by Kate Dolan | Apr 4, 2026 | 19th Century America, Faith, Holidays, Regency
I’ve written four short novels and tons of blogs that center on Christmas traditions in Regency England, but I never even considered what Easter might have been like. What were Jane Austen and her contemporaries doing to celebrate the holiday? I was pretty sure she...
by Kate Dolan | Mar 14, 2026 | Colonial America, Faith, Holidays, Latest Posts, Living History, The Irish
New York is generally considered to hold the world’s largest St. Patrick’s Day Parade. And they claim to be the oldest as well. But they’re not even close to holding that title. The first recorded St. Patrick’s Day parade was not in Boston, even though that city has...
by Kate Dolan | Sep 30, 2025 | 19th Century America, Colonial America, Faith, Latest Posts, Living History, Religion and Magic
I went to secular public schools from pre-K through grade 12, so religion was not regularly addressed in school at all. Christmas was about Santa Claus and decorated trees. Easter focused on bunnies and eggs. Yet there was one religious event that managed to make it...
by Kate Dolan | Apr 14, 2025 | Articles, Faith, Holidays, Living History, The Irish
While I’m disappointed that last night’s pink moon did not feature any special colors, I’m not surprised. Blue moons aren’t blue either, so the naming of moons is a highly suspect practice in my opinion. Despite my disappointment, I had to find out why it’s called a...
by Kate Dolan | May 4, 2023 | Faith, Kate Dolan, Latest Posts, Living History, Religion and Magic, Romans
Last week when I was working on a craft project with kids at church, I offered them the choice of using white paper or card stock with a tan swirl pattern designed to look like parchment. I was guessing that in in the time of Jesus, paper hadn’t been invented yet. But...
by Kate Dolan | Apr 11, 2020 | Faith, Holidays, Religion and Magic
This afternoon, as we took a windy walk, we passed a dogwood tree in full bloom and I asked my daughter if she knew the legend of the dogwood at Easter. I hope the owner of the tree doesn’t mind, because I took a flower home for Good Friday. Then I started researching...
