Our Holidays: Their Meaning and Spirit; Retold from St. Nicholas

What do holidays mean? This collection, drawn from the golden age of St. Nicholas magazine, answers that question through stories that breathe life into American tradition. Here you'll find Halloween's spooky folklore, Thanksgiving's grateful harvest, Christmas mysteries, and the fireworks of the Fourth of July. Each tale is retold with the care and craft that made St. Nicholas the most beloved children's magazine of its era, publishing early work from writers who would become American literary giants. These aren't dry history lessons. They're living stories about real people and events that shaped how Americans celebrate: Abraham Lincoln's wisdom, John Greenleaf Whittier's poetry, the Pilgrims' first desperate harvest, the colonists' hard-won independence. The book argues, gently, that holidays are more than parties and presents. They're threads connecting us to everyone who came before. For young readers and families reading together, this collection offers something rare: holidays with depth, meaning, and the satisfactions of a well-told tale. It's for anyone who wants to understand why we celebrate, and feel something of the spirit that moved our ancestors to mark the days that mattered.