This Thanksgiving, travel the world with Auntie Jo Jo to explore how different cultures give thanks. 🌍
From Britain’s Harvest Festival and Canada’s October Thanksgiving, to Japan’s Labor Thanksgiving Day and India’s bright Pongal, discover how gratitude and celebration look around the globe.

Sources:

• Smithsonian Magazine, “Harvest Traditions Around the World.”

• National Geographic Kids, Global Thanksgiving and Harvest Celebrations.

• Japan Times, “Kinrō Kansha no Hi: Japan’s Day of Thanks.”

• BBC Good Food, “History of the British Harvest Festival.”

• Cultural India, Pongal: The Festival of Harvest.

In the town of Windmere, a kind baker named Juniper Bly never used a timer, she baked by the rhythm of her own heart. 💛
When her beloved oven breaks, the whole town bands together to help her rebuild it and learns that the best recipes aren’t measured in cups or spoons, but in kindness, patience, and community.Inspiration:

• Folklore themes of communal care and craftsmanship drawn from European fable traditions (The Folklore Society, UK).

• Historical inspiration from 19th-century “moral tale” collections, Library of Congress American Folklife Center.

• Smithsonian Institution Archives, Cultural Traditions in Baking and Sharing Bread.

• “The Storytelling Power of Food,” National Museum of American History blog, 2022.

Not so long ago, half the population couldn’t vote but brave women changed that forever.
In this inspiring History-Sode, Auntie Jo Jo shares the story of the women’s suffrage movement, from the Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 to the ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920.
Meet voices like Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, and Ida B. Wells, who marched, spoke, and dreamed of a day when every voice could be heard.

Sources:

• National Women’s History Museum, The 19th Amendment: Women’s Right to Vote

• Library of Congress, Votes for Women: The Struggle for Women’s Suffrage

• National Archives, 19th Amendment Ratification Documents

• National Park Service, Women’s Rights National Historical Park – Seneca Falls Convention

• Smithsonian Magazine, “How Suffragists Changed the World.”

In the misty town of Maplebridge, an old clockmaker gives a young boy a brass watch that doesn’t tick, well not yet at least.
Years later, one single sound will remind them both that some promises never run out of time.

✨ Plus, a quick update about Auntie Jo Jo’s new podcast Legacy Lore, now streaming on Spotify and Apple Podcasts!

Sources / Inspiration:

• National Watch and Clock Museum, The History of Timekeeping in America

• British Horological Institute, Origins of the Modern Clockmaker

• Smithsonian Institution Archives, American Innovations in Horology

• Literary inspiration from early 20th-century morality fables and mentorship tales preserved in the Library of Congress Folklife Archive.

Before Thanksgiving meant turkey dinners and parade floats, it started with one determined woman and a very important letter.

In this History-Sode, Auntie Jo Jo tells the story of Sarah Josepha Hale — the author of Mary Had a Little Lamb — who spent 17 years writing to presidents to create a national day of gratitude.
Her persistence finally reached Abraham Lincoln, who made Thanksgiving a holiday during one of the hardest times in American history.
It’s a story about hope, kindness, and how one voice can make a difference.

Sources:

• Library of Congress, Primary Documents in American History: Thanksgiving Proclamation (1863)

• Smithsonian Magazine, “The Woman Who Made Thanksgiving a National Holiday”

• National Archives, Abraham Lincoln’s Thanksgiving Proclamation

• National Museum of American History, Sarah Josepha Hale Papers

In a quiet seaside village, an old widow named Mrs. Merrin lights a lantern in her window every night even during the fiercest storms.
When the townspeople question why she keeps the flame burning, they soon discover that her simple act of kindness can guide more hearts than any lighthouse ever could.

Long before fireworks were just for fun, one bold plan nearly changed England forever.
In this History-Sode, Auntie Jo Jo takes you back to 1605, when Guy Fawkes and his fellow plotters tried to blow up Parliament and how that failed attempt became Britain’s glowing November tradition: Bonfire Night.

Sources:

• UK Parliament Education Centre, The Gunpowder Plot Explained

• Historic UK, “Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot”

• BBC History Extra, “The Real Story Behind Bonfire Night”

• National Archives (UK), Primary Sources from the Gunpowder Plot of 1605

With gentle wind, a wise old tree, and a surprise landing, Linden learns that sometimes waiting doesn’t mean missing out, it means finding your perfect moment.

You’ve carved your pumpkins ......now hear the eerie Irish legend that started it all!

In this short bonus History-Sode, Auntie Jo Jo retells the story of Stingy Jack, the clever trickster who outsmarted the Devil twice and became the wandering ghost behind the first Jack-O’-Lantern.

Learn how Irish immigrants brought this glowing tradition to America — and why a turnip once carried the world’s very first candlelight.

(Plus, a special announcement about Auntie Jo Jo’s brand-new podcast, Legacy Lore, now streaming everywhere!)

Sources:

• National Museum of Ireland: Folklore of Samhain and the Jack-O’-Lantern
• Irish Central, “The Legend of Stingy Jack: The True Story Behind Halloween’s Jack-O’-Lantern”
• Library of Congress, “Halloween: Folklore and Myth”
• History.com Editors, “History of the Jack-O’-Lantern”
• Smithsonian Magazine, “The Irish Legend That Gave Us the Jack-O’-Lantern”

The witches are loose, Halloween is coming, and only Eliza and her cat Merrin can save the town of Brookhaven. Broomsticks, riddles, and a test of courage await in the thrilling conclusion of The Candle in the Window.