Mikaela Maria is a public historian who has worked as programs manager for the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities and an editorial, research, and digital publishing assistant for The Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. She received her M.A. in American History from Rutgers University in 2015. Mikaela lives in Philadelphia and works in Camden, NJ.
Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, has been observed in the Greater Philadelphia area since the 1860s. The springtime holiday is considered the United States’ first multiracial, multiethnic commemoration and the kickoff of the summertime season. However, Memorial Day’s meanings and origin stories have been debated since its creation, and the holiday’s roots have been both contested and ...
Honored in various capacities since the late nineteenth century, Mother’s Day has deep connections to religion, war, feminism, and consumerism. For over a century, the meaning and purpose of Mother’s Day has been used and contested to celebrate individual mothers, enfranchise women, boost congregation numbers, and sell goods, among other ...
New Year's celebrations in the Philadelphia region have often included parties, formal wear, fireworks, and parades as part of a two-day, secular celebration from December 31 to January 1. The changing of a calendar year has long been cause for commemoration and reflection, and the city’s diverse communities have shaped the ...
Once a religious holiday and a political parade, Saint Patrick’s Day transformed over two centuries into a largely secular celebration reflecting the changing culture of Philadelphia’s Irish population and of the city at ...
Although inspired by a 1621 feast shared by Pilgrims and Native Americans in Plymouth, Massachusetts, Thanksgiving traditions emerged from more than two centuries of celebrations influenced by social classes, ethnic groups, and the rise of consumer culture. Some of the most popular practices of Thanksgiving by the twenty-first century originated in ...
Connecting the Past with the Present, Building Community, Creating a Legacy