“It is impossible to imagine a prettier spot,” Queen Victoria once wrote of her holiday home, Osborne House. Continue reading “The History of Osborne House”
The History of Osborne House
The History of Auld Lang Syne
Synonymous with New Year’s Eve, Auld Lang Syne imbues nostalgia while evoking a sense of belonging and fellowship.
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
By: Clement Clarke Moore
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;
Sarah Josepha Hale
The Mother of Thanksgiving
Sarah Josepha Hale’s legacy is astounding. She penned the famed poem, Mary Had a Little Lamb and is one of America’s first female novelists. She published many famous authors as the editor of one of the most influential and successful periodicals of the time, Lady’s Book. Sarah campaigned for the completion of the Bunker Hill monument and the preservation of Washington’s Mount Vernon plantation, all while being a single mother of five children. And finally, Sarah Josepha Hale is known as the mother of Thanksgiving, for she successfully lobbied for it to become a National Holiday.
Santas Around the World
A secretive gift-giver that provides treats and treasures to children in the night has many iterations around the globe. The variations range from a goat to an angelic creature, with the most well known being a jolly elf clad in red.
Victorian Gift-Giving
No era in history has influenced how we celebrate Christmas, quite as much as the Victorians. Before Queen Victoria’s reign, Christmas celebrations were bleak, or non-existent. Christmas trees went undecorated, Christmas cards not sent, and not many knew of the Jolly Ole Saint Nick. In the same right, the process of giving and receiving gifts was not a Christmas tradition.