799 Golf Road
Tamaqua PA
(our family called it Seek PA)
1929
Mahala family photos

Betty (Lizzy) Mahala Vavro


Midsummer Day is a celebration of the summer solstice, or the longest day of the year in the Northern Hemisphere, and is often celebrated on June 24th. It's also associated with the feast day of St. John the Baptist.

Lederhosen were never intended to be a traditional costume. Rather, they were created as work wear for peasants. For centuries, Germans had already been using leather to make clothing articles such as boots. Leather was a good high-endurance material for laborers and farmers to wear in demanding work conditions. In the 16th century, French culottes (or knee breeches) started to popularize throughout Europe. The French made their clothes from softer fabrics, as the culottes were used for leisurely and aristocratic apparel. By the 18th century, German and Austrian workers in the Alps took the culottes style for their own use. But instead of using the soft French fabrics, they went with their trusty leather. Thus, the lederhosen, which literally translates to “leather breeches”, was just culottes made out of leather!