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Going medieval get more settlers9/24/2023 Warming PanĬolonial-era homes could get brutally cold in the winter. Pomanders were often hung on ribbons and used as decorations, especially around the holidays. This trick for making homes smell good actually dates back to medieval Europe its name comes from the French pomme d’ambre, meaning “apple of amber.” A piece of fruit-usually an orange-would be studded with cloves and rubbed with oils and spices to make it extra fragrant. By pulling the string tight and releasing it, children could set the whirligig whirring and buzzing. The whirligig was a simple whirling toy made from a circular disc (made of bone, clay or even a spare button) with a string threaded through its center. Without manufactured or electronic toys, many children played with games and toys made from common materials found around the house. Samplers ranged from simple letters and numbers to poems, family records and elaborate depictions of religious or pastoral scenes. No well-brought-up young girl in colonial America would be without her sampler, the ubiquitous piece of embroidered cloth on which she practiced the basic skills of needlework. Many colonial-era children learned the alphabet, numbers and other basics (like the Lord’s Prayer) by using a hornbook, a sheet of paper mounted on a tablet of wood, leather or bone, and covered by a thin strip of transparent horn. Though many boys learned to read and write from their parents or local ministers, and others received a more formal education, that wasn’t considered necessary for girls. Carding removed tangles and ensured that all the wool faced the same direction, making it easier to spin it into thread. A key part of this process was carding, which involved pulling the wool fibers back and forth between two thin, rectangular boards (cards) covered with wire teeth. Most colonists didn’t have access to (or couldn’t afford) pre-made fabric, so they made their own, often from sheep’s wool. But the brightest, longest-lasting (and most expensive) candles were made from spermaceti, a waxy material found in the head of a sperm whale. ![]() Farmers and hunters also collected and saved fat from animals to make tallow candles. ![]() Many people made their own candles by boiling berries from the bayberry bush and skimming the thick greenish wax off the top. ![]() In the days before electricity, candles were a fixture in colonial homes.
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