The California Mayflower Society is kicking off 2020 celebrations on January 1st with an entry in the iconic Rose Bowl Parade, officially the "Rose Parade" in the "Tournament of Roses." It begins at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on Wednesday. The theme this year is "The Power of Hope," and the Mayflower passengers and their estimated 30 million modern-day descendants certainly exemplify what can come from Hope (400 years later.) The home page of the California Mayflower Society has information on what it took to make a parade entry happen and ways YOU can participate. (Click on "Ways You Can Participate in the Parade" at the bottom right.) It is too late to decorate but they need other Mayflower Society participants for related in-person activities Dec. 29 - Jan 2.  They would appreciate your financial support and are selling an array of interesting items, including a case of Mayflower-themed California wine and a "Who's Your Pilgrim?" t-shirt. TV stations broadcasting the parade in your area can be found here, at the official Rose Bowl Parade website. Be sure to tune in early & watch like the proverbial hawk because floats are sometimes only on screen for a matter of seconds, maybe a whole half minute if they are particularly noteworthy or have won a prize. (Cross your fingers for the California Mayflower Society's "Voyage of Hope" entry.) After the parade, you can visit the floats up close & personal on Jan. 1st & 2nd. (Have your picture taken with "Voyage of Hope" and post it online.) That is a ticketed event, though, so find info here.

From the New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), courtesy of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and per Matthew 1: 1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus.* 1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham became the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers. 3 Judah became the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar. Perez became the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, 4 Ram the father of Amminadab. Amminadab became the father of Nahshon, Nahshon the father of Salmon, 5 Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab. Boaz became the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth. Obed became the father of Jesse, 6 Jesse the father of David the king.
David became the father of Solomon, whose mother had been the wife of Uriah. 7 Solomon became the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, Abijah the father of Asaph. 8 Asaph became the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, Joram the father of Uzziah. 9 Uzziah became the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, Ahaz the father of Hezekiah. 10 Hezekiah became the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amos,* Amos the father of Josiah. 11 Josiah became the father of Jechoniah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile.
12 After the Babylonian exile, Jechoniah became the father of Shealtiel, Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, 13 Zerubbabel the father of Abiud. Abiud became the father of Eliakim, Eliakim the father of Azor, 14 Azor the father of Zadok. Zadok became the father of Achim, Achim the father of Eliud, 15 Eliud the father of Eleazar. Eleazar became the father of Matthan, Matthan the father of Jacob, 16 Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary. Of her was born Jesus who is called the Messiah.
17 Thus the total number of generations from Abraham to David is fourteen generations; from David to the Babylonian exile, fourteen generations; from the Babylonian exile to the Messiah, fourteen generations.*

Here is a link to The Legal Genealogist's warning about a planned mind-boggling increase to fees charged by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service for copies of old records. The blogpost contains a link to the (innocuous) wording of the proposed change but explains what it really means to an average user. (Frankly, it would put such documents out of the reach of most people.) Furthermore, The Legal Genealogist (attorney-genealogist Judy G. Russell) asks why these records (or copies of them) are not being sent to the NARA, where they would be more accessible. Russell asks you to read the record, post your comments on the Federal Register comment page (her post gives a Dec. 16th deadline but the Records, Not Revenue website and the Federal Rulemaking Portal page, where you go to post your comments, both say that has been moved to Dec. 30th.) Then contact your senators & congressperson to share your opinions. Finally, tell every genealogist and genealogy buff to do the same. But hurry.

Update 12.20.2019: I submitted my comments today and emailed them to my U.S. Rep and Senators, requesting that they do what they can to prevent the fee increases. Don't be shy!

Thanksgiving is over, so it's time to put up the lights and start making & freezing whatever holiday goodies are in your family tradition. The pilgrims were not teatotallers, so I take that as an example and make these cookies every year. The recipe originated in one of those 1950s-era “Reddy Kilowatt” cookbooks written to get consumers to switch to ovens operating “the cool, clean, electric way.” I've modified it to make more than the tiny batch the original made and to use a food processor for faster preparation - albeit just as messy. You can substitute rum or bourbon for whiskey and pecans for the walnuts but I use ordinary Jack Daniel’s “Old No. 7” whiskey and walnuts. Likewise, measurements are not exact. One standard box of vanilla wafers generates 3 ½ cups of crumbs. If you have more or less than one box, increase or decrease the other ingredients to match. The ratio is 1 cup vanilla wafer crumbs to 1 cup chopped nuts to 1 cup powdered sugar, etc. so adjust the ingredient amounts accordingly, if necessary. Likewise, the amount of liquor needed may be slightly more or less depending on humidity. (I live in the desert.) You will be rolling it into balls with your hands and the desired consistency is “very sticky.” 

                                                                    Whiskey Balls
 
Ingredients:  
1 box vanilla wafers, crushed (NOT fat free or “light”)
3 ½ cups of chopped walnuts 
3 ½ cups of powdered sugar
7 tablespoons of baking cocoa (2 tablespoons per cup of crushed wafers)
5 ¼ tablespoons white corn syrup (1 ½ tablespoons per cup of crushed wafers)
7/8 cup of whiskey (1/4 cup per cup of crushed wafers)
Another cup or so of powdered sugar to roll the cookies in.

Instructions: Using the sharp knife-edged blade, chop the nuts in a food processor until they range from crumb- to ¼”-size. Set them aside in a separate bowl. Chop the vanilla wafers into very small crumbs. Set those aside in the bowl with the chopped nuts. Change the blade to a strong metal one that can blend heavy dough. Dump the nuts and cookie crumbs back into the food processor. Add everything else, whiskey last. Mix thoroughly, stopping to scrape the sides of the container, until all ingredients are blended. Take 1-2 tablespoon-size bits of dough and roll in as thick a layer of powdered sugar as possible. Store refrigerated in a sealed container. If you need to stack them, use wax paper or parchment paper to keep the layers apart and the cookies as round as possible.

Although the dough is certainly tasty these are actually much better after a few days, weeks, or even a month of curing in a sealed container in your refrigerator. If they are to be your new Favorite Christmas Cookie, remember to make them a couple weeks beforehand. These are VERY whiskeyish, so not everyone will like them but everyone WILL know what you have been eating. And if you put them out at a gathering, include a small sign saying "these contain whiskey" in the event a guest does not/cannot consume liquor. (Liquor does not "cook out" of an unbaked cookie.)

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you!