Category: Holiday festivities
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Easter Sunday in Regency Era
What was Easter like in the Regency Era as opposed to now? Read on and find out what went on.
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Valentine’s Day in Regency England
Valentine’s Day, associated with love since the late Middle Ages, became popular during the Regency era as a time for expressing romantic interest within societal norms. Common practices included exchanging handwritten Valentine cards with poems, small tokens, and light-hearted customs. It provided a unique opportunity for flirtation amidst strict social codes, despite some skepticism from…
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New Year’s Celebration in the Regency Era
Celebrating New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day in the Regency was not as we picture the celebrations today. Those were two days of what was (and still is to a lesser extent) Twelfthnight. Twelfth Night is a Christian festival on the last night of the Twelve Days of Christmas, marking the coming of Epiphany on…
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“First Footing” It into the New Year with Hogmanay Traditions
I come very proud Scots. I am from a direct line of Clan MacThomas from the seventh chief of the clan, John Mccomie (Iain Mòr), who has passed into the folklore of Perthshire. Therefore, in my family, New Year’s (or Hogmanay as it was once called) played a popular part of my childhood. Although I admit to overspending…
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On this day…1700-the Regency, England
Did you know some significant historical events happened before Christmas and the day after the holiday? On December 24, 1716: 24 December (4 January 1717 New Style) – Britain, France, and the Dutch Republic signed the Triple Alliance[3] in an attempt to maintain the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), Britain having signed a preliminary alliance with…
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An Early Christmas Gift
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! And I’ve been going back through some older writings. Five years ago, I put together a collection of scenes called 12 Months of Darcy to give away to readers who signed up for my newsletter. I thought I would share December with you today. December A weak…
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Fresh, Festive Flourishes for the Holidays
Just as I have a soft spot for each one of my “book babies,” I must confess that some covers tug at my heartstrings more than others. They remind me of the moment a story came together or the feeling I had when I first saw the artwork that inspired a new ‘what-if’ story. A…
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Messiah – A Regency Tradition?
I was busy thinking about what to write about this month. I have a book coming out early in 2026, starring our beloved Colonel Fitzwilliam, and I considered that. I’m also finally finishing Miss Mary and Alexander Lyons’ next mystery, set in the world of Persuasion, and that was an option too. Then, on one…
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Why is Thanksgiving on a Thursday?
Halloween is over and we are already preparing for the next celebration/holiday. For me, November is a month of more than “Thanksgiving,” for it holds the date of my mother’s birth, my son’s birth, and my grandson’s birth. Thanksgiving is the month of sweet potatoes and fruit salad and pumpkin pie and . . .…
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Blessed Be this All Hallow’s Eve
Given that this is one of the few posts a year that can step beyond the boundaries of the Regency time, I took full advantage of it. The lore of witches, those with mystical learned skills or powers, are mentioned in tales of old, centuries before any sect of the Christian religion was formed. “In…