By Carolyn Graf It’s said that raisins were discovered when humans stumbled into some grapes drying on a vine. History books record that raisins were sun-dried from grapes as long …
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Scotland’s Fall and Winter Holiday Traditions
By Catherine McKinley Plaid pumpkins Anyone? Halloween has decidedly Celtic origins. Some traditions which began long ago are still active among Scots both inside and outside of Scotland. Halloween in …
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The History of the Kilt
By Catherine McKinley WOVEN CLOTH ORIGINS? The oldest example of textiles were flax fibers, radiocarbon-dated to between 30,000-36,000 years ago. Woven wool fabrics seem to have first been used in …
Tastes of Scotland: The Outer Hebrides
By Carolyn McDonald Graf Scotland is an island nation made up of large and small bits of land surrounded by water. The western most of these are the Outer Hebrides. …
Tastes of Scotland: Cabbage and Barley Broth
Cabbage is a very ancient food going back 4,000 years. There is evidence that Mongolian nomads learned to preserve cabbage in brine bringing a new method of preservation and flavor …
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Famous Musical Scots
Scotland has produced it’s share of classical music legends. Its most notable composer might be Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) whose famous piece “The Wedding March” has, and still does, accompany many …
Tastes of Scotland: The Hebridean Baker
Coinneach MacLeod is The Hebridean Baker. He began sharing his love of the Outer Hebrides and Scottish recipes on social media in 2020. This book, a result of the popularity …
Easter in Scotland
Easter is a very important day in Scotland. In pre-Christian times, there was a Saxon festival called “Eastre,” later, it was integrated with the Christian festival. Historical records indicate Easter …
Harry Potter Sites & Connections in Scotland
By Catherine McKinley The seven wildly popular Harry Potter books spawned, as is well known, several movies. As the 2023 Oscars ceremonies approach, a visit to Scotland’s Harry Potter filming …
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Tastes of Scotland: Orkney Lentil Brö
By Carolyn McDonald Graf It’s always entertaining to come across an unusual recipe and then look into its origin and the origin of the ingredients. This recipe may seem odd …