Thanksgiving is coming up! The gatherings may not be as big this year, but families around the country will find ways to celebrate safely. And that means a lot of food. On average, Americans consume 3,000 calories during their Thanksgiving dinners. It’s not hard to see why. With the smorgasbord of tempting dishes, many of [...]
I love looking at Victorian greeting cards. The style is so charming and there are a lot of things I find quite humorous about how they celebrated holidays back then and what the cards teach us about their attitudes and culture. For instance, I love that there is so often a romantic angle in many [...]
Do you have a copy of A Christmas Carol at home? Or is there a film adaptation that you enjoy watching each year? The Charles Dickens’ tale is such an ingrained part of our holiday celebrations in the Western world that it is something that we might not think much of as it begins to [...]
Although it is a very unusual pandemic Halloween, members of the Recollections team and some friends were able to start a new tradition this year. A very witchy group attended the Witches Weekend in historic Houghton Lake, Michigan. They had a blast and were able to showcase their costume skills so we thought it would [...]
I am a big fan of the 1950s. The clothing, the decor, the many things we would now consider kitschy. I LOVE poodle skirts and have a goal to create a new tradition of wearing one each Christmas (the first poodle skirts had Christmas designs on them). It was fun for me to read about [...]
I typically enjoy covering the pretty, funny, quirky, and amusing aspects of women’s history. This especially applies to the Victoria era that included so many customs and societal norms that we’ve evolved so far away from today. But as it is coming up on Halloween I thought it might be fun to look at a [...]
Talk of Halloween, witches, and all that is spooky naturally lends itself to talk about the Salem Witch Trials. Hundreds of years later the story of the misguided community and the individuals who died at their hands remains a topic of massive interest. The various reasons for this is probably already the topic of a [...]
Trick or treating may not be taking place in many neighborhoods this year, but the tradition is in little danger of being lost to time in this country. It is a deeply beloved start to the holiday season that children and adults treasure. But did you know that this is a holiday tradition that only [...]
There is something about mulled wine that sends me back in time. Maybe it is the special mix of spices I’m not used to drinking that makes me think of a fancy tea party. Or maybe it is because I enjoyed it for the first time at a very special Victorian-themed lounge in Greenwich Village. [...]