Today is...

National Sangria Day

It’s National Sangria Day! This refreshingly fruity drink is the perfect cure for your winter blues. There are thousands of different variations of sangria that combine such ingredients as sliced fruit, honey, sugar, juice, carbonated soda, red or white wine, and other alcohols. Each combination changes the flavor, alcohol content, and carbonation of the sangria. 

Sangria is a popular drink at bars, pubs, and restaurants in Portugal, Spain, and Mexico, and at tapas restaurants in the United States. However, at one point, it was illegal to serve sangria in the state of Virginia! It violated an obscure 75-year-old law that did not allow the mixing of wine or beer with spirits. Violators of this law could be charged with a misdemeanor, a hefty fine, and up to a year in jail. It was not until 2008 that the Virginia General Assembly finally legalized the serving of sangria.

To celebrate National Sangria Day, conjure up your favorite sangria recipe to enjoy with friends and family!

Today is also Go Caroling Day & National Fried Shrimp Day

December is National Fruit Cake Month & National Egg Nog Month

images and text courtesy of MyPunchbowl.com" -- http://www.mypunchbowl.com/

History for December 20   1606 - The "Susan Constant," "Godspeed" and "Discovery" set sail from London. Their landing at Jamestown, VA, was the start of the first permanent English settlement in America. 1803 - The United States purchased the Louisiana Territories from France for $15 million. 1880 - New York's Broadway became known as the "Great White Way" when it was lighted by electricity. 1928 - Mail delivery by dog sled began in Lewiston, ME. 1946 - The Frank Capra film "It's A Wonderful" Life had a preview showing for charity at New York City's Globe Theatre, a day before its "official" world premiere. 1963 - The Berlin Wall was opened for the first time. It was only for the holiday season. It closed again on January 6, 1964. ________________________________________________________ "The crown of life is neither happiness nor annihilation; it is understanding. These are the moments of revelation which compensate for the chaos, the discomfort, the toil of living....These are the moments in which all the disorder of life assumes a pattern. We see; we understand; and immediately the intolerable burden becomes tolerable; we stand for a moment on the slopes of a great mountain from the summit of which we can see the truth, and thus enjoy the greatest felicity of which we are capable." --Winifred Holtby