By: Maralee McKee, Manners Mentor
Welcome to our weekly edition of Manners & More From Around the Web! These are links I love and hope you will too. Here, in honor of Inauguration Day, you’ll find unique posts about that day and more. All of them are curated to inform and delight. Enjoy!
- With the inauguration only days away, it got me thinking. How and when did the various traditions and protocols of the day get their start? History.com had my answers, and they’re fascinating! Did you know that President Washington couldn’t dance with Martha at his first ball? It’s unfortunate but true. Also, his ball wasn’t official, although it was a future First Lady who made certain a ball would be part of every president’s inauguration day.
- While we’re on the subject of inaugurations, what happens behind the scenes that day as one family moves out of the White House and another moves into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the span of a few hours while the swearing-in ceremony and parade are taking place? This two-minute video from History.com shares the details. I think you’ll enjoy it, and it’s a great teaching video to share with the children in your life!
- We’ve always been fascinated by our First Ladies. In fact, quite a few of their inaugural ball gowns are on display at the Smithsonian. The style of Jacqueline Kennedy is legendary. However, she wasn’t the first First Lady to have a fashion style that others wanted to copy! Did you know (I didn’t) that we once had a 21-year-old First Lady? When she stopped wearing bustles, the industry basically went out of business! And when she showed her shoulders, doing so went from indecent to in vogue. (The large photos in this infographic take a moment to load. Please allow time as you scroll down because it’s well worth the look! Courtesy of www.ogleschool.edu/blog/first-ladies-of-style/)
- We vote for president every four years. However, we vote for how we’ll shape our culture multiple times every day. From Seth Godin, here’s The Candy Diet. It’s an eye-opening read about how, if we do the right things, it won’t take as many people as we might think to raise the standard of our popular culture from one that craves constant entertainment and quick fixes to one that thinks deeply and acts wisely.
What to Check Out Out on the Blog:
As always, I’ll see you later this week. Until then…
Blessings,
