Here are some fun ideas and recipes to give your July 4th holiday a truly retro vibe, plus a look back at the history of Independence Day!
Vintage holidays
Listen up: You might think our Victorian forebears did everything with grace and elegance, but have you considered that may be fake news? In reality, the dames of high society were basically just influencers.
These beautiful Victorian Valentine’s cards were carefully and creatively handcrafted, and were so much better than what you usually see today.
Here’s a look back at snow removal 100 years ago, so you can see how much work went into clearing cities after blizzards and other big winter storms.
There’s so much *story* packed into the history of the American flag & how its design adapted over nearly 200 years — in step with the evolution of our union.
The Christmas decorations in Victorian churches could be extremely lush Victorian Christians were faithful practitioners of their religion, and took special care decorating their churches
Here’s a look at the clothing boys and girls wore in the winter during the 1890s – and how you might have seen those Victorian-era children dressed up for Christmas and the other holidays of the season.
Um, our ancestors were weird, y’all. Maybe we’re just missing some context that would make these bizarre Victorian Christmas cards make sense?
You can think of these Victorian chocolate and coffee frappe recipes as precursors to Starbucks’ Frappuccino. You can even combine a couple and make an icy mocha frap of your own, courtesy of these recipes from the 19th century!
From the era before electricity, automobiles and radio come these very old-fashioned recipes for Victorian Christmas side dishes. Get a taste of the holidays, 1800s-style!
Anyone visiting a county fair in the 1890s was likely to bring home a piece of ruby glass as a souvenir. They once sold for a song, and now are finds you’ll treasure.
What kind of sweets did they enjoy more than 100 years ago — especially when ready-made candies were few and far between? People back in
Iced Nesselrode Pudding, a chestnut-based chilled sweet, was considered to be very expensive, very fancy, very tasty — and was, consequently, very popular during the Victorian era.
A Victorian garden party may extend from afternoon into evening, or it may be entirely an evening affair — and here were the best ways to set everything up.
April Fools’ Day is an old, old holiday – and was even pretty ancient when this history was written back in the 1800s. Find out more about this day of fools here!
Fashionable vintage parasols could include materials like lace, chiffon, fishnet, satin ribbon, and of every hue. Here are a few of the styles from long ago!
What do the different flowers mean when it comes to send a bouquet for the New Year? Take a look back to the Victorian era to find out!
If you can spare no money, and have no time to make pretty and inexpensive things, give pleasant words and wishes, and rediscover the truest joy of Christmas giving
Here are 20 classic mincemeat recipes (used to make the holiday favorite, mince pie) – as remembered through the decades by chefs, cookbook authors, in newspapers and family cookbooks.
Thanksgiving, now held each year on the fourth Thursday in November, has long been a controversial holiday, Here, look back at Thanksgiving history as it played out over more than three centuries.
Old-fashioned eggnog recipes come in many varieties, so here are more than a dozen – though definitely take a look at the traditional Southern egg nog how-to, which will apparently allow the spirit of Christmas to descend upon you.
What kind of Thanksgiving food did people enjoy years ago? Here’s a look back at some restaurant menus from holidays past – some of which our modern-day feasts seem simple in comparison.
As you can see from these Vintage Coney Island photos & postcards, This beach area just outside New York City was one of the most popular resorts in the United States.
When the flowers are reverently placed on the graves on Memorial Day, there will be many indebted to General John Alexander Logan. Here’s why.
The Great Blizzard of 1888 lasted from March 11 through March 14, 1888, and is considered to be one of the most severe recorded blizzards in American history.
While we can imagine a Christmas without snow and without presents, it’s almost impossible to envision the holiday without the main meal. Here’s what a traditional Victorian Christmas dinner was like.
The chronicles of the Pilgrims, describing their arrival in Cape Cod Bay in December, 1620, refer to the first Christmas spent by them in America:
You never heard of frog lemonade? Probably not — it’s a Southern drink that is perfectly delicious, invented back in New Orleans, Louisiana around 1894.
Ellice Serena Prescribes a Dinner Suited to Stomachs Tried by the Thanksgiving and Christmas Festivities — How to Make and Serve the Various Dishes. The stomach is
How was Independence Day celebrated in the past? It varied a lot over the decades, but early on, there was cannon fire, great communal feasts in the village green, and all kinds of noisemakers and thundering sounds.
In these antique Victorian engagement rings, in addition to diamonds, you’ll also see the brighter hues of rubies, emeralds, sapphires and turquoise.
Vintage wedding dress fashions from 1846 19th-century Victorian wedding dresses (1850) Bride from the 1800s The Diamond Wedding at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, October 13, 1859
A little bit about the legend of how St. Nicholas – Saint Nick, aka Santa – came to be considered the patron saint of children.
