Halloween and Thanksgiving don't get a lot of press in Victorian magazines. Of course, since Thanksgiving is a strictly American holiday, it's not surprising that British magazines don't mention it. But then, neither do American magazines - except, occasionally, to provide a host of recipes for a Thanksgiving feast. Halloween was celebrated to some degree on both sides of the pond. However, "trick or treating" and dressing in costumes was, as yet, not part of the picture; more commonly, friends would gather for Halloween parties that included a variety of fortune-telling games. Vintage Halloween cards are as likely to depict a lady looking into a mirror (to see the face of her future husband) as pumpkins and black cats!

August: Harvest Home (Illustrated London Almanack, 1849)

September: A Country Fair, by Thomas Miller (Illustrated London Almanack, 1849)

October: Nutting in the Woods, by Thomas Miller (Illustrated London Almanack, 1849)

November: Guy Fawkes Day, by Thomas Miller (Illustrated London Almanack, 1849)

Fascinating not only for its description of a typical country Guy Fawkes celebration, but for its explanation of the odd notions country boys had about Fawkes - that he was a blackmailer who went door to door demanding money or he'd blow up one's house. (Part of the celebration, for those of us on the American side of the pond, is to go from door to door asking for "money for the guy.")

National Thanksgiving Day (Godey's, 1873)

An editorial on whether the last Thursday of November should be made a national Thanksgiving holiday.

Bills of Fare for Thanksgiving Dinner (Demorest, 1880)

From a dinner for twelve to a "plain sanitary dinner" ("one that almost any person could eat, that can eat a dinner at all, without the least disturbance of mind or body"), with a host of luscious recipes.

All-Hallow Eve Myths, by David Brown (St. Nicholas, 1882A)

Seasonable Entertainments: A Nutting Party and a Halloween Frolic (Demorest, 1887)

The focus of a good old Victorian Halloween party was fortune-telling - with chestnuts, hot lead, and more!

Home Cookery: Thanksgiving Day Menu, by Laura Lathrop (Ingalls' Home Magazine, 1888)

Hallow-e'en Pleasures (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)

Tips on hosting a Halloween party.

Superstitions of Hallow-e'en, by Alice C. Willard (Ladies' Home Journal, 1892)