17 thoughts on “Keepa’s Christmas Gift Giving Guide, page 3”

1. Actually, looks pretty good.

2. Celery???

3. Yeah, “gift celery”? I guess “gift” and “celery” are two words I never thought of as going together.

4. Order by mail!

5. When my mother was in the service during World War II, she got a delivery of gift celery from her mother, which Mom shared with barracks mates from the eastern states and California. She says they could hardly believe the difference in flavor between Utah-grown celery and anything they had ever tasted.

   The Amish use celery as a wedding food, with the traditional belief that it increases fertility. Hmmm … maybe Utah celery has something to do with the Utah birth rate? 🙂

6. You had to post these when it was too late for me to use them in all my Zazzle-made gift calendars, didn’t you?

   I guess there’s always next year.

   For some reason, celery was always a mainstay at our family Christmas dinner. One plate stuffed with shrimp and other plate stuffed with Kraft spreadable sharp cheddar that came in those little jars you later used as water glasses.

   I don’t think there was anything “Utah” about the custom though.

7. I was going to say, send me the December special! …Until I saw that it was fruitcake. Er, no thanks.

8. Fear not, for behold, I have more ads to post next Christmas — including one for a department store that uses a swastika right smack in the middle of the copy. Be ye sore afraid?

9. Well, if Utah celery is THAT good, who is willing to ship me some?

10. I suspect that all that’s available in the grocery stores here is shipped from Central America these days. But next summer when the produce stands are open, maybe I can find something local. Remind me, Eric!

11. Ardis, swastika teasing is just not nice.

12. Well, okay, Mina, it isn’t smart getting myself put on the naughty list at this time of year, so I won’t tease. Here’s, the ad, from 1921:

    
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    This sort of swastika was a common Indian symbol and appears in lots of pre-1930s American materials as a symbol of good luck.

13. This sort of gift-giving is still done, of course—there are citrus plantations in Florida that exist solely for the (high-profit, high-risk) mail-order fruit market. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some Utah fruit businesses that still do a pretty good mail-order business. (What’s the one with a store in a red barn-looking structure by the south end I–15 in Utah County or the north end of Juab County, i forget which? They might.)

14. My Grandmother is 97 years-old. She has everything she’s ever wanted, because her desires are low. I got her a box of citrus fruit this year because I know how much she appreciates fresh fruit.

15. thanks for the Nord’s ad, Ardis. I have a minor interest in the cultural variations of that symbol and collect different examples for future possible pedagogical uses.

    I don’t know if you saw this story from a few months ago about a woman who purchased what she thought was “swastika christmas” wrapping paper at a dollar store. As later pointed out, it was likely originally intended for Diwali celebrations in India and elsewhere.

    http://www.wesh.com/news/21567569/detail.html

16. I have a 1906 copy of The Squaw Man, the novel version adapted from Royle’s play, with a swastika on the spine. I’ll have to figure out how to get a good scan of that and send it for your collection.

    And no, I hadn’t seen that story!

17. #5 – Please do NOT send me anything that increases fertility! When you are heading down the homestretch, you don’t want to have start the race all over again.

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