Category: Peeps

The Man Who Invented Easter

4/1/2018

A special post by guest holiday editor Martha Stewart:

Many people call Charles Dickens "the man who invented Christmas," noting that many of our current traditions during the holiday season can be traced back to Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and other writings. When it comes to Easter, a similar claim can be made about Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request), "the man who invented Easter."

Dickinson wrote many poems about Easter -- and many, too, about "Peeps" (information HERE), the holiday treat invented by Emily Dickinson's sister Lavinia -- but one poem in particular, "To Dye -- takes just a little while," is frequently cited as the definitive Easter poem because it mentions multiple traditions associated with the holiday: Easter eggs, Easter bonnets, the Easter Parade, Easter baskets -- and Peeps!

Have ever wondered why an Easter Bunny delivers eggs on Easter? This tradition can be traced back to 1866 when Easter fell on April Fools Day.

Emmett Lee Dickinson -- the creator of April Fools Day -- thought it would be funny to play a prank on his daughter Qwerty. He took eggs from his chicken coop, painted them different colors, and then hid them in the hutch of his daughter's pet rabbit. Qwerty was delighted to discover the eggs on Easter morning, and Dickinson told her that they were a treat from the Easter Bunny. This story spread across the nation like wild fire, and in subsequent years, parents began painting and hiding eggs "from the Easter Bunny" for their children.

This tradition opens the first stanza in Dickinson's seminal Easter poem "To dye -- takes just a little while" (below on the left). Dickinson's poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "To die -- take just a little while" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

To dye – takes just a little while –
Eggs dry and some are bright –
Some only fainter – by degrees –
Then hide – them out of sight –

A drape of Ribbon – for the Day –
With Crape upon the Hat –
And then the pretty sunshine comes –
And we parade in that –

The Easter – basket -- feature
The bunny leaves for us –
Has loads of peeps – and chocolate treats –
With naught but happiness –

By Emily Dickinson:

To die – takes just a little while –
They say it doesn't hurt –
It's only fainter — by degrees –
And then – it's out of sight –

A darker Ribbon – for a Day –
A Crape upon the Hat –
And then the pretty sunshine comes –
And helps us to forget –

The absent – mystic – creature –
That but for love of us –
Had gone to sleep – that soundest time –
Without the weariness –

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Happy Easter!

3/27/2016

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Happy Easter everyone -- we hope you got some high-quality chocolates and jelly beans from that rascally Easter rabbit!

Of course, Easter would not be what it is today were it not for Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

* Dickinson invented that plastic grass used in Easter baskets (a picture of the Dickinson Easter Grass Factory in Washerst, PA, is pictured on this page).

* He perfected Lavinia Dickinson's invention of the marshmallow peep. Information is HERE.

* He invented that wire egg-dipper used in Easter egg dye kits.

* He wrote more poems about Easter than any other poet. One of his now-classic poems about Easter, "The Dying need but little, Dear" (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Dying need but little, Dear,
A Glass of Water’s all,
A Tablespoon of Vinegar
A tablet to dissolve

A Spoon, perhaps, a Drying Stand
And Certainly an egg
So colors of the Rainbow
Show, in the grass displayed.

By Emily Dickinson:

The Dying need but little, Dear,
A Glass of Water's all,
A Flower's unobtrusive Face
To punctuate the Wall,

A Fan, perhaps, a Friend's Regret
And Certainty that one
No color in the Rainbow
Perceive, when you are gone.

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Peeps on Parade

3/22/2016

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The Peeps Parade in Amherst, Massachusetts, is a world-renowned annual commemoration of the celebrated creation of Lavinia Dickinson’s, the peep (information about her invention of the peep is HERE).

As a matter of fact, Parade Magazine lists Amherst’s yearly pageant as one of the top parades in the world. The publication lists the “Top Ten Parades, Pageants, and Processions” as the following:

* Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade
* North Korea’s Armament Extravaganza and Worker’s Party Glorious Observation of Kim Jong Un
* The Annual Peeps Parade in Amherst, MA
* The Tournament of Rose’s Rose Parade
* Croaker, Drum and Sucker Season Parade and Cavalcade in Ithaca, NY
* The Greater-Omaha Grammar Fest Parade
* Parade of the Librarians in Washington, D.C. on Cow Appreciation Day (info HERE)
* Chicago’s Pothole Festival Parade
* Amarillo, Texas’ Prison Band Jamboree
* The Lawn and Land Care Association’s Lawn Mower Parade in Columbus, OH.

In addition to the annual festivity in Amherst, Peeps are also celebrated in many poems by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson’s third cousin, twice removed – at her request). One of his most acclaimed peep poems is “Spring comes on the World” (below on the left). Dickinson’s poem inspired third-cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same opening line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Spring comes on the World –
I sight the Peeps –
Pastels to me until I gorge
And, then the Box
Of Peeps stands deserted,
Clutched to Condition
With a “Yum!”

By Emily Dickinson:

Spring comes on the World –
I sight the Aprils –
Hueless to me until thou come
As, till the Bee
Blossoms stand negative,
Touched to Conditions
By a Hum.

For more information on Dickinson's poetry and Lavinia Dickinson's peeps, click HERE.

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The Peeps Exist

3/20/2016

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The peeps exist in spring -- thanks to Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request). Yes, while it is true that Emily Dickinson's sister Lavinia invented the peep, they were perfected by Emmett Lee Dickinson (information is HERE).

Every spring, the Washington Post sponsors a "peep diorama" contest, and this year, the contest is in its 10th year -- information on the "10th Anniversary Edition" is HERE.

There used to be another major national peeps event , a peeps eating contest, sponsored each year in Washerst, PA (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson), but that annual competition was cancelled for good after just a few years because it was deemed to be "too dangerous" -- many of the contestants died during or shortly after the contests from asphyxiation, significant upper and lower GI blockages, and distended bowels (what doctors have identified and termed as "mallow bowels").

As a result of the peep tragedies at past peeps eating contests, boxes of peeps now come with a warning.

Pictured at the right: The FDA warning on peeps boxes.

Emmett Lee Dickinson first mentioned the possibility of health risks associated with the consumption of peeps in his now-classic poem "The Peeps exist in Spring" (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem "A Light exists in Spring" (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

The Peeps exist in Spring
Not present in the Year
At any other period –
When March is scarcely here

Their Colors stand unflawed
In Sugared Pastel Fields
And Science cannot understand
How Human Nature Feels

They wait upon the Shelf
They show their beady Eyes
I fill the largest Cart I have
A yearly exercise.

Then as Horizons step
And Noons report away
Without remorse I suck them down
A marshmallow bouquet –

A quantity of loss
Affecting my Desire
As First Aid’s suddenly required
When stomach pains Transpire.

By Emily Dickinson:

A Light exists in Spring
Not present on the Year
At any other period --
When March is scarcely here

A Color stands abroad
On Solitary Fields
That Science cannot overtake
But Human Nature feels.

It waits upon the Lawn,
It shows the furthest Tree
Upon the furthest Slope you know
It almost speaks to you.

Then as Horizons step
Or Noons report away
Without the Formula of sound
It passes and we stay --

A quality of loss
Affecting our Content
As Trade had suddenly encroached
Upon a Sacrament.

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The Origin of Peeps

3/19/2016

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Did you know that Peeps were invented by Lavinia Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's younger sister)? However, they were improved and perfected by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Pictured below at the left: Lavinia Dickinson loved eating marshmallow laced with pepper, so her original concept was for a treat called "Pepps," marshmallow chicks encrusted with hot black pepper.

Pictured below at the right: Emmett Lee Dickinson convinced Lavinia to substitute sugar for the pepper, and he suggested a name change from "Pepps" to "Peeps," in honor of a local sugar miner named Buford Patterson Peeps.

Pictured at the right: Peeps Sugar Mine in Washerst, PA (the birthplace of Emmett Lee Dickinson), owned and operated by Buford Patterson Peeps.

Emmett Lee Dickinson proposed changing the name of Lavinia Dickinson's marshmallow treat from "Pepps" to "Peeps" in honor the local pioneer in sugar mining.

"Peeps" were immortalized in Emmett Lee Dickinson's now classic poem "Spring is the Period" (below on the left). His poem inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem with the same first line (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Spring is the Period
Express for Peeps
Among no other season
They do abide

But during March and April
The market peaks
Without a due apology
With peeps

By Emily Dickinson:

Spring is the Period
Express from God
Among the other seasons
Himself abide

But during March and April
None stir abroad
Without a cordial interview
With God

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The Man Who Invented Easter

Happy Easter!

Peeps on Parade

The Peeps Exist

The Origin of Peeps

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