky of holidays.

1. Men Spend Double

Ladies, are you curious as to why men often grumble under their breaths about what a stupid holiday this is? Well, let’s look for a minute at the amount of money that men spend compared to you. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that guys spend around $158 each year on the holiday, while ladies skimp by at $85. Considering the fact that you ladies have been narrowing the gap in the earnings race over the last 10 years, according to the U.S. Labor Department, it may be time for you to step things up a bit. Women currently earn 79% of what a man earns on average. When it comes to V-Day spending, however, they dole out only 45% of what their counterparts do. Cheapskates!

2. Men Don’t Want Anything

Okay, guys, so you’ve got your complaint in about the gifts that your women get you, but before you go off feeling sorry for yourself, consider this. More than one-third of you claim that you don’t even WANT a present on Valentines Day. Come on, guys, you can’t have your red velvet cake and eat it, too. What’s it going to be, more awesome presents or a mutual agreement to act like the holiday doesn’t exist? If it’s the latter, you’re out of luck. Only about 20% of females would be all right with ditching V-Day altogether. That means 80% are in relationships where they expect something. And, guys, if yours is one of the 20%, you hold on to her like grim death.

3. Probably Because All They Get Are Cards

Sales data for Valentine’s cards shows approximately 1 billion are exchanged each year. Of the 1 billion sold, 85% (or 850 million) are bought by women. Considering the little factoid above—that men spend way more than ladies on V-Day—it is apparent the guys are racking their brains trying to find the most perfect of gifts for their sweethearts, and they simply don’t have the time for some cheap-ass sentiment. Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, the statistics show that half of those cards you’re buying up will be purchased in the last six days leading up to the holiday. Some thought!

4. But At Least You Are Supporting the U.S. Economy—WRONG!

So maybe you are doing the local floral shops a service by paying about $40 more than the roses are actually worth, but when it comes to the actual production of the roses, you U.S. citizens aren’t doing local produce any favors. See, California makes more than 60% of the nation’s supply of roses, but most are bought and imported from South American sources. Of course, we have a tradition of scalping one another in this country on price. Most florists on average charge you 30 percent higher for the same rose selection during V-Day than they would any other time of year.

5. Roses Are Only the Fourth Most Popular Valentines Gift

In a span of three days, around 110 million roses will be delivered each year. Even though this is a pretty impressive number, sending flowers is only the fourth most popular Valentines gift there is, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, with only 32% of people who celebrate the holiday buying in.

(Thanks to the Bureau for taking time out of their busy schedules to track down this incredibly valuable information.)

Greeting cards (65%), date night (44%), and candies (38%), post better numbers, though most of us have to do all three. And by “most of us,” we mean guys. Approximately 73% of all the roses purchased are sold to men. No wonder most Americans will spend an average of $119.67 on the event this year.

6. Tell Us about Your Valentine’s Day Again, Grandpa!

Well, sonny, in ancient Rome during the Lupercalia fertility festival, we men would get to draw the name of a young woman to have sexual relations with for the entire year. In the Middle Ages, we sort of did the same thing. You never knew if you were going to lie down with a princess-in-training or that cute little peasant girl with the pus-y boils all over her face. It was a gamble, but we took what we were given, and we liked it. You chose the name of that Valentine written on parchment and you wore it on your arm with pride for the whole week. There wasn’t any of this love and free choice business. You played the hand you were dealt, and if she happened to have the plague, so be it.

7. Valentine’s Day Is NOT a Day for Lovers—At Least, We Hope Not

While cozying up by the fire with your special person seems like the sort of thing this holiday was made for, try not to get carried away with the idea that Feb. 14 is some kind of special symbol for all things amorous. In fact, if you look at who receives the most Valentine’s each year, the thought of V-Day and sex is a little disturbing. See, teachers and children are the major recipients. They are followed by mothers, then wives, then sweethearts, and finally pets. Of those categories, there are three that you should never even consider having sex with unless you are married to the teacher, want to end up on a sex offender registry, or have no qualms about not being allowed near an animal shelter or pet store for the rest of your life. Also, one in five Valentines given are from children to parents, and each year, 9 million of you will buy Valentines for your pets. Just let it stop with the card and maybe a treat, okay?

8. Valentine’s Day Historical Round-Up

There have been some pretty cool things happen on Valentine’s Day, aside from the Massacre referenced above. For starters, the oldest surviving Valentine dates back to Charles, the Duke of Orleans, who wrote a poem to his beloved while imprisoned in the infamous Tower of London. He was released in 1440 after being held in captivity more than 20 years for his part in the Battle of Agincourt. Unfortunately, she died before he could see her again. Other cool historical facts:

• Alexander Graham Bell applied for the telephone patent on V-Day, 1876.
• Richard Cadbury invented the first candy box in the latter half of the 19^th Century.
• Hallmark produced its first Valentines Card in 1913.
• Sugar Ray Robinson-Jake LaMotta VI, the final meeting of these two ring legends, was fought on Valentine’s Day in 1951. Robinson won the fight via 13^th round TKO, but to reiterate Robert DeNiro’s delivery from the film Raging Bull: “You never put me down, Ray.” Robinson did, however, beat LaMotta ugly-nasty.

9. So Maybe Valentine’s Day IS a Day for Lovers After All

Since penicillin was invented to, among other things, fight syphilis on Feb. 14, 1929—don’t tell us that’s a coincidence—it has made sex on V-Day a little safer for those willing to try it. And apparently, there are quite a few people out there giving it a spin. The condom company Durex reports that their sales increase 20-30% around the holiday compared to how they hold up the rest of the year. Furthermore, March is the prime month for at-home pregnancy test sales, which means that not only are more people getting it on during this time of year, but also condom companies in general aren’t doing a very good job with their products.

10. Valentine’s Day Blues

Valentine’s Day has recently received an additional label, summed up by the acronym SAD, which stands for Singles Awareness Day. Before you go off broadcasting your perfect relationship, keep in mind that for every 120 single men, ages 20-29, there are only 100 single women. Of course, guys, there is hope if you can make it past 65, because the numbers tip greatly in your favor with 100 single women for every 33 single guys. So if you’ve meant to start pimping, that’s probably the time. Further proof that women are not immune from the Valentine’s Day blues: approximately 15% send themselves gifts or flowers each year, so not to come under the harsh spotlight of loneliness. In other words, there are a lot of pitiful people that just don’t want to hear how perfect your boyfriend or girlfriend is. Show some respect, ‘kay?

11. Valentines Day Is a Time for Torturing Kids

And no, we don’t mean tormenting them with Mom-Dad sex tapes, though that would be a good way to teach abstinence, we’re thinking. No, we mean that all those candies you buy each year have to use cocoa, and that must be produced somewhere. And one of the most prevalent places for cocoa production is the Ivory Coast, where an estimated 300,000 kids are used as part of a child slavery ring each year for this very thing. The next time you dig in to one of your beloved chocolate-covered cherries think about what those poor kids have to go through to make the ingredient that brings you so much joy. If you can still have a happy Valentine’s Day after that, then our guilt tactics are obviously not working as well as they should.

12. Strange Facts about Kissing

What Valentine’s Day piece would be complete without shining a little light on the ol’ philematology (that’s the art or science of kissing, and it makes us really smart that we were able to google that up, so a little respect please)? For starters, kissing is not necessarily good for one’s health. Indiana refuses to allow mustached gentlemen to “habitually kiss human beings.” If you’re with your wife on a Sunday in Hartford, Connecticut, then don’t you even think about kissing her in public! And if you kiss a total stranger in the town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, then you could, by all accounts, be arrested or slapped with a fine. In addition to these odd facts about kissing, here are a few more:

• One minute of kiss-time burns around 26 calories
• In a lifetime, you’ll spend about two weeks lip-locked with someone (approximately 524,160 calories burned)
• To beat the world record for longest kiss, you’ll have to go more than 29 hours (approximately 45,240 calories burned)
• Setting your goals a bit lower, you can always kiss for 2 minutes and 19 seconds while submerged in water if you want to break the longest underwater kiss record
• 3 minutes, 6 seconds will beat the longest movie kiss record set by Jane Wyman and Regis Tommey in the 1941 film “You’re in the Army Now”

That does it for us, Star Costumes readers. However you celebrate the holiday, make sure you use protection, regardless if that means buying up latex from our friends at Durex or simply avoiding the 80% of women who expect you to get them something. Feb. 14 is a time for love, and that’s something you can practice whether you’ve met that special

Okay, boys and girls, it’s time for the big question: have you been good this year? Of course, to answer that adequately, one would have to define “good.” For some, it means saying your prayers and taking your bath every night before bed. It means not back-talking Mommy and Daddy when they tell you to brush your teeth. It means not slugging little Jimmy in the head when he starts hording in on your best girl.

For others “good” might mean calling a taxicab in a rare moment of good judgment to avoid your fifth DUI for the year. It could mean only attending brothels in Reno, where that sort of thing is legal. It could also mean taking change out of the Salvation Army collection when the bell ringer isn’t looking and leaving the whole bills for those who really need it.

However one defines the word, there is an equal amount of diversity when it comes to actually celebrating Christmas. We here at Star Costumes have decided to take a look at this diversity as well as shed some light on the reasons why we do the things we do. So let the sleigh bells ring, the reindeer fly, and the eggnog flow, it’s time for “15 Bizarre Christmas Facts and Traditions.”

1. Having an Epiphany

Most Americans will be shocked to discover that not everyone copies every little thing that we do with regard to the holidays. The retail gods would have you believe that the Christmas season here starts sometime in September and ends when people are sick of buying crap or too tapped out financially to do anymore. In Italy, Christmas traditions are more Christ-based with a focal point on the Nativity scene. Christmas trees and lights only recently started to pick up steam over the traditional wooden pyramid decorated with fruit. The country really gets in to the holiday, with the celebration season beginning on Christmas Eve and ending on January 6 (the Epiphany).

2. A Carhop Christmas

Who are those people on the roller skates doing the best they can not to crack a pelvis? Well, here we call them carhops, but in the Venezuelan capital city of Caracas, they’re just average people rolling their way to Christmas Mass. While it seems crazy to us to risk life and limb on Christmas Day for an activity mostly associated with childhood, we suppose that it would be better to break one’s neck in service of the Almighty than delivering a large order of chili cheese tots to some random stranger. The city really gets behind the experience, too, blocking off access to the area for motor vehicles.

3. Along Came a Spider

The Ukraine has a curious tradition that involves the arachnid. Apparently, the people there consider web-and-spider an essential decoration to their Christmas festivities. There, finding a spider web on Christmas morning brings good luck. For those freaked out by the furry eight-legged creatures, it simply necessitates a change of britches.

4. Stir Around the Clock

Leave it to the British to over-complicate the mixing of Christmas pudding. According to Christmas lore, you must stir the pudding in a clockwise direction if you want your Christmas wish to come true. We’re not sure about this one. It seems like if Santa and Jesus are that legalistic, then the whole point of the holiday is little more than a legal accounting ledger with a balance sheet where you’ll never come out ahead.

5. Most Horrifying Time of the Year

We hear a lot of adults and politicians squalling and bawling about how the country is failing its children. Kids have no discipline. Kids have no respect. It’s all the teachers’ fault. How do we get these little suckers back in line? Austria has it figured out. Introducing the Krampus! Hmmm…krampus, cramps, PMS, one look at this thing, and there’s got to be a correlation. Anyhow, the Krampus is an uneasy and unlikely sidekick of St. Nick. While the Jolly Fat Man is busy giving all of us good people presents, the Krampus’s job is to hunt down the bad children, fly them away in his basket, and drop them cowering into the pits of Hell, presumably after he’s chewed their faces off.

Photo by Anita Martinz.

6. Everything Goes Better with Mustard

Ah, those crazy Brits are at it again! Never mind that the boar is a beast loaded with succulent portions of meat that can feed an army. Nothing says Christmas like a severed boar head, apple in mouth, smeared with mustard. We have to interject at this point that while the boar’s head may be a Christmas tradition, if we were to eat any creature, human or otherwise, it seems like there would be more productive pieces of meat we could chow down on. Somehow the Boar’s Head came to represent the Christ Child’s victory over sin. Christian traditions—making beautiful things terrifying for 2,000 years!

Photo by qejecit.

7. Ooo-oooh, Witchy Woman!

In Norway, there is a tradition where on Christmas Eve all the brooms in the house are hidden from view. The practice began to prevent witches and other mischievous spirits from breaking in at night and stealing all the brooms for a crazy nighttime joyride. Apparently, these entities are brilliant enough to make a stick with bristles on the end fly, but they’re too stupid to look under the couch cushions.

8. Holy Crapping Yule Log, Batman!

This Catalan Christmas custom is perhaps one of the best. Meet Caga Tio, a yule log with a happy face and a red hat. Prior to the holiday, he is “fed” a variety of foods like nuts, berries, Twix, Kit Kats, we’re thinking nothing is off-limits. After two weeks of ceremonial feeding and being kept warm under the comfort of a nice blanket or quilt, it’s time for Caga Tio to give back. But he’s not going to do it without a fight. On Christmas Eve night, the children get together and start smacking the poor bastard with sticks while crooning a disturbingly happy melody. As the beating continues—think piñata, but only with far more disturbing symbolism—Caga Tio starts to let loose with one of the most backed up BMs the world has ever known. He continues getting whacked until he finally passes a salt herring, onion, or some other food that kids hate. Ah, memories of grandpa…

Photo by Wikipedia.

9. Because Once Isn’t Enough…

Okay, we admit it. Poop is just funny, especially when integrated so expertly into the season of giving. After all, what better gift is there than a box of burning crap on your neighbor’s doorstep? (The standards never get old.) Catalonia has one tradition that combines the best of poop with the Holy Nativity scene. Thought to symbolize fertilization of the earth, the incredible pooping man—also known as a caganer—is usually hidden among a traditional Nativity display, squatted down for his unholy contribution. Sort of a “Where’s Waldo?” type deal. With poop. In the old days, he was just some guy in traditional garb. These days he can take the form of a celebrity, athlete or public figure. Now please, tell me: why hasn’t this gained more popularity in the States?

10. And Not a Bush in Sight…

If you’re American, then you’ve probably never associated shoe-throwing with anything but a Presidential press conference. However, in Czechoslovakia single women look to their shoes to determine whether the coming year will bring holy matrimony or another 12 months of one night stands, who never intend to call them again. What the woman does is this: she takes off her shoe, stands with her back to the door, and tosses it over her shoulder. If the shoe lands with the toe facing toward the door, then she can start picking out bridesmaids. If the shoe lands with its heel toward the door, then she’ll have to stock up on birth control and wait another year. If she’s standing too close to the door and the shoe bounces back and hits her in the skull, then it’s about eight stitches.

11. Black Peter Starring Al Jolson

Dutch Santa Claus (also known as Sinterklaas) has apparently never seen Roots or heard of the Emancipation Proclamation. He travels with a slave assistant known as Zwarte Piet (or Black Peter). Sinterklaas gets all the glory, giving out presents to good children while making an ominous threat to the others: if you’re bad, Black Peter will take you away from your parents and move you back to Spain. Zwarte Piet usually appears in blackface makeup, just like Al Jolson used to do when he’d sing “Mammy.” Instead of ditching the tradition altogether, his role has been moved in recent years to that of “chimney sweep.”

Photo by Looi.

12. Christmas, Now With 44% More Rotting Guts

Greenland gets very creative with their contribution to holiday unpleasantness. If you have never heard of the kiviak, then you really should get out more. What is a kiviak? Well, it’s an auk, silly? What is an auk? What am I going to do with you people? It’s a bird! And an auk dressed in seal skin and buried under a rock during the first frost makes for mighty good eatin’ come Christmastime. This delicacy requires you to dig it up out of the dirt during the holiday season and squeeze hard until its guts fall out like in Dawn of the Dead. After that, you eat it and savor the flavor of Stilton Cheese in the morning. We’re getting hungry already.

13. Kallikan-who!?

Okay, the Greeks don’t get a lot of points here for originality—or maybe they do, who knows which one came first—but we welcome any opportunity to incorporate crazy red-eyed monkeys into our holiday offering. The Kallakantzaroi, aside from having one of those names you’ve got to read ten times in order to type it correctly, are considered evil spirits that come break into your home on Christmas Eve just like the Norwegian broom flyers. If you want to keep these nasty spirits out of your home, then the logical thing to do is hang a pig’s jaw inside your chimney. Sleep tight, mates.

14. Will Wear Horse Head for Money

Wales is the origin point of this proud tradition. If you’ve got a spare horse head lying around, then it’s time to put that bad boy to good use. Shove it onto a pike and take to the streets begging for money while wearing horse hair—if you’ve got a spare horse head lying around then you’ve probably got some of this, too. In both cases, we are scared of you, so please stay away from our homes on Christmas Eve. We’ve got enough to worry about with the broom-stealing witches, the crazy-ass monkeys, and the cramps, er, Krampus lurking about.

15. Let’s Play Hide the Pickle

The Christmas Pickle Tradition is often mistakenly associated with Germany. It’s far more likely that the tradition started here in the States as the traditional dates given for the first stories do not match with German lore. The two most common origin points occur in the U.S. One comes from a Bavarian man, who was also a veteran in the Civil War and a prisoner at the time. Weak and near the point of death, he begged the prison guard to give him a pickle before he died. With compassion in his heart, the guard complied and the pickle given out of goodwill possessed healing powers that cured the man of his ailments.

The more probably origin, however, is Berrien Springs, Mich. How do we know this? Well, we don’t. All we do know is they took the Vlasic and ran with it. Each year Berrien Springs has a pickle festival to commemorate a probable fictitious story that two Spanish boys traveling home for the holidays were taken captive by an evil inn-keeper on their journey. Placed in a pickle barrel, they faced certain doom until Jolly Old St. Nick showed up and freed them from the evil tyrant. Not sure what happened to the inn-keeper after that, but we’re thinking Santa probably shot him in the face.

Photo by Wikimedia Commons.

How many other weird Christmas traditions are out there that we missed? Share them with us below. In the meantime we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas. May your holidays be warm, bright, and as weird as you want them to be!

This week brings the annual day of wholesale turkey slaughter that millions of unsympathetic Americans (us included) have grown accustomed to. And, if you’re like us, you can’t wait to dig in to yet another Thanksgiving feast. The holiday, which has come every fourth Thursday in November since the early 1940s, is a precursor to the even bigger Christmas season. But unless you’ve been living under Plymouth Rock the last few centuries, you probably already knew that.

What you might not have known, however, are some of the facts we were able to dig up here for your holiday amusement. So crank open the cranberry sauce, splat another helping of mashed taters on the plate, and focus on the season’s major decisions, such as baked turkey or fried—it’s time to enjoy some crazy Thanksgiving facts!

Provincetown, Preaching, and Thanksgiving

The pilgrims at Plymouth are often mistakenly thought to have landed at Plymouth Rock, but the reality is that the crew of the Mayflower couldn’t wait that long to get rid of their evangelical brethren. The actual story of the Plymouth Rock landing wasn’t known in its current form until about 100 years after the fact. By then, it was easier just to say they landed at Plymouth Rock since that’s where the pilgrims did, in fact, end up. The actual drop-off point where the Mayflower crew rid themselves of the pilgrims was at the edge of the Cape Cod Peninsula at a place called Provincetown, now a popular gay tourist destination.

Early pilgrims in period regalia.

First Thanksgiving: Texas or Virginia?

While many of us are under the impression the first Thanksgiving meal took place between English settlers and Native Americans in the Plymouth region, history seems to indicate two earlier events as being the actual origin of the holiday. Virginians have claimed that they were the first to celebrate Thanksgiving when travelers aboard the Margaret celebrated with a feast as a means of showing thanks for their safe arrival in the New World. The event was ordered by the London-based sponsor of the voyage. Thirty eight English settlers took part in the feast, which occurred on Dec. 4, 1619, nearly two full years ahead of the Plymouth event. Since 1958, citizens reenact the event that took place at the Berkeley Plantation along the James River. In 1963, President John F. Kennedy recognized the event.

But going back even further, Thanksgiving historians will find an event in Texas that may deserve the nod. Reportedly, the first Thanksgiving took place in a small community near El Paso called San Elizario circa 1598. Spanish explorer Juan de Onate led a rugged and dangerous journey across 350 miles of Mexican desert. Hundreds made the journey with him, and it culminated in a feast that has been reenacted for many years.

Thanksgiving and Thomas Jefferson

Since Turkey Day has been a longstanding tradition among America and its presidents, one would think that our nation’s leaders have been on board with the idea from the very beginning. Any possible opposition would not likely come from our forefathers. That’s at least what many patriotic Americans would have you believe.

But if there’s one thing that listening to our forefathers can teach us, it’s that it’s okay to hate the holiday. It doesn’t make you un-American. In fact, President Thomas Jefferson once called a national day of Thanksgiving, which was endorsed by George Washington in 1789, “the most ridiculous idea” he’d ever heard of. He also thought women’s suffrage was “an innovation for which the public is not prepared, nor am I.” In addition to this, he kept slaves and allegedly fathered a child with one of them, so he may not be the best forefather to ask for advice.

Not a fan of turkey day.

Jingle Bells and Turkey Day

“Jingle Bells,” one of the most beloved (or overplayed depending on your viewpoint) Christmas songs of all time is not a Christmas song at all. Or at least it wasn’t in the beginning. James Pierpoint, the composer and author of the annoyingly catchy little number, created it for the children in his Sunday school class at a Boston church. The song was so popular it was reprised at Christmas. More than 150 years later, we’re still playing it to usher in the time devoted to Santa, Christ, and holiday shopping, and if you think about it, it really does make more sense in its current position.

Holiday Football

The Detroit Lions played the first Thanksgiving Day NFL game in 1934, but that was not the first football game ever played on Thanksgiving. That honor would go to the newly formed American Intercollegiate Football Association in 1876, according to Time magazine. In fact, more than 5,000 other clubs would get in on the action before the Lions played their first game against the Chicago Bears. Since then, the Lions have missed only one Thanksgiving thanks to the World War II draft in which the entire team was called up to do battle against Hitler’s bunch from Nazi Germany. That was also the last significant victory that a Detroit Lions player ever contributed to.

These hats kill fascists.

As for professional football itself, the Lions can’t take all the credit. President Woodrow Wilson recommended the professional ranks of 1920 engage in gridiron combat so people would have something to do after consuming all that turkey and dressing. That day saw victories for the All-Tonawanda (N.Y.) team, who defeated the Rochester Jeffersons 14-3; the Chicago Boosters, who blanked the Hammond Pros 27-0; the Dayton Triangles, who beat up on the Detroit Heralds 28-0; the Decatur Staleys, who edged the Chicago Tigers 6-0; and the Akron Pros, who defeated the Canton Bulldogs 7-0. The Elyria (Ohio) Athletics also played the Columbus Panhandles to a 0-0 tie.

Gimbel’s Not Macy’s

No one is taking anything away from Macy’s. The department store clearly owns the Thanksgiving Day Parade market, and they have since 1924. But few realize that Macy’s was not the originator of the Thanksgiving Day Parade. That honor goes to Ellis Gimbel, who hosted the Gimbel’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to promote his department store and build sales heading into the holiday shopping season. The first Gimbel’s parade occurred in 1920, which coincidentally was the same year pro football seeped into our collective Turkey Day consciousness. More than 50 Gimbel’s Department Store employees dressed up and hit the streets to celebrate Thanksgiving that year. The parade culminated with the arrival of Old St. Nick. For the Thanksgiving purists among you, take heart. The Gimbels Parade still exists in its current form, the 6abc IKEA Thanksgiving Day Parade, aired every year from Philadelphia, Pa., on WPVI-TV.

Franksgiving

Franksgiving was a temporary holiday spawned off from FDR’s movement of the holiday from the fourth to the third Thursday of November from 1939-1941. We touched on part of this story in our 2009 entry “32 Bizarre and Interesting Facts about Thanksgiving.” What we didn’t tell you is that in response to President Roosevelt’s bold and well-meaning move, the mayor of Atlantic City decided to deal with public outcry by adopting a “more the merrier” attitude.

The result was Franksgiving, Mayor Thomas Taggart’s name for the bastardized version of FDR’s Thanksgiving holiday. The public support was largely on Taggart’s side to go ahead and celebrate the “real” Thanksgiving in its usual slot on the calendar. At the time, 52% of Democrats supported FDR’s move while only 21% of Republicans did, showing that even in those days, the two parties didn’t get along too much. In fact, the Merrie Melodies cartoon “Holiday Highlights” even made fun of the warring factions by declaring two Thanksgiving dates on the calendar: one for the donkeys and the other for the elephants.

Surprisingly little has changed since.

Holiday Inn starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire also made light of the situation with an animated overlay sequence in the film where a confused turkey roams back and forth from one calendar square to the next before giving up with a shrug of the shoulders to the audience. We’re not sure what you all think about this, but it may be time to break out the brats and weenie dogs and reinstitute Franksgiving for next year. What do you say?

Westminster Abbey 1942

In 1942, tensions were high as World War II raged on. For more than 3,500 American troops stationed in England, it didn’t seem like there would be a Thanksgiving to celebrate. But that’s when London’s Westminster Abbey stepped in and invited the number to celebrate the holiday inside the church. American troops crowded into the facility and belted out “America, the Beautiful” and “The Star-Spangled Banner” less than 200 years after pilgrims fled from Britain in protest of religious oppression. It was also around late 1942 and early 1943 that WWII momentum started to swing in the Allies favor.

Black Friday

Black Friday is not the busiest shopping day of the retail season. We know, judging from the yearly fistfights over toys and dresses and TV sets, you’re probably thinking “how could that be?” We were, too. But apparently the desire to last-minute shop for holiday presents on the Saturday before Christmas has the retail event beaten when it comes to overall sales. We’re not sure, but it’s likely this is thanks to desperate men trying to stay away from that Dec. 25 lump of coal from the wife and kids. So, ladies, the next time your husband complains about you getting up at 2:30 in the morning to go camp out in line outside of your local Target, remind him of this small fact.

Silence of the Lambs Turkeys

Sure, the President comes out and pardons a turkey every year around this time. It’s a tradition that is as old, some say, as Abraham Lincoln’s presidency. The slave-emancipating 16^th of our great country is rumored to have been the first fowl pardoner. The event supposedly came as a favor to his son Tad, who had a pet turkey he didn’t feel right about eating. The first public pardoning, however, came from the guy, who dropped two atomic bombs on Japan. President Harry Truman launched the event as we know it today in 1947, saving the life of one lucky turkey. However, each year 46 million of these birds aren’t so lucky. One additional note: George H.W. Bush in 1989 was the first President to issue an official pardon for a turkey. The practice, however, clearly existed long before this action.

Alternatives to Turkey

While you may think of it as a travesty to ever enter into the fourth Thursday of November with any food but turkey on the brain, more people are avoiding the holiday tradition for a variety of innovations. One of the most popular includes turduckens, or “turds” for short. (On second thought, we’ll stick with the long form.)

A scrumptious serving of turds. (Photo by Christopher Corkum).

Turduckens are turkeys stuffed with duck and chicken. Areas where these poultry creations are particularly popular include Louisiana, Wyoming, and South Carolina. In fact, Cajun Country claims to send out more than 5,000 turduckens in the week leading up to Thanksgiving each year. Other alternatives you might consider: tofurkey (tofu turkey, un-American), deep-fried turkey (recommended), or the first Thanksgiving meal (fish, lobster, eels and oysters). And you know what they say about oysters…

Green Bean Casserole Day

That’s right, Thanksgiving lovers, the holiday could just as easily be nicknamed Green Bean Casserole Day when you consider that each year more than 40 million are served to go along with the 46 million turkeys and tons of dressing and cranberry sauce, which are the only two side items that actually have it beat.

That’s it for us, holiday hounds. There will be more festive fun once we get a strong dose of tryptophan and a nice nap under our belts. In the meantime, let us know how we did. Between this and our previous article, what have we left out that you’d like to see turn up in future installments? Also, how will you be celebrating the holiday? We’ve all got our traditions. Share yours with us, and we’ll promise not to steal them, unless, of course, we

When you were a kid, did you love tying a towel around your neck and pretending you were a caped superhero? Or trying on mommy’s high heels and lipstick to play grown-up?

These days, Halloween is probably the only day each year that you recapture the fun and excitement of pretending to be someone (or something) else. What a shame! Exercise your imagination all year round with these 12 awesome excuses to wear a costume when it’s not Halloween.

1. Talk Like a Pirate Day

Photo by DeusXFlorida

Like the movie Snakes on a Plane, Talk Like a Pirate Day is pretty self-explanatory. On September 19 each year, feel free to call your friends “scurvy bilge rats” and demand a pint of grog from the serving wench at your favorite bar. But why stop there? Throw on a pirate costume and take Talk Like a Pirate Day to the next level!

2. Renaissance Festival

Photo by Franklin Thompson

There’s so much to do and see at a Renaissance festival: knights jousting, gypsies dancing, jesters juggling, falconers … falconing. It’s fun for the whole family, and it’s a great excuse to wear a Renaissance costume. If historical accuracy isn’t your thing, fairies and wizards are also welcome. Check this page to see when the next Renaissance faire is coming to your area.

3. St. Patrick’s Day

Photo by Jackie

Everyone and their brother will be wearing the same old “Kiss Me, I’m Irish” t-shirt. But you can blow people’s minds at the pub by showing up in a full-on leprechaun costume or a sexy Irish lass outfit. Chances are very good you’ll have a few free drinks sent your way. If you’re feeling adventurous, head to New York City for the biggest St. Patrick’s Day parade in the world.

4. Conventions

Photo by Nathan Rupert

Whether you’re into superheroes, sci-fi, video games or anime, conventions are a great place to dress up and make believe. Cosplay, short for “costume play,” originated in Japan but has gained a huge following in the United States. The San Diego Comic-Con in July is considered the biggest event of the year for cosplayers, so get your tickets, grab your Chewbacca costume and geek out!

5. Easter

Photo by by Neil Girling

You somehow manage to stuff your rambunctious toddler into some uncomfortable fancy clothes. You drive across town to the mall, then wait a half-hour in a long line of restless, whiny children. When you finally get to the front of the line, you pay 15 bucks to get one lousy picture with the Easter Bunny. Or you can buy your own Easter bunny costume, stay home and get as many pictures as you want!

6. Civil War Reenactments

Photo by Dave Beckett

Union soldier or Confederate rebel? No matter what side of the Mason-Dixon line you’re on, you can have fun and learn more about U.S. history at a Civil War reenactment. Ladies, we haven’t forgotten you! Channel your inner Scarlett O’Hara with a Southern belle costume, or be a demure country schoolmarm in this costume. Check this list for upcoming Civil War reenactments in your area.

7. Lady Gaga Concert

Photo by by Mark

Lady Gaga may be the only person in the world who wears elaborate costumes on a daily basis. Her loyal fans, affectionately known as “Little Monsters,” imitate their idol at her concerts with impressive outfits of their own. The Monster Ball will be back in the United States this summer, so grab a ticket before they’re all sold out. Then get the Gaga look with a wig, a sexy costume and the craziest pair of high heels you can find.

8. Independence Day

Photo by by Andrew Dallos

Do you bleed red, white and blue? Show your patriotism this summer in a 4th of July costume! Portray a classic American icon like Uncle Sam, Betsy Ross or even the Statue of Liberty. And ladies, you can start some fireworks of your own in this sexy Miss Firecracker costume. Check this list to find Independence Day events in your area.

9. Mardi Gras

Photo by Felicity Green

As they say in the Big Easy, “Let the good times roll!” The annual Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans is notorious for its decadence and debauchery, from the day the first King Cakes hit the shelves in January to the Fat Tuesday parade finale in late February to early March. While many parade-goers wear very little, you can live it up in a Mardi Gras costume and mask. Start planning for next year’s big event here.

10. Christmas

Photo by Steve Hanna

There are so many great reasons to wear a Christmas costume. You can join your church’s Nativity play, dress up as Santa to surprise the kids, or just top off your holiday party outfit with a whimsical mistletoe hat. Even your pet can get it on the fun with his own elf costume! Oh, and ladies … this sexy Santa’s helper costume is sure to warm him up on those cold winter nights.

11. Gay Pride Parade

Photo by by Aloha Orangeneko

In your wildest dreams, you may never think up a costume as extravagant as those seen at a Gay Pride Parade. From ball gowns to body paint to … whatever this is supposed to be … Gay Pride participants aren’t afraid to go all out with costumes, makeup and elaborate accessories. Gay Pride celebrations are typically held in June in cities all over the country, from San Francisco to Chicago to New York. Don’t be shy! Join the fun with a huge pair of costume wings and some glittery face paint.

12. Steampunk Events

Photo by Howie Muzika

Steampunk is a fairly new craze that combines 19th century Victorian garb with fantastical mechanical inventions, and is largely inspired by sci-fi/fantasy writers like H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. There are steampunk conventions all over the world, including the Steampunk World’s Fair, held in New Jersey May 14-16, and Steamcon, held in Seattle this November. You’ll also find steampunk aficionados at smaller local events, like the annual Handcar Regatta in Santa Rosa, California.

When it comes to movie villains and bad guys, they’re usually… well… guys. Freddy Krueger? Guy. Jason Voorhees? Guy? Michael Myers? Guy. Yes, it would be easy to assume that men corner the market on evil. Well, this Mother’s Day, we take a moment to look at the most wicked moms in film history. In proving the psychopath doesn’t fall far from the tree, these bad mamma jammas have provided us with some of the more memorable roles in cinema history.

10. Ma Fratelli from The Goonies – Ma Fratelli from The Goonies wasn’t as evil as she was mean. The mother of two bumbling sons and a monster man, Fratelli had her is sites set on hidden treasure and wasn’t going to let a bunch of meddling kids get in her way. She came up short in one of the more epic pursuits of the ’80s, but that didn’t stop her from having the most memorable stink eye of the decade.

9. Mary from Precious – There are lots of moms on this list who were really good at being really bad, but only one actually won an Oscar for it. Mo’Nique’s performance as Mary in Precious isn’t just good. It’s soooooo good. The constant physical and mental abuse she heaps on Precious includes fights, an attempt to drop a television on her, allowing the persistent incestual rape of Precious and even intentionally dropping Precious’s 3-day-old baby. It’s easy to dislike the mothers on this list, but this is one mother you would actually want to reach into the screen and do bad things to… very bad things.

8. Mom from The People Under The Stairs – When you have a 13-year-old protagonist named “Fool” who breaks into a house co-owned by a homicidal dominatrix who only goes by the name “Mommy”, you know nothing good can come of it. And when Fool finds a herd of children under the stairs, complete with their ears clipped and tongues cut out, it’s game on! Sure “Daddy” does a lot of the chasing, but Mommy’s constant encouragement and maniacal laughter is enough to creep out the bogeyman.

7. Pamela Voorhees from Friday the 13th – We all know Jason Voorhees. He is the reason kids wear hockey masks on Halloween. He is the quintessential horror movie villain. He has superhuman strength, seemingly endless stamina, and he can play the machete just like aringin’ a bell. Still, in the first of the many Friday the 13th movies, we get a glimpse into Jason’s DNA through his mother, Mrs. Pamela Voorhees, who needed a front row seat at the wacky shack. Spending a good part of the film chasing counselor Alice with a machete and talking to herself in her dead son’s voice, we can see where Jason gets his shtick. It’s almost like watching a mother bird feeding a worm to her baby bird. Well, okay, maybe not really like that, but you get the idea.

6. Ellen Ripley from Alien Resurrection – Sigourney Weaver has been one bad mutha in all of the Alien films, but Alien Resurrection really drives the point home. As her character, Ellen Ripley, has been cloned and moved 200 years into the future to deliver a human / alien hybrid, she becomes a very different sort of mother indeed. During the cloning, however, her DNA and that of her unborn alien baby mixed and Ripley was suddenly in possession of newfound strength and healing abilities. Combine that with her already proven sense of cunning and you have one tough mother.

5. Margaret White from Carrie – You would think that a movie with such a memorable line as, “They’re all gonna laugh at you,” would be a comedy. Well, you would be wrong… dead wrong. While most movies involving heinous acts by women involve a certain degree of “a lover scorned”, that’s not the case with Carrie. Never mind Sissy Spacek’s role of a lifetime, it’s Piper Laurie’s performance in the role of Margaret, Carrie’s mother, that is the root of all evil in this film. It would be easier to label her a religious nutcase, but she’d be a nutcase anyway. It’s her religious-based off-kilter views on sexuality and sin, however, that are the spark to Carrie’s psychokinetic powder keg. When it all explodes, whoa mama!

4. Beverly Sutphin from Serial Mom – There has always been a fondness for vigilante justice in American culture. From militias of the Old West to Batman, the idea of taking matters into your own hands and righting the wrongs of the world have a certain appeal. In Serial Mom, however, Kathleen Turner’s character, Beverly Sutphin, may take things just a little too far. On the surface, she’s your average suburbanite super mom – a regular June Cleaver. Below the surface, though, is a serial killer who would kill you for not separating your recyclables. No, really.

3. Joan Crawford from Mommie Dearest – Have you tried to find wire hangers at the store recently? There is a reason for that. Mommie Dearest is perhaps the scariest film on this list because it depicts the real life horror of child abuse endured by Christina Crawford, adopted daughter of Joan Crawford. Combining serious anger management issues and an apparent obsessive compulsive disorder with regard to cleanliness and orderliness, Faye Dunaway’s portrayal of Crawford is monumental in the way it brings out the monster Christina must have seen her mother as. Still, both the book and movie were released after Joan Crawford’s death in 1977. Whether this was out of respect or fear, one can only speculate.

2. The Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella – There is a reason that stepmothers always come into a new family with two strikes against them, no matter how nice they are. It’s because of one particular stepmother: the Wicked Stepmother from Cinderella. Making Cinderella clean and toil all day, while her own daughters get the best of everything makes Cinderella feel like a slave in her own home. Cinderella makes out okay in the end, but you can be sure you-know-who isn’t getting a card this Mother’s Day.

1. Norma Bates from Psycho – Perhaps the most famous mother in cinema history is actually not a woman at all, but the evil alter-ego of inn keeper, Norman Bates. With incredible performances by Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh, as well as the directorial excellence of Alfred Hitchcock, it is difficult to credit any particular person with the effectiveness of Mama Bates. One thing can be said for certain, however, the shower scene (complete with violin-stab score) is more than just one of the most famous scenes in movie history; it is a part of the American cultural fabric.

Don’t get us wrong: we love and have the utmost respect for mothers everywhere—we just thought it’d be fun to show you the worst of the worst

All of us at StarCostumes wish a happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful and hardworking moms out there…especially ours!

Cinco de Mayo is fast approaching. Because the origins of Cinco de Mayo are in Mexico, many Americans are fairly misinformed about what Cinco de Mayo actually is and why it is celebrated. Here, then, are 13 fun facts about Cinco de Mayo. File these away and see how many margaritas you can win in trivia contests this May 5th.

1. Cinco de Mayo is NOT Mexican Independence Day. In America, we say “The 4th of July” when talking about our Independence Day. It would seems natural, then, that “The 5th of May” would be the Mexican equivalent. Not so. Actually, Cinco de Mayo is the anniversary of an 1862 battle between an under-armed, under-manned Mexican army against a well-armed French Army led by Napoleon III. Clearly, the Mexican army won, hence the celebration every 5th of May.

2. So What Is Mexico’s Independence Day? Mexico celebrates its Independence Day – the day it declared its independence from Spanish Rule – on September 16th every year. Mexico declared its independence in 1810, more than 50 years prior to the battle that we commemorate with Cinco de Mayo.

3. The Battle of Puebla was short. When we think of war in a modern sense, we think of prolonged battles that last days, or even weeks, with ground forces trudging forward. The Battle of Puebla commemorated on Cinco de Mayo, however, featured about 12,000 soldiers combined (8,000 French and 4,000 Mexican). Yet, the entire battle lasted just about two hours and changed the course of history in North America.

4. So wait, what were the French doing in Mexico in 1862? Think of them as an armed collections agency. After declaring their independence in 1810, Mexico went through decades of infighting, as well as fighting with America. this cost a lot of money. In 1861, Mexican President, Benito Juarez, declared a 2-year moratorium on loan repayments to foreign nations, including Spain, England, and France in an attempt to avoid bankrupting the country. All three nations invaded Mexico to collect on debts. While Spain and England left, France tried to stay and take over the country. Obviously, it didn’t work out for the French as we celebrate Cinco de Mayo and not Cinq mai.

5. Cinco de Mayo must be HUGE in Mexico! Not really. While the Batalla de Puebla helped to unify Mexico around one event, the major celebrations of Cinco de Mayo has largely been contained to the village of Puebla, about 100 miles east of Mexico City, where the original battle took place. In reality, Cinco de Mayo is much more popular in America, where citizens of Mexican descent (and those who just like a good margarita) hold festivals from sea to shining sea.

6.Just How Popular is Cinco de Mayo in America? In a word: VERY. Annual Cinco de Mayo festivals in Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Denver, and St. Paul, regularly draw hundreds of thousands of people. In fact, the world’s largest Cinco de Mayo celebration is the Festival de Fiesta Broadway held in Los Angeles, California. It routinely draws about 600,000 people to partake in song, spirit, and dance!

7. My grandparents say they don’t remember celebrating Cinco de Mayo when they were kids. What gives? Cinco de Mayo, as we know it today in America, didn’t begin until 1967. Some students from California State University noticed that there weren’t any Mexican holidays celebrated in America like there were for citizens of other descent, like St. Patrick’s Day, Oktoberfest, or Chinese New Year. So they chose Cinco de Mayo as the day to celebrate and gathered Chicano students in unity and celebration. It has gotten a little bigger since then.

8. So they don’t party so much in Mexico, huh? Whoa, hardly. In fact, Cinco de Mayo is just one of more than 365 festivals that are celebrated by Mexicans and people of Mexican descent. No wonder Mexico is such a popular spring break destination!

9. Do they celebrate Cinco de Mayo anywhere besides Mexico and America? While the celebrations aren’t as large or as well-publicized in other nations, some nations mark the day in their own special way. In Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for example, a particular sky-diving club holds their annual Cinco de Mayo jump. Meanwhile the Mediterranean island nation of Malta simply encourages the enjoyment of Mexican beer on Cinco de Mayo.

10. Have margaritas always been the unofficial drink of Cinco de Mayo? Hardly. While Tequila holds a long and storied place in Mexican and Mexican-American celebratory traditions, the margarita didn’t even exist in 1862! While tequila, ice, lime, and sugar all existed in 1862, they weren’t brought together in the form of a margarita until about 1930. Maybe that’s another day that deserves celebration. Just sayin’.

11. Are there any traditional Cinco de Mayo songs? While there are no songs specifically for Cinco de Mayo, there are plenty of songs with Cinco de Mayo in the lyrics, including “Isis” by Bob Dylan and “Mexico” by Cake. In fact, the following bands/artists all have songs titled “Cinco de Mayo”: War, Liz Phair, Senses Fail, and Herb Alpert.

12. The banks are open in Mexico on Cinco de Mayo. Because Cinco de Mayo is a national holiday, and not technically a Federal holiday, the banks stay open. It’s sort of like Arbor Day, but with more tequila.

13. Why Cinco de Mayo still matters. As any celebratory holiday, it is important to honor those moments in a nation’s history when it overcomes tremendous odds. That alone would be reason to keep remembering Cinco de Mayo. The other noteworthy element of Cinco de Mayo is that it represents the last time a foreign army waged aggression in North America… 148 years ago.

There it is, 13 fun facts about Cinco de Mayo. Feel free to add more in the comments section. And, just a reminder: Celebrate Cinco de Mayo responsibly. If you have had too many margaritas or cervezas, please don’t drive. Call a cab or one of your amigos.

March is here, spring is just around the corner, and everything is abuzz at Star Costumes! We’ve got some great discount coupons kicking off now, great costumes for Easter and St. Patrick’s Day, and on March 19th we’re giving away an Easter Bunny costume!

Save on all your orders this months with two different March Madness coupons to choose from! Get free shipping on any order over $50 with the promo code SPRING50, or get $3 off any order by entering the promo code MARCH3.

We’ve also got a contest going on through Twitter and we’ll be giving away an Easter Bunny costume with a retail value of $550! From now until March 19th, we’ll be asking trivia questions over Twitter. Answer the questions, tag @starcostumes in your reply, and you’ll be entered in our Grand Prize drawing on March 19th! The more questions you answer, the more chances you have to win! See the contest rules here and follow us on our Twitter account, StarCostumes.

Now’s the time to find your Easter costumes! Star Costumes carries a variety of Easter costumes and accessories for kids and adults for a variety of events. Whether you’re putting on a Passion Play or playing the Easter Bunny at an Easter egg hunt, we have the right costumes for your event.

That’s all for now – be sure to become a fan on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to find out about exclusive deals and discounts!

Star Costumes on Facebook
Star Costumes on Twitter

Photo by Ray Devlin

Early every year, an explosion of sounds and sights and all-around good cheer occurs. This wildly colorful celebration is known as Mardi Gras, one of the biggest parties in the world. With flamboyant costumes, imaginative floats, festive music and a host of fun traditions, Mardi Gras is a favorite among grand events.

Like all such celebrations, Mardi Gras has a bit of history behind it. Along the course of its existence, quite a few interesting things have popped up in its story. Here are some of the more fascinating facts about Mardi Gras:

1. A King’s Ransom in Cakes — King cakes are a well-loved (and delicious!) Mardi Gras tradition. In fact, they’re so well-loved that roughly 750,000 of the green, purple, and gold pastries are sold every year. What’s even more amazing is that those figures come from New Orleans alone! Because a ton of people from other states want a piece of the festivities, nationwide deliveries for king cakes account for another 50,000 in sales. That’s a lot of sweet tooths!

2. Ho ho ho! Merry… Mardi Gras? — What’s a Mardi Gras parade without the beads and trinkets? Every year, revelers delight in catching these little gifts, known popularly as “throws”. You’d be surprised to learn that the first reported throw is attributed to a very familiar gift-giver — Santa Claus! According to legend, someone dressed as good old St. Nick came out from the Twelfth Night Revelers’ 24th float and handed out present to the parade-goers. The gimmick was received very well, and soon became credited as the root of a Mardi Gras tradition.

3. Power Tourism — Mardi Gras is a gigantic tourist event for New Orleans, with more than half a million people flocking to the area to join in on the festivities. This creates a major boom for local businesses that entertain the tourists. The event is so profitable, revenues for New Orleans spike up to a whopping $840 million on average, every year! No wonder they take it so seriously!

4. Who’s Your Daddy? — Despite Mardi Gras being one of the most popular celebrations in the country, nobody really knows who brought it to America. While it’s generally agreed to have been due to French influences in Louisiana, no one can peg the individuals responsible for the first American celebration. Some argue that Sieur d’Iberville introduced it when he landed in Louisiana in 1699. Others say that French soldiers in Mobile, Alabama were the first to bring the festivities to America four years after d’Iberville’s landing. Others still believe that the early French settlers simply brought Mardi Gras with them when they made their homes in Louisiana. We may never really know who the father of Mardi Gras in the USA is, but we definitely do enjoy the tradition.

5. Don’t Have a Cow — We’re all pretty familiar with the fact that the name “Mardi Gras” is French for “Fat Tuesday”. What most people don’t know, though is that it wasn’t always called Mardi Gras. One of the earliest names of the event was Boeuf Gras, which means “Fat Beef”. The reason behind this was that the festival is considered the last great feast before people fasted for Lent. One of the customs for this huge party was parading an exceptionally-fat ox through the streets for all the feasters to drool over. This rather fat piece of beef soon became the festival’s namesake. The name change occurred when the Catholic church decided to move celebrations to the day before Ash Wednesday, creating the “Fat Tuesday” as we know it.

6. Different Country, Different Cake — We all enjoy a little bit of King cake every Mardi Gras. The sweet, doughy confections tickle our taste buds, and the hidden trinket inside is always a pleasant surprise. Around the world, though, people celebrate Mardi Gras a little differently, and with different food. In England, for example, the day is known as Pancake Day, named after the food of choice before people started fasting. In Germany, the celebration is known as Fastnacht, or “Fasting Night”. The traditional Fastnacht pastry is made from fried potato dough, and is served with corn syrup.

7. The Bands are Banned — Shocking as it may seem, but some people actually dislike Mardi Gras. After the French occupation of New Orleans gave way to Spanish rule, the once-common Mardi Gras celebrations were banned. The crowds, music, and overall rowdiness must have been deemed unsavory by the Spanish leaders, and so the festivals were nixed. Slowly but surely, however, Mardi Gras made its comeback. In 1823, the balls were swinging once again, and street masking was made legal once more four years later.

8. Two Parties in a Pod — Ever wonder why Mardi Gras and Brazil’s world-famous Carnival seem so alike? Mardi Gras’ roots are one and the same with Carnival, which takes place immediately after the Twelfth Night on January 6. Between that day and Lent, people celebrate and feast in anticipation of the fasting and self-deprivation of the next season. Of course, these aren’t the only two countries to be celebrating in the same spirit. Mardi Gras, Carnival, and other similar celebrations are held all over the world, including Italy, Panama, and Uruguay.

9. For Queen and Cake — In 1870, the Revelers introduced a new tradition to Mardi Gras celebrations: the election of the first Carnival queen. The plan was simple enough — a giant King cake with a golden bean baked inside would be served to a group of young women. The lucky lady would find the bean would then be crowned the queen. However, things didn’t exactly go according to plan. The folks in charge of carrying the cake were pretty drunk, and the cake soon went flying through the air and landing on the ladies. When the mess was cleared, none of the embarrassed women didn’t want to admit to getting the bean, and so the first Carnival queen was actually crowned the next year.

10. Clean Sweep — As with any major festival, you can expect that Mardi Gras creates a pretty huge amount of trash. The party-goers leave a lot of garbage in their wake, leaving the New Orleans Sanitation Department with the unenviable job of cleaning things up the morning after. Face with more than 2000 tons of waste from the final 12 days of parades in the late 80s, the department decided to institute recycling programs. The programs were a success, reducing the amount of garbage being tossed into landfills and helping to preserve the environment.

11. The Royal Colors of Mardi Gras — Gold, purple and green are widely accepted as Mardi Gras’ official colors. It’s interesting to know that they were actually picked by the Grand Duke of Russia way back in 1872. Legend has it that Grand Duke Alexis Romanoff came to New Orleans hoping to woo the actress Lydia Thompson. He eventually became a guest of honor at that year’s parade, and was asked by Rex to choose the official colors of Mardi Gras. It’s no wonder, then, that Mardi Gras and the House of Romanoff have the same colors!

12. The First Krewe — It’s funny, and probably only fitting, that the first Mardi Gras Krewe was initially formed through a few drunk men. In Jan. 1, 1830, a group of inebriated party-goers were walking by a store when they had brilliant idea. Grabbing rakes, hoes, and cowbells, they headed to the mayor’s home and created quite a racket. The mayor, displaying a cool head in the middle of the night, suggested that the men organize themselves into a committee and let others join in on their fun. They eventually became the Cowbellion de Rakin Society and held parades every New Year’s Eve.

    Fast forward 27 years later, when six Cowbellions attempt to save Mardi Gras from being cancelled altogether. The Cowbellions proposed that a new club be formed to create a grand parade for the festivities, which would in effect bring order to the chaos that Carnival came to be associated with. Their proposal was accepted, and they soon formed the legendary Comus krewe.

If you love Mardi Gras like we do, then you’ll want to be sure to look the part with our Mardi Gras Costumes. And keep the holiday fun going with great St. Patrick’s Day Costumes and Easter Costumes.

They’re the leaders of their generations, stalwarts of democracy. The Presidents of the United States of America bear a great responsibility as leaders of the free world, and are among the most distinguished individuals of their times. They are respected, admired, and held in the greatest of esteem.

But that doesn’t stop them from being a little weird at times. Everyone has their quirks; and the President of the United States is certainly no exception. Here are a few of the more obscure facts about the country’s leaders from all throughout its history:

1. Carpenter/Dentist for Hire — A lot of jokes have been made over time about George Washington’s infamous wooden teeth. He did, after all, reportedly have only one real tooth left in his mouth at the time of his inauguration and needed a full set of chompers to function properly. Much to the chagrin of would-be presidential comedians, however, Washington most likely never had wooden teeth. Wood was an impractical material to use for false teeth, as it’s prone to rot inside a moist mouth. Washington actually had false teeth of sturdier stuff: hippopotamus ivory, lead, and cow’s (and perhaps horse and donkey) teeth. They were a bit big for his mouth, which explains why he looks somewhat perturbed in a few of his portraits.

2. Seat of Office — You can probably thank Thomas Jefferson for your work productivity. Or lack thereof, depending on how you use your swivel chair. Jefferson is credited with the invention of the swivel chair, the first of which he settled his presidential behind on when drafting the Declaration of Independence. The next time you spin yourself dizzy on this fixture of the modern workplace, you can thank the third president of the USA for the nausea.

3. The White… Zoo? — We’ve all fallen in love with the presidential pets. From Liberty the Golden Retriever to Bo the Portuguese Water Dog, we’ve all been fascinated with the pooches and kitties that live in the White House. The House has seen a more… varied set of animals over its long history, however. While JFK went the cute and cuddly route with a bunny, Herbert Hoover actually had two alligators as pets while in office. Other exotic pets included Coolidge’s lion cubs, Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau; and Harrison’s pet goat, Whiskers. Theodore Roosevelt had one of the most impressive arrays of animals for a president, with a one-legged rooster counting among his more unique pets.

4. It’s All Latin and Greek to Me! — While every president has had his own share of unique talents, James Garfield takes the cake when it comes to showing them off. The country’s twentieth president was well-versed in both Latin and Ancient Greek, and was quite proud of being ambidextrous. One of his favorite party tricks was to simultaneously write in one of the archaic languages with his left hand, and the other one in the right. Needless to say, more than a few people were impressed with his ability. Whether or not they all understood what he was writing is another story.

5. Pull Over, Mr. President — Most people these days would be surprised to know that speed limits existed before cars filled the streets. There were actual laws regulating how fast one could ride his horse. It was rather embarrassing, then, when Ulysses S. Grant found himself being pulled over for going over the speed limit. The arresting officer eventually realized that he had just pulled over the president himself, and decided to waive the violation. Grant, however, insisted that no one, not even the president, was above the law, and requested that he be issued a $20 fine.

6. The Presidential Pad — We’ve all been enchanted by the First Lady. Hillary Clinton, Michele Obama, and Jacqueline Onassis are just a few of the women who’ve graced the White House with their presence. Over the course of American history, only one president has ever taken office as a bachelor. James Buchanan entered and ran the Oval Office as the nation’s most eligible single. He wasn’t without a First Lady, however; in lieu of a wife, he decided to have his niece, Harriet Lane, take the role on.

7. His Own Worst Enemy — John Tyler has a rather unique claim to fame among his presidential peers. Twenty years after his administration, Tyler joined the Confederacy. Thanks to the politics of the day, many of those who chose to become a part of the faction were declared enemies of the state. Because of this, Tyler has the distinction of being the only President to ever have been proclaimed an enemy of the USA.

8. Wide Load — Just looking at picture of William Howard Taft compared to the long line of presidents is enough to tell you that he was a very large man. This is a fact that his aides knew all too well. The former president reportedly had the embarrassing problem of getting stuck in his bathtub. He needed the help of his aides to get out of the bath on more than one occasion. Thankfully, Taft eventually adjusted things to accommodate his girth and bought a new, larger bathtub.

9. Walking Tall — The image of the president is often one of grandeur. These larger-than-life personalities are thrust into office and given the responsibility of running the nation. With all this power, it’s easy to envision them as large, imposing people. This, of course, isn’t true; James Madison will be the first to attest to that. The former president stood at a height of 5 feet, 4 inches — far from what most people would consider a towering presence.

10. The Skinny of Adams — Frequenters of the Potomac River during John Quincy Adams’ administration must have gotten an eyeful of their president at the time. The former president reportedly went skinny-dipping in the Potomac every day. He believed that bathing and swimming in the river’s cold waters was good for his constitution. It might have done wonders for him, but what about the constitutions of those who saw him?

11. White-Hot Hottie in the White House — Girls tend to develop crushes on the president; the notorious Obama Girl can tell you that. Whatever the basis of the appeal is — looks, charm, or others — the President of the United States of America tends to break a few girls’ hearts. While not as notoriously sought-after as Bill Clinton (for example), 13th president Millard Fillmore was quite the heartthrob in his time. In fact, Queen Victoria herself once said that Fillmore was the most handsome man she had ever met!

12. Eat Your Heart Out — Literally! — It’s often been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. The nutrition a good, heavy breakfast provides allows for optimum nutrition and health. Except, perhaps, for good old Teddy Roosevelt. The ex-president was known for his hearty appetite which, ironically, may not have been so good for his heart after all. He was reported to consume a dozen or so eggs for breakfast! Think of all that cholesterol!

13. President Prankster — George Clooney would be an ideal pick to play Andrew Jackson if a biopic were ever made of the former president. Like Clooney, Jackson was a notorious prankster, often playing tricks on guests and the White House staff. It seems to have been a habit from his childhood years. One of his favorite tricks was moving the outhouses around, so that guests would get confused as to where they’d head for some “private time”.

14. Hometown Hero — George Washington is often credited as the nation’s first president. However, he wasn’t the first US-born president in the nation’s history. That distinction belongs to Martin Van Buren, who was in office from 1837 to 1841. All the other presidents before Van Buren were born in the colonies, before America was a country. Meaning, technically, they weren’t actually born in the United States.

15. The Long and Short of It — William Henry Harrison owns two presidential records, although neither of them is very flattering. His inaugural address was the longest in recorded history, clocking in at approximately one hour and forty-five minutes. He is also, unfortunately, the record-holder for the shortest American presidency. Harrison died of pneumonia just thirty days after his inauguration.

16. Mr. Tough Guy — It’s no secret that the earlier presidents were made of some pretty hardy stuff, especially with the rough and tumble world of the olden days. While the likes of Washington were clearly tough individuals, James Polk was perhaps one of the toughest. At the young age of 17, Polk was able to survive a gallstone operation without the use of anesthesia or antiseptics! Thanks to modern medical technology, we no longer have to worry if the current president will be able to go through that sort of ordeal unscathed.

17. A Little to the Left — While looking at presidential portraits and photos, those with keen observational skills may notice something a little peculiar about those that depict James Buchanan. According to historical accounts, Buchanan always tilted his head a little to the left. This was apparently due to a problem with his vision — while one eye was nearsighted, the other one was farsighted! This imbalance made it necessary for him to tilted his head in an effort to get a more accurate picture of things.

18. The Party-Boy President — You’d think that the responsibility of running an entire nation would put a serious crimp on a president’s schedule, but that wasn’t the case with Chester A. Arthur. The former president was an energetic individual who often enjoyed painting the town red. He refused to let his hectic presidential schedule get in the way of that, and frequented night clubs while he was in office. In fact, historical accounts say that he was rarely ever home before 2 a.m.!

19. Give Him a Hand — Hand-shaking wasn’t always recognized as the customary way of greeting the president. In the earliest years of the presidency, bowing was considered more proper. Thomas Jefferson changed things around, though, when he chose to shake people’s hands rather than bow to them. He felt that it was more down-to-earth, yet respectful at the same time. William McKinley later kicked things up a notch with his enthusiasm for handshakes. Some historians contend that McKinley holds the record for the most presidential handshakes in a certain span of time — he supposedly repeated the gesture 2,500 time in a single hour!

20. Call Him Tiger Woodrow — Many presidents were casual golfers; it’s a great, fun sport that’s relatively low on physical impact, making it an ideal pastime for busy individuals. Woodrow Wilson, however, is considered to have been the single most avid golfer to have ever served in the Oval Office. Wilson was known to golf at any time of the year, in any season — even in the winter! He used special black golf balls in order to avoid getting his ball lost in the white snow.

President’s Day usually means lot of school plays, so you’ll want to be sure to look the part with our president costume kits. And keep the holiday fun going with our great St. Patrick’s Day Costumes and Easter Costumes.

Photo by by Janine

Romantics young and old look forward to February, eager to express their love on Valentine’s Day. This annual celebration of romance has become one of the world’s most popular holidays, bringing forth a frenzy of shopping and gifting and dating. The day of love, quite poetically, is also one of the most well-loved holidays of the year.

But, like every holiday, Valentine’s Day has a few things about it that might surprise you. After all, it’s one of the oldest and most widely-celebrated holidays in human history. Here are 20 of the most interesting things you probably didn’t know about the day when Cupid takes aim:

1. When in Rome… — …do what the Romans do. Or maybe not. Many experts argue that the celebration of Valentine’s Day may have its origins in the ancient Roman festival known as Lupercalia. The festival was certainly something to behold — goats were sacrificed, and then men would strip nude, put the goatskins on, and start whipping the women. This practice was believed to increase fertility and ease the pains of childbirth. A number of historians say that when Christianity gained power in Rome, Lupercalia was one of the pagan practices the church sought to “Christianize” by incorporating into their belief system. The fertility festival was then attributed to St. Valentine, a priest who was said to marry couples in secret when marriage was outlawed by the Roman Emperor Claudius II in the 3rd Century.

2. Fashion Statements — Back in the Middle Ages, Valentine’s Day was often celebrated with a little game. Young men and women would gather and draw each other’s names from a bowl. Whoever they drew would be their Valentine. The men and women would then attach the names of their Valentines onto their sleeves, so as to display to the rest of the community who had their hearts that day. Incidentally, this practice is often regarded as the origin of the phrase “Wearing your heart on your sleeve”.

3. Wherefore Art Thou, Dear Valentine? — Romeo and Juliet are arguably the most famous lovers in literature. Shakespeare’s classic couple inspired countless proclamations and ideals regarding romance. It’s no surprise, then, that hundreds of years after the tale was written, people still fall in love with the characters. Verona, the city in which the play takes place, knows this fact all too well. The city reportedly receives about 1000 love letters on Valentine’s Day, each asking for the heart of Juliet.

4. Just as Sweet — While it may seem surprising to a lot of people, not all countries celebrate Valentine’s Day. That doesn’t stop Cupid’s arrow from striking, however, as those countries usually have other days of romantic sentiment. Romania, for example, celebrates Dragobete, which is held on February 24. Brazil, on the other hand, celebrates Dia dos Namorados (“Day of the Enamored”) on June 12. Other countries simply call Valentine’s Day by a different name; for example, Guatemala celebrates Día del Cariño (“Day of Affection”), and the Philippines know Valentine’s Day as Araw ng mga Puso (“Day of Hearts”).

5. Three Months, Three Celebrations — South Koreans practice Valentine’s Day a little differently. On February 14, it’s typically the girls who give chocolates to the boys they love. The boys get to return the favor with non-chocolate gifts on “White Day”, which is on March 14. Those who didn’t get gifts on those days can mourn their singlehood on Black Day (April 14) by eating black noodles. These three are only the most popular of the country’s love celebrations; there’s actually one for every month!

6. Multiple Personalities — Most folks don’t know that there are at least 3 Saint Valentines: Valentine of Rome, Valentine of Terni, and an unknown Valentine who was martyred in South Africa. Many distinctions between Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni have been lost over the years, but many individuals accept Valentine of Rome to be the inspiration of the celebration. During Emperor Claudius II’s rule, he forbade young men from marrying, so that the Roman army’s numbers would be bolstered. Saint Valentine detested this action, and decided to help young couples get married in secret. He was eventually caught and made a martyr. Before his execution, however, he sent out a letter to a woman. The note was addressed “From your Valentine”, making it the first unofficial Valentine’s card in history.

7. Say It with Cards — According to a study by the US Census Bureau, greeting cards beat flowers as the most popular way that Americans celebrate Valentine’s Day. Roughly 65% of respondents answered “Greeting Card”; “Flowers” got less than half of that figure with just 32% percent. “Date Night” came in second to “Greeting Card” with 44% of respondents, whereas “Candy” came in third place with 38%. The least popular way? “Jewelry”, which got a measly 11%.

8. Candy is Cash — With all the hullaballoo about Valentine’s gifts, it should come as no surprise that candy sellers make a sweet profit during Valentine’s Day. The celebration is responsible for over a billion dollars in candy sales! Chocolatiers get the biggest cut of the pie, as roughly 75% of candy sales during Valentine’s Day are from chocolate purchases. Looks like it pays to cater to sweet tooths, especially when Cupid’s flying around.

9. Substitute for Love — Chocolate has always been connected with Valentine’s Day and romance in general. It’s one of the most common gifts for Valentine’s Day, and is often used in other romantic situations. Legend has it even Casanova himself consumed chocolate to boost his virility. Why is it that chocolate is tied so intimately with love? Apparently, eating chocolate helps your brain release certain chemicals that have about the same effects on your mind as the sensation of falling in love. It’s no wonder, then, that people often resort to eating the delectable treat whenever they need a little more romance in their lives. Chocolates are more than just happy food; they’re sappy food, too!

10. Flower Power — It’s no secret that millions, maybe billions of flowers are given as gifts every Valentine’s Day. It seems, though, that Americans are pretty traditional when it comes to who gives the flowers. About 73% of flowers sold on Valentine’s Day are purchased by men, giving some hope to those who think chivalry is dead. Interestingly enough, though, 15% of the women who do buy flowers on Valentine’s Day buy them for themselves. It’s probably better not to be empty-handed on a day when everyone’s all mushy, come to think of it.

11. Not for Lovers — It’s funny to think that most Valentine’s Day cards aren’t exchanged by people in love, but it’s actually true. Spouses and significant others take the bottom spot among recipients of Valentine’s Day cards. Apparently, children and mothers get these cards a lot more often than couples in love. Who gets the most cards on the day of hearts? Believe it or not, teachers! Kids are really sweet that way, aren’t they?

12. The Price of Passion — Valentine’s Day is one of the biggest shopping holidays of the year. While it isn’t as grand as Christmas, there’s a great deal of money being spent on candies, cards, flowers, and other gifts. There’s also the romantic candlelit dinners to think about, too. With prices for premium Valentine’s Day items getting an increase as the day approaches (flowers get a 30% price increase on average), getting hit by Cupid’s arrow can be pretty costly. If you’re a guy, that is. Men, on average, spend at least $150 during the holiday. The ladies spend about half as much, averaging $85 on expenses.

13. When in Rome… Part 2 — Although Christianity may have had a hand in disguising a few Roman influences in the celebration of Valentine’s Day, Roman traditions weren’t phased out completely. The roses people give each other during Valentine’s Day have their roots in Roman mythology, in which the rose was often identified with Venus, the goddess of love. While some may argue that the symbolism of the rose has a more… adult connotation, romantics around the world prefer to think that the rose is, quite simply, a symbol of love.

14. The Middle Ages, Part 1 — We’ve all had dreams about the ones we loved. No matter how hard we try to hide it, we’re all a little mushy inside and would like to have thoughts of our loved ones occupy our heads as we sleep at night. People used to take this idea a lot more seriously back in the Middle Ages, when it was a common practice to try to induce dreams of one’s Valentine. How was this done? By eating weird foods. It was believed that eating such exotic and unusual dishes, one would be able to produce romantic dreams about your future spouse.

15. The Middle Ages, Part 2 — While most lovestruck individuals today agonize for months over the objects of their desires, people in the Middle Ages were a lot more random when it came to discovering one’s true love. It was a common belief back in those days that the first unmarried member of the opposite sex one saw during Valentine’s Day would eventually become one’s spouse. Although it certainly made things a little more exciting on Valentine’s Day, it’s probably safe to say that quite a few people would have preferred to be blindfolded for a while, just to avoid having some unsavory characters become your marital destiny.

16. Love Under the Sea — On Valentine’s Day in 2001, a world-record 34 couples were married simultaneously in a massive ceremony. The big twist to the event? The weddings were held underwater. The event took place 10 meters below the water’s surface, at Kradang Island in Southern Thailand. 22 countries were represented in this unique declaration of love co-sponsored by Thai Airways International.

17. Utensils of Love — Wales has a cute, if a little bit quirky, custom during Valentine’s Day. Other than the usual flowers, cards, and candies, a common Valentine’s Day gift is a wooden spoon. The spoons will often have romantic images carved onto them, like hearts and flowers. However, the most common designs include keys and keyholes, meant to symbolize the expression “You have the key to my heart”.

18. It’s All About Boxing — It seems that as Valentine’s Day nears, you start seeing boxes of chocolates everywhere. The most popular design of these boxes come in the shape of a heart. No matter what variation or size it is, a heart-shaped box of chocolates has become one of the most enduring symbols of Valentine’s Day. The practice of making Valentine’s Day-specific candy boxes was actually initiated by the famous chocolate-maker Richard Cadbury way back in 1868. The idea was an overwhelming success, and has become an integral part of the holiday.

19. Valentine’s Day Wasn’t Originally Romantic — Some experts argue that the idea of Valentine’s Day being a celebration of romance came long after its inception. In fact, the earliest records of Valentine’s Day being tied to romantic love came in the 14th century, in one of Geoffrey Chaucer’s poems. So what was Valentine’s Day about before that? Some say that because the date was named after Christian martyrs, Valentine’s Day was originally supposed to honor their sacrifice.

20. Not for Everyone — Sure, you’ve probably encountered a few friends who absolutely hated the idea behind Valentine’s Day. Most of the time, it was because they found it silly or were single. However, some individuals have much deeper reasons for disliking the holiday. Religious fundamentalist groups have been known to protest Valentine’s Day and call for its banning. Common arguments include its supposed glorification of lust. Such movements have actually succeeded in the past, as religious police in Saudi Arabia were able to ban the holiday in 2002 and 2008.

If you love Valentine’s Day like we do, then you’ll want to be sure to look the part with our Valentine’s Day Costumes. And keep the holiday fun going with great St. Patrick’s Day Costumes and Easter Costumes.