Top of page

Archive: April 2016 (8 Posts)

A fairy-like goddess plays a long pipe. A hare sits next to her on a mushroom, and a cherub and three more hares listen to her tune.

Ostara and the Hare: Not Ancient, but Not As Modern As Some Skeptics Think

Posted by: Stephen Winick

If you’re curious about modern holiday beliefs and calendar customs, you might be reading or doing research about them online. Chances are, you come across some stories that the presenters claim are ancient, and reach into the pre-Christian past. One popular story you might have seen recently involves the origin of the Easter Bunny. Essentially, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

New VHP Acquisition: Irving Greenwald’s WWI Diary

Posted by: Megan Harris

One look at Irving Greenwald’s diary is all it takes to bring to mind the old adage “good things come in small packages.” This World War I diary, written by Private Irving Greenwald from December 1917 to January 1919, was donated to the Veterans History Project (VHP) in December 2015 by his family. Original World …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Dance!

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Note: This is part of a series of blog posts about the 40th Anniversary Year of the American Folklife Center. Visit this link to see them all! April 29 is International Dance Day, established by the International Dance Council (CID) in 1982 to call attention to the importance of dance worldwide.  So get your dances …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

African American Women’s Life Stories in the Center for Applied Linguistics Collection

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Note: This is part of a series of blog posts about the 40th Anniversary Year of the American Folklife Center. Visit this link to see them all! The American Folklife Center was established in 1976. Two years later, in 1978, the folk music and song collections housed in the Music Division as the Archive of …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Volunteer Spotlight: Leisure World

Posted by: Lisa Taylor

The following is a guest post by Owen Rogers, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Although housed at the Library of Congress, the Veterans History Project is completely reliant on the voluntary participation of people around the country interviewing the veterans in their lives and communities. Since April is National Volunteer Month, this …