There’s something magical about a carousel. 

 

I remember my first merry-go-round ride, atop a horse at Funland Park in the Alexandria Zoo in the 1970’s. It became a highlight of future visits. Fifty years later I still love riding on carousels, whether in a mall, zoo, or state fair. They bring me back to childhood. 

 

While the earliest known depiction of a merry-go-round is from the Byzantine Empire in 500 AD, the first merry-go-round in the United States was built in Hessville, Ohio in the 1840s by Franz Wiesenoffer. The name comes from the idea that riders go around in circles and are merry while doing so.

 

In 1988, the Alexandria Mall became home to the touring Crystal Carousel for several years. The  25-foot-tall Crystal Carousel, located in the bustling food court, was a double-decker delight featuring more than 2,000 lights, hand-painted art panels, and horses with real horse hair tails. The $1 rides were a treat for visitors, including my own children. Made in 1973, it was an exact replica of the original carousel built in Germany in 1870 by Philipp Schneider. 

 

While I use the terms carousel and merry-go-round interchangeably, some say the difference is that a carousel only has horses, while a merry-go-round has both horses and other animals. I do love searching for the fiercest animal when choosing my seat these days!

 

In British English, the ride is also called a roundabout. Fitting as that’s another name for traffic circles, the pestiferous merry-go-rounds of the open road. 

 

Go find a merry-go-round and have some fun today. Visit your favorite carousel and relive childhood memories. Post on social media using #MerryGoRoundDay.