Happy St. Patrick’s Day, readers! This is an extra special year for this holiday as many local celebrations are being held for the first time in two years. We would like to celebrate along with you and have put together a fun roundup of articles, historical images, videos, and vintage recipes for you to browse [...]
Well - each time I think I have gone down my favorite rabbit hole researching a blog post for Recollections I quickly find myself tearing myself out of another one. I have planned to do a post this week on Easter bonnets for about a year now, and when I began, it sure was hard [...]
Have you gotten started on your Valentine’s yet? If not, will you know what to say when you do? Last week we explored the Regency Valentine’s manual for men, Richardson's New London fashionable gentleman's valentine writer, or, The lover's own book for this year : containing a very choice selection of original and popular valentines [...]
I wanted to do something out of the ordinary this past holiday season. As someone who lives alone, I have found that certain holidays are easier than others and that Christmas tends to be a time that I prefer to do something away from home. Last year I made a promise that I would travel [...]
I love the fresh start of a new year! I think that even if it is just symbolic, the rare opportunities that we have in life to start a new chapter can be great chances to reevaluate our lives and make changes that ensure we are making the most of our time on this planet. [...]
When it comes to the holidays, some things change and some things stay very much the same. One thing that has changed since the Victorian era is that fewer cards are now sent for the holidays. While we now typically see mass amounts of cards being sent for Mother’s Day, Christmas, and to a lesser [...]
How do you spend time with family and loved ones over the Christmas holiday? Are there games or traditions that you enjoy? Do any of them involve trying not to catch on fire? In the Victorian era, that is exactly what one could anticipate with the playing of a popular Christmas eve parlour game, snapdragon. [...]
I have loved blogging for Recollections for the past two years! One of the things that has been so special is that I have had the chance to do a lot of research into holiday traditions of the past. This has added a lot of depth to my holidays and I noticed at Thanksgiving dinner [...]
Do you hang mistletoe in your home over the holiday season? Do you know that of all the holiday traditions that have both ancient and pagan roots that this is one is among the oldest? Or that it was ever-so-saucy Victorians that turned it into the kissing ritual as we know it today? The history [...]