Holidays
The Red Flannel Festival
In 2009, all WU readers are commanded to attend Michigan's Red Flannel Festival, where natives parade in public in their longjohns.Here's the history of the tradition, taken from the Festival's homepage.
It all began in 1936 in the midst of "the worst winter in years." The whole country suffered in the grip of heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures. A New York feature writer bemoaned the "fact" that, "Here we are in the midst of an old- fashioned winter and there are no red flannels in the USA to go with it."
The local newspaper, The Cedar Springs Clipper, owned and edited by "The Clipper Gals" Nina Babcock and Grace Hamilton answered the writer with a RED HOT editorial stating: "Just because Sak's Fifth Avenue does not carry red flannels, it doesn't follow that no one in the country does. CEDAR SPRINGS' merchants have red flannels!"
The story was picked up by The Associated Press and orders began pouring in from all over the USA.
Seeing the possibility of at least a few years of publicity because of our famous “drop seaters" and lumbering history, a "RED FLANNEL DAY" was planned for the fall of 1939. After the closure of the Red Flannel Factory in 1994, the citizens became concerned as to the fate of their beloved Red Flannels and of the Red Flannel Festival. However, due to the love of their community legacy, volunteers rallied to keep the Red Flannel Festival tradition alive. It has continued to be an annual event, held the last weekend in September and the first weekend in October. The production of Red Flannel garments was reestablished and they are available to purchase in Cedar Springs.
And here are some shots from early on, courtesy of the Life Photo Archive
Posted By: Paul - Mon Feb 02, 2009 -
Comments (6)
Category: Customs, Holidays, Parades and Festivals, Regionalism, Fetishes, Underwear, 1940s
Calendar Recycling
It's the New Year. Time to get a new calendar. But John Walkenbach has a good idea. Don't buy a new one. Recycle an old one:you can use any of the following calendars for a 2009 calendar: 1903, 1914, 1925, 1931, 1942, 1953, 1959, 1970, 1981, 1987, or 1998.
By the way, if you start saving calendars in 2009, you will have a complete set of 14 different calendars in 2036.
Here's a 1903 calendar you can print out and use.
Posted By: Alex - Thu Jan 01, 2009 -
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Category: Holidays
Happy (Iranian) New Year!
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 31, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Video, Foreign Customs, Dance, Middle East
Merry (Weird) Christmas!
Posted By: Paul - Thu Dec 25, 2008 -
Comments (2)
Category: Holidays, Religion, Royalty, Children, Foreign Customs, 1970s
Rockin’ & Rollin’ With Santa Claus
Posted By: Paul - Wed Dec 24, 2008 -
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Category: Holidays, Music, 1950s
Merry Christmas from the Family
Posted By: Paul - Tue Dec 23, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Music, Regionalism, Stereotypes and Cliches
Boogie Woogie Santa Claus
Posted By: Paul - Mon Dec 22, 2008 -
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Category: Holidays, Music, 1950s
Johnny Preston: 2 Xmas Songs
Posted By: Paul - Sun Dec 21, 2008 -
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Category: Holidays, Music, 1960s
Red Peters: 2 Xmas Songs
Posted By: Paul - Sat Dec 20, 2008 -
Comments (1)
Category: Holidays, Music
Christmas in Jail
Posted By: Paul - Fri Dec 19, 2008 -
Comments (0)
Category: Holidays, Music, 1950s
| Who We Are |
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| Alex Boese Alex is the creator and curator of the Museum of Hoaxes. He's also the author of various weird, non-fiction, science-themed books such as Elephants on Acid and Psychedelic Apes. Paul Di Filippo Paul has been paid to put weird ideas into fictional form for over thirty years, in his career as a noted science fiction writer. He has recently begun blogging on many curious topics with three fellow writers at The Inferior 4+1. Contact Us |