Welcome to JOYFUL REFLECTIONS. Also welcome to MARCH!!!! My header picture this month is a photo I took of the pretty Crocus blooms in our yard... The Crocuses and Daffodils are the first signs of spring here in Tennessee. I am definitely ready for SPRING...

Monday, January 2, 2012

Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes

The first known publication of a collection of Nursery Rhymes was in 1744,  and the first confirmed collection of Nursery Rhymes using the term,  "Mother Goose" was published in 1780.  Isaiah Thomas published the first authorized AMERICAN edition of  "Mother Goose's Melody".   The book I remember as a child was published in 1916.  Rand McNally and Company re-published the collection of Mother Goose Rhymes as   "The Real Mother Goose".   And in 1928 the Mother Goose Nursery Rhymes arranged by Logan Marshall was published in Chicago with illustrations by Julia Greene.

Maybe you are wondering why I am talking about nursery rhymes!!!!!! WELL---when we were with our friends in Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg on Dec. 11,  we drove down an area which featured light displays of some of the popular nursery rhymes...  The child in ALL of us came out ---as we looked at these displays.    Hope you enjoy seeing some of these nursery rhymes depicted here for you today.  Remember to click on the photos for LARGER pictures.




Can you guess what nursery rhyme this picture is depicting??????  See if you can figure it out....  (Answers at the bottom)




How 'bout this one????  Bet you can guess this one,  since you can see part of the title!!!! ha ha




This nursery rhyme is a 3-parter...  See if you can figure out which nursery rhyme this one is...  Bet you can!!!!!!!


















Did you get it???????    I was just so impressed at these displays...  The child in me popped out (as you can imagine) ---as we saw these depictions...

OKAY---if you missed any of these three nursery rhymes,  here they are....

1. HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE
Hey Diddle Diddle,  the cat and the fiddle;  The cow jumped over the moon.  The little dog laughed to see such fun,  and the dish ran away with the spoon!!!

2.  HICKORY, DICKORY, DOCK
Hickory, Dickory, Dock...The mouse ran up the clock.  The clock struck one; The mouse ran down;  Hickory, Dickory Dock.

3. HUMPTY DUMPTY
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall;  Humpty Dumpty had a great fall;
All the King's horses and all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty together again!!!

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas.   AND---I wish for each of you a tremendous 2012....

Happy New Year!!!!
Hugs,
Betsy

70 comments:

Anonymous said...

Happy New Year! How fun to be reminded of nursery rhymes while enjoying the festive lights.

Ms. A said...

Hope your New Year is starting out fantastic!

Betty Manousos said...

dear betsy,

may your new year be filled with an abundance of joy, laughter and good fortune.

happy 2012!

hugs.
betty

Betty Manousos said...

dear betsy,

may your new year be filled with an abundance of joy, laughter and good fortune.

happy 2012!

hugs.
betty

Lisa @ Two Bears Farm said...

Those are amazing! My boys would've loved them. I even know all the rhymes ;-)

Arkansas Patti said...

Yep, I got them. Impressive and with motion yet. Funny how we remember those rhymes even years later.
Happy New Year Betsy and George.

RoeH said...

I love nursery rhymes but I'm sad to see that children are not being taught them today. Like my DIL, the thoughts today are that they are wicked and dangerous for kids to hear. And that's so ridiculous. Same with all those stories we all learned. Wicked witches and all that like Hansel and Gretel. I think that was my favorite one.

From the Kitchen said...

Love it! I got them all. Betsy, your header is stunning.

Best,
Bonnie

Ruth Hiebert said...

Wow,those are really good. All those nursery rhymes were part of my growing up years.
I love the header picture.

Birdman said...

Thanks to that little history at the top.

Lady Di Tn said...

These are wonderful displays and I can imagine how much fun y'all had reciting them as you came upon each one. Yes I knew them all. Thanks for sharing and Peace

mamahasspoken said...

Happy New Year to you too! I always love going out driving, looking at Christmas lights. Didn't get to do it this year, maybe next :o/

Snap said...

What fun! Never grow up! :D :D :D Happy New Year!

MadSnapper said...

I guessed all three, i loved nursery rhymes and fairy tales when i was small, had books of all of them. books were my favorite gift and still are
I had a hard time looking at the lights because God's Light in your header is so awesome i just wanted to sit and stare. talk about LIGHTS that is one awesome light show

Elenka said...

Hi Betsy,
My husband (Birdman) just read me your food tradition using Hoppin John.
I made this for Christmas this year for the first time and I thought the recipe I had was bland and bad.
Would you be willing to share yours with me? I'd love to try it again.
I could not access your email from your web page, so my email is
elenka@rocketmail.com
Thanks so much!

Shug said...

good morning Betsy...
this is so very neat and I know each scene captured the hearts of many children and adults alike.
I love those old nursery ryhmes. I'm guessing that it was a very fun evening that night that you took all these photos. Thanks for sharing them with us. This is one of the reasons why I love to visit you...so many neat things to see!
Hugs,
shug

Dorothy said...

Great depictions of the nursery rhymes! I got all of them!!! I'm still a kid at heart;-)

Harriet said...

Thanks for sharing these wonderful pictures. Love your new header picture!

Anonymous said...

I got them all right! What a great way to depict the nursery rhymes!

Fred Alton said...

Quite proud of myself for figuring out all the rhymes you pictured! I was as bad as "Little Jack Horner, who sat in a corner, eating his Christmas pie - he stuck in his thumb and pulled out a plum and said, 'What a good boy am I'".

Serenity Cove said...

Hi Betsy, Got them all right and I love your header photo!
Hope you and George have a Happy New Year and lots of adventures this year and stay healthy!

Sylvia K said...

How fun! And what delightful captures, Betsy! Having had four children, I was able to recognize the rhymes! Guess there are some things we never forget! Hope your new year is off to a great start! Enjoy!

Sylvia

TexWisGirl said...

those are too cute. :)

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

I can see why the child was brought out in you...I did not know the history of Mother Goose...it is neat

Anonymous said...

I had nooo idea Mother Goose dated back THAT far... I knew it'd been quite old, but the 1700's?! WoW!

I got the dish ran away w/ the spoon, but couldn't remember which rhyme it came from... heheheee =)

Anonymous said...

You must have had so much FUN looking at these light displays. Yes, I was able to guess the rhymes, it wasn't hard.

Cheryl @ TFD said...

These are all very good displays! They bring out the kid that still resides in all of us, I think. I loved nursery rhymes as a youngster and haven't forgotten them! Your header photo is just awesome. Love it!

A Brit in Tennessee said...

What wonderful displays Betsy, do you know that some of the nursery rhymes have different words than the British versions ?
One that springs to mind, is :
Ring 'ring o roses
A pocket full of poses,
Atchoo, atchoo,
We all fall down !

I absolutely LOVE your new header, just magical !
Wishing you and George a Happy and Healthy New Year !
~Jo

Sandy said...

Happy New Year to you also. I really enjoyed the pics of the nursery tales, what a cleaver idea. (o:

amy @ Life in Pink Hi-Tops said...

Awesome! I love nursery rhymes. In fact sometimes I feel like the Little Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe......
:)

Karin said...

Quite a lot of work went into those light set ups! Just beautiful to see against the night sky! I have heard that there are a lot of 'secret' stories as to how some of these nursery rhymes came about. An interesting read I'm sure!

nanny said...

Pretty, pretty pictures. What fun!
I hope you had great holidays....I'm glad to finally sit down and catch up with my friends...

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

That was fun, Betsy. The rhymes came back to me, though I hadn't thought of them in a good many years.

Connie said...

Such a fun display, Betsy. That must have been neat to see. Thanks for sharing the photos. Happy New Year! :-)

Janice K said...

They were well done! I have had the fun of sharing some nursery rhymes with my grandchildren lately!

By the way....I love your new header with the "Glory of God" shine through the clouds!

Happy New Year.

Susie Swanson said...

This is a fun and beautiful display.. I got all three.. I always loved nursery rhymes.. Hope you had a Nice Christmas and Happy New Year..Susie

LV said...

These beautiful light scenes would bring out the child in all of us.

Donna said...

Happy New Year to you!

Diane said...

Thanks to my mother I knew them all and then some. I still love nursery rhymes, they never get old, nor do we when we hear them. Love the pictures. Diane

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

HEY DIDDLE DIDDLE was the first nursery ryhme when I started school.

Ann said...

I remember having a mother goose nursery rhyme book when I was young and I would read through it all the time. I loved it. I loved these photos too. What fabulous displays

Elizabeth said...

Happy New Year, hope you had a great week off the 'net!! Missed you! That's a simply awesome header photo and must have been breathtaking to see in real life...and just as I was reading your explanation of it, and got to the part where you say it might snow a little at the Glade in January, those flurries began to fall on your blog and I felt a little shiver run up my spine, it was as if you had planned the moment, LOL!

Those nursery rhyme light shows must be amazing to see in motion, but George managed to catch Humpty falling! Oh, what kids we all are at heart!

Stay warm, keep the cocoa and fire going and I'll stop by to help with the Geneology work!

Elizabeth in Mississippi

Sally Wessely said...

I loved these. I can see why you had so much fun.

Lynda said...

Very happy, festive fun with lights and excellent pictures of them!
Your header photo is gorgeous. I would think you could enter it into a contest and win first prize! It's one of the very best you have ever done.

Neal said...

Very interesting. Those are great light displays.

Happy New Year!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Hi Betsy, Of course I got all of these correct - but then I used to teach young children. Great post and fun! By the way, it is snowing as I write this (6:30PM). Have a super good day tomorrow and stay warm. Happy New Year!

Cicero Sings said...

Love the light displays as well. I love children's books so can jump into these scenes like you!

Chatty Crone said...

What a cute post - I got two of them - I'm a bit slow. I love lights like you do - so much fun. Sandie

happyone said...

I remember them all very well.
A fun post!! : )

Busy Bee Suz said...

These are so much fun. Who doesn't love Nursery Rhymes??
Happy new year to you Betsy! All the best in 2012!!

Rohrerbot said...

This is a great idea. I LOVE the fairy tale themes and the use of lights around the area.

Colleen said...

Thank you for sharing...a fun walk down memory lane. Did not realize that Mother Goose dates back to the mid 1700's!That is awesome. A happy, healthy new year to you, Betsy!

SquirrelQueen said...

I loved nursery rhymes and fairy tales as a child. These are all so colorful and very well done.

I hope your new year has started off right and all is well.

Lynn said...

Betsy, I loved your header before, but now I must "wave" to Gatlinburg each time I see it! Yup, I knew all the nursery rhymes, but it was delightful seeing them in "lights" like that. We wish you and George lots of waterfalls, hikes, laughter and abundant good health this year. You know Betsy, your smile shines as brightly as those lights! Such a blessing finding you through our blogs. Oh, yes, our new calendar likes it's home here in FL. We are COLD tonight or will be by early morning and wouldn't you know I have an early "routine" appt at 8:30. Have to find my mittens tonight!

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Betsy!

I still remember all the nursery rhymes so I enjoyed seeing them in lights.

Wishing you and George a very Happy & Healthy New Year!

Jo said...

A happy, healthy and safe New Year to you and George, Betsy. I loved this post and sang/recited the nursery rhymes as I looked at your photos. It's good knowing you via blogger and I wish you a fruitful blogging year ahead too. Blessings and love Jo

diane b said...

That is a great light display and I'm impressed with George's night photography. Mine would all have been blurred. He must tell me the secret. When I see nursery rhymes I can always hear my mother singing them to me. A bit sad but a great way to keep her alive in my heart.

Beth said...

What a creative and awesome display! Someone truly has a wonderful child alive and well in them and a lot of energy to put these up.
Thanks so much for sharing these. I remember reading these to my children and now I read them (or say them--memorized by now) to my grandchildren. Delightful!
I'm off to the first day back at school. Have a happy day and week, Betsy! ♥b

penny said...

Hi Betsy, You all must have had a wonderful time see those nursery rhymes lights.. takes me back to reading tales to my kids.

I wish you good health and much happiness in 2012.
Warm hugs,
~:)

Carletta said...

Hi Betsy!
I love these and I did get all of them. I would have loved to see my granddaughters at something like this.
Hope you and George had a wonderful Christmas!
All the best for a healthy happy New Year!

We got about a half inch of snow last night. We haven't had a GOOD snow yet!

DeniseinVA said...

Those are fantastic displays and great photos as always. Must have been a sight to see them first hand. Thanks Betsy and wishing you and George a Happy New Year!

Pat - Arkansas said...

I still enjoy nursery rhymes, and had no difficulties naming them all. What a clever display. Glad you got to enjoy it.

Best wishes for a blessed and happy new year.

Rose said...

Betsy, these are wonderful...I bet they were fun to see.

Anita Johnson said...

Oh how fun! I love lights too! Happy New Year!

Janie said...

I guessed them all! The displays are very imaginative and so well done.
Interesting history on the Mother Goose rhymes. I didn't realize they had been around so long.
Happy New Year to you and George!

Chat with Kathleen said...

Thank you, Betsy for responding to my new year wishes. It reminded me to revisited your fantastic blogs that I have not been to in quite a while.
I am so happy to come back, you are so gifted in your writings. This one was fun to see and play I love Mother Goose. In fact my younger sister won best prize at her school for her originality of her Little Bo Peep costume.
May 2012 be a year of great happiness, love, joy and good health for you and George.
BTW I love Pigeon Forge been there three times. I shall never forget the last visit it was August 16, 2007. I received a call from my sister asking me to return to RI earlier because we were planning an unmexpected funeral for our Mom instead of her birthday party on the 25th.
Hugs, Kathleen from RI

Kelly said...

Happy New Year, Betsy! Hope your holidays were wonderful. We had a great time...
hugs, kelly

Mary said...

Very colorful! We have a Fantasy of Lights thing here, too and we forgot to go this year. Always fun to see the lights and animations.

Mary said...

Very colorful! We have a Fantasy of Lights thing here, too and we forgot to go this year. Always fun to see the lights and animations.

Annesphamily said...

I love all those nursery rhymes! You post some terrific things and I know your new year is going to be magical! Anne