D.I.Y.: Pomanders

Pomanders

Circa: 1500s

 

 

 

          Since I was a little girl one of my favorite things to make during the Christmas season were pomanders. One of my first memories I have is decorating oranges with cloves in elementary school with one of my closest friends and I have kept up the tradition ever since. Not only are they a beautiful and natural decoration for your home but the fragrant combination of cloves and citrus smells amazing!  This is a wonderful D.I.Y project to for adults and children alike during the holiday season.

 

 

All you need are:

• Oranges
• Whole Cloves 
• Ground Spice Mixture (Cinnamon, Nutmeg Cloves, Ginger)
• Plastic Bag 
• Rubber Band (optional)
• Ribbon (optional)  

 

 

Directions:

1.   Knead the orange gently in your hands to soften the skin.

2.   Poke cloves into the orange in your desired pattern. You can use a wooden skewer to pierce the skin of the fruit first before inserting the cloves. Rubber bands can be placed around the orange and serve as guides for your designs.

3.  Once you have finished your design place your orange in a plastic bag with a combination of spices of your choice and gently roll the orange in the bag until it is lightly dusted with the spices.

4.   If you would like to hang your pomanders you can add a ribbon at this time or simply place your pomanders together in a bowl with greenery.

 

While pomanders have been popular throughout the ages, their form and purpose have changed significantly over the years.  The word pomander originates from the French pomme d’amber or apple of amber. Pomanders became popular during the Middle Ages when the Black Death and other ailments ran rampant in Europe. As you can imagine sanitation during this time was greatly lacking and unfortunately there was no real concept of germs or how they spread. During that time many attributed their health problems to the stench lingering about the city and therefore believed that the pleasant scent of a pomander could repel disease.

     Pomanders were worn regularly around the neck in the Middle Ages by men and women, and was a perfumed ball, containing scented herbs that were set in waxy substances and could include ambergris, musk, spices, and rose water. They were typically made from gold or silver and hung from the neck or belt.

Queen Elizabeth I rarely went out without her pomander.

     Fast forward a few centuries and the pomander evolved from a piece of jewelry worn to repeal disease to an orange with cloves dusted in spices and placed around homes at Christmas.  Pomanders enjoyed a revival during the 18th and 19th century with the greater availability of citrus fruits and Victorians expanded the use of pomanders to include household decorations, natural air fresheners and Christmas ornaments. While the cloves help to preserve the fruit from spoiling the spices and citrus would add a wonderful fragrance to the home. Pomanders are traditionally hung in bunches from ceiling beams. At times cloves were even inserted in symbolic shapes and as the fruit dried the pomander became a good luck charm.

 

I hope that you will continue this Victorian Christmas tradition and  add this fragrant, fun and festive decoration to your own home this year.

 

 



Personal Post: Life at the Museum

Life at the Museum 

Circa: 2014



Historic 1883 John and Lottie Moore Home

It's been a busy few weeks at the museum to say the least! Between a Murder Mystery Event, Thanksgiving and Christmas Candlelight Tours I have hardly had time to sleep, let alone blog. However with Christmas quickly approaching things are beginning to slow down  and  I will be able to bring you some fabulous holiday posts starting today!  While I love sharing my favorite recipes, D.I.Y. projects, decorating ideas and more, I thought that it would be fun to share something a little more personal and give you a  glimpse into my life at the museum.  

 

This fall we had the opportunity to create new and wonderful events for the museum, many of which we have been dreaming about for a year or two! In November we hosted our first Murder Mystery Event at the Historic Moore Mansion. Following the untimely death of our speaker, guests searched the home high and low for clues in an attempt to solve the mystery and bring the killer to justice. Now, when I say search the home high and low I meant it.  One of my first tasks was to clean a 131 year old attic. To most it would be a daunting and possibly depressing job, however I jumped at the chance and dragged/recruited one of our amazing interns to help! I discovered that all you need is a great attitude, plenty of brooms and a fabulous soundtrack! "Shake It Off" was a favorite for the day and very appropriate due to the large amounts of dust on everything.  

Katie and I cleaning up the attic

The Murder Mystery event was amazing and we already have plans to host another one this spring! My husband was a great sport and provided the "dead body" for our evening. Sadly to his dismay he was murdered before the hors d'oeuvres and champagne were served. He is truly the best and I don't know what I would do without him.

Chris and I before he was murdered on the stairs...

Following the Murder Mystery I turned my attention to my next project, preparing the Cottage for our annual Candlelight Tours. Every year during the first week of December  our museum offers special evening tours of our beautiful historic homes that are decorated for Christmas and lit by candles. This year I had the pleasure of decorating our historic 1850's cottage for this holiday season with the assistance of our wonderful docents and staff. Our cottage is a wonderful home that was built in Richmond, Texas in 1855 by the grandson of the Jane Long "The Mother of Texas."

The theme was Christmas during the Civil War in Texas and we led guests on a guided tour of this home sharing a glimpse of how the family would have celebrated Christmas Eve in 1861. It was a magical evening and sitting in the home filled with candlelight and Christmas carols echoing in the background, for a moment you felt as is you had been transported back in time. 

Oh and did I mention that I had to dress in costume to lead our tours? It is a tough job but someone has to do it!

While the museum may keep me busy, it also offers wonderful opportunities and memories that I will cherish for a lifetime.  If you would like to see a little more of my everyday vintage life you can  follow me on Instagram at Jessn012!