The Holiday Siblings, or How to Dress Up for the Holidays
I met Megan Lynch back in the late 2000s through our love of volleyball. I worked with a team she played for, and we stayed acquaintances through social media. In the time since, I have gotten to see her and her brother, Tim, put together some very interesting holiday attire and tributes to the American holidays.
Here is some background on the holidays and their work to pay homage to the traditions and history of as many as they could!
Just a man, his groundhog, and its shadow
The celebration of Groundhog Day began with Pennsylvania's earliest settlers. They brought with them the legend of Candlemas Day, which states, "For as the sun shines on Candlemas Day, so far will the snow swirl in May...(Source)"
Groundhog Day often gets a bad rap because it can signal an extension of the Winter season. But not one to neglect a holiday because of it's negative connotations, the Lynches concocted this photo tribute to the groundhog and his shadow.
MVP of this photo has to go to the groundhog, although the top hat is a nice touch.
All Hail the Presidents!
Another under-the-radar holiday is President's Day. Presidents’ Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. Traditionally celebrated on February 22—Washington’s actual day of birth—the holiday became popularly known as Presidents’ Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers (Source).
The Lincoln beard really sells this holiday photo well.
And Who Said Gingers Have No Souls...
What Holiday Do You Want To See The Lynches Commemorate?
St. Patrick's Day
Saint Patrick is the patron saint and national apostle of Ireland. St Patrick is credited with bringing christianity to Ireland. Many folk ask the question ‘Why is the Shamrock the National Flower of Ireland ?’ The reason is that St. Patrick used it to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagans. There are several accounts of Saint Patrick’s death. One says that Patrick died at Saul, Downpatrick, Ireland, on March 17, 460 A.D.
This photo was one of their best. They've got a redhead, they've got beer, they've got an Irish flag, they've got a bar. Even the hats and socks are perfect. If you're thinking St. Paddy's Day celebration, look no further than wild and crazy, and stoically cool.
Peep & Pez
Easter / Opening Day
Easter eggs are specially decorated eggs given out to celebrate the Easter holiday. The custom of the Easter egg may have existed in the early Christian community of Mesopotamia,who stained eggs red in memory of the blood of Christ, shed at his crucifixion.
In later traditions the egg is also a symbol of the empty tomb. The oldest tradition is to use dyed chicken eggs, but a modern custom is to substitute eggs made from chocolate, or plastic eggs filled with candy such as jellybeans.
Many Americans follow the tradition of coloring hard-boiled eggs and giving baskets of candy. The Easter Bunny is a popular legendary anthropomorphic Easter gift-giving character analogous to Santa Claus in American culture (Source).
Who doesn't love Easter candy? Well, what a great way to pay homage to two of the more popular candies in American history. That Peeps sweater is epically combined with the bunny hat to create just the right touch of Easterness.
And in the second photo, what to do when Easter falls on the opening day of the Major League Baseball season. You combine the two, of course!
Liberty and Justice?
Long Live 'Merica
2015 Fourth of July
The Fourth of July
We celebrate American Independence Day on the Fourth of July every year. We think of July 4, 1776, as a day that represents the Declaration of Independence and the birth of the United States of America as an independent nation.
But July 4, 1776 wasn't the day that the Continental Congress decided to declare independence (they did that on July 2, 1776). It wasn’t the day we started the American Revolution either (that had happened back in April 1775). And it wasn't the day Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence (that was in June 1776). Or the date on which the Declaration was delivered to Great Britain (that didn't happen until November 1776). Or the date it was signed (that was August 2, 1776).
So what did happen on July 4, 1776? The Continental Congress approved the final wording of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. They'd been working on it for a couple of days after the draft was submitted on July 2nd and finally agreed on all of the edits and changes. July 4, 1776, became the date that was included on the Declaration of Independence, and the fancy handwritten copy that was signed in August (the copy now displayed at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.) (Source).
There are enough flags and references to liberty in this photo to honor America, that's for sure. At this point, you have to wonder how many top hats these two own.
2017 Fourth of July
2015 Labor Day
Often an overlooked holiday, the Lynches finally paid homage to Labor Day in 2015. Labor Day constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.
Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these, a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment. By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.
Harvests and Football
Autumn, or Fall synonymously, marks the transition of Summer into Winter and comes from as far back as the Romans (Source). In the Fall, there is typically the harvesting of crops and then in America, football season takes center stage.
The Lynches did a nice job symbolizing the traditional things important to an American Fall, that's for sure.
Eat More Chikin'
Florida, Texas, Maine and Virginia each declare itself the site of the First Thanksgiving and historical documents support the various claims. Spanish explorers and other English Colonists celebrated religious services of thanksgiving years before Mayflower arrived.
However, few people knew about these events until the 20th century. They were isolated celebrations, forgotten long before the establishment of the American holiday, and they played no role in the evolution of Thanksgiving. But as James W. Baker states in his book, Thanksgiving: The Biography of an American Holiday, "despite disagreements over the details" the 3-day event in Plymouth in the fall of 1621 was "the historical birth of the American Thanksgiving holiday (Source)."
As one of the biggies, the siblings have done a few versions of Thanksgiving photos. The first is a very traditional Pilgrim and Native American photo, while the second is a play off of the funny commercials being played on television.
How the Lynch Stole Christmas
Christmas is a day to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. While not exactly known if this is the real date, the Christian Western Church came to adopt it as such in the 4th century. Along with Christmas came numerous traditions including a feast, decorations, gifts, Christmas cards, and music and carols (Source).
Many different movies and films have been made about Christmas, and it was along those lines that we have our tribute. Obviously big Dr. Suess fans, the Lynch siblings chose to go with a Grinch themed ensemble in the first two years they dressed up to honor the holiday. Extremely well done with the Grinch outfits, these are hilariously staged.
In the past two years, Santa and his elf helper and then the Nutcrackers made appearances. We're definitely looking forward to next year's take on Christmas.
Lynch on a Shelf
New Year's Eve
It's a time for celebration and reflection. A time to look ahead and imagine all the possibilities. Samoa and Kiribati are two of the first countries to have New Year's Eve while Baker Island in the United States is one of the last.
Not a typical dress up holiday for the Lynches, they made an exception in 2015 and added the holiday to their repertoire and we're all the better for it.
What the Future Brings
We have no idea what the future will bring from the Lynch siblings, but all of us who are following them on social media eagerly await their next installments of honoring the holidays with their creative characters and photos. Here's to many more holidays, we'll see which ones they do again and which ones they will add into the mix.