Historic Holidays by Mail 1-Year Subscription

Most of the holidays we celebrate throughout the year feel like they’ve been around forever, but each one started somewhere and has its own intriguing origin story. This 12-month subscription delivers detailed replicas of the historical documents behind some of our favorite holidays. You’ll see the proclamation from Abraham Lincoln that established Thanksgiving Day in 1863, read the extraordinary words of General Order No. 3, which paved the way to Juneteenth, and even find out why we celebrate New Year’s Day on the first of January.

For each holiday, your giftee will receive a historical document replicated on high-quality paper with painstaking accuracy and attention to detail—handwriting, signatures, and all—along with context pages that tell the story behind the event. Make your gift even more festive by selecting a greeting card option, which comes with a replica of the first Hannukah card, issued just three months after the end of World War II, or a reproduction of the earliest known Christmas card, created in 1843 (also available as a set of 5, plus envelopes).

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Ronald Reagan's bill creating the holiday and the letter he received from Coretta Scott King (ships late December)
Presidents’ Day/Washington’s Birthday: The US Senate Bill to observe Washington's birthday as a holiday (ships late January)
Saint Patrick’s Day: George Washington's St. Patrick's Day order (ships late February)
Mother’s Day and Father’s Day: The declarations from Woodrow Wilson and Richard Nixon that established these holidays (ships mid-April)
Memorial Day: An illustration of early Confederate Decoration Day and the Memorial Day Program of 1905 (ships early May)
Juneteenth: General Gordon Granger's General Order No. 3 of 1865 (ships late May)
Independence Day: The Declaration of Independence (ships mid-June)
Labor Day: An illustration of the first Labor Day parade and the act making Labor Day a legal holiday (ships mid-August)
Halloween: The first page of a theatrical adaptation of Dracula (ships mid-October)
Veterans Day: Dwight D. Eisenhower's Veterans Day proclamation (ships late October)
Thanksgiving: Sara Hale's letter to Abraham Lincoln and Lincoln's Thanksgiving Day proclamation (ships early November)
New Year’s Day: Pope Gregory XIII's introduction to the Gregorian calendar and the British Calendar Act of 1751 (ships mid-December)

The first mailing arrives via UPS (to ensure swift delivery) and the following mailings arrive by USPS First Class Mail. This keepsake-worthy gift will fascinate history buffs, teachers, students, and anyone who enjoys a party as they learn that our seasonal celebrations are way more than just days on the calendar. Designed and printed in Illinois.

Giving this as a gift? Download and email, or print and give this card to your recipient to let them know their subscription is on the way.