Each year there is a theme for Riverside that carries through the various projects and performances for the Tutorial Boys and Studio Girls. For 2024-25 we have traveled back to the Victorian Age, named, of course, for the illustrious Queen Victoria of England and her beloved Prince Albert.
Thanksgiving, here in America, is associated with the Pilgrims who feasted with Native Americans in Plymouth colony. This was in the 1600s…which happened to be several monarchs and revolutions for that matter away from Victoria.
However…Thanksgiving did not become an official national holiday until 1863 when, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln declared it to be so and proclaimed the last Thursday in November to be a “day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens.”
And as you gather tomorrow to give thanks, you might want to give a nod to the Victorian Americans. Consider this:
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The editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, Sarah Josepha Hale, is called by some the “Mother of Thanksgiving.” She used her magazine to advocate for a national day of thanks and she dedicated an entire chapter in her book, Northwood, to local Thanksgiving traditions, including eating turkey as the feast’s centerpiece.
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American Football came to be in the 1800s and the tradition of playing on Thanksgiving started almost immediately, first with high
school rivalries, then college. Of course, the NFL wasn’t around yet, but still…we can attribute this beloved Thanksgiving pastime to the Victorian era. -
Louisa May Alcott (author of Little Women, which Studio girls read this year) wrote a short story in 1881 about a New Hampshire family’s Thanksgiving. When grandma takes ill, the mother and father go to help her and the children decide to carry on with making the Thanksgiving dinner. (This timeless tale is available on Amazon and if you happen to purchase it using this link, Riverside will get a portion of the sale through the affiliates program. Note: we have not previewed this book.)
school rivalries, then college. Of course, the NFL wasn’t around yet, but still…we can attribute this beloved Thanksgiving pastime to the Victorian era.