As our longtime readers may recall, the first post on Folklife Today was for Halloween 2013. It called attention to Jack Santino’s Halloween article, and updated it with new information and scary collection items. Since then, we have collected Halloween photos and blogged about spooky stories and (most recently) bats. We have now blogged about …
Bats show up everywhere at Halloween. Often they are playing a bit part, in the background of decorations and advertising as a kind of mascot for the holiday. But they do show up in their major role in horror movies and television programs, as the dreaded vampire transforms into a bat and flies away. The …
The following is a guest post by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). October 26th marks the National Day of the Deployed, which honors all those veterans and active duty soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen who have spent time abroad in service to their country. As anyone who has been deployed …
The American Folklife Center is pleased to welcome the latest addition to our staff, Michelle Stefano. Michelle joins the staff as a folklife specialist in the Research & Programs section of AFC. Michelle brings a wealth of valuable experience to AFC. From 2011 to 2016, Michelle worked as a state folklorist for Maryland Traditions, the …
Note: This is part of a series of posts about Far Away Moses, a fascinating celebrity of the 19th century, who served as the model for one of the keystone heads on the Thomas Jefferson Building. Moses, a Sephardic Jew from Constantinople, knew some of the most prominent Americans of his era, including Theodore Roosevelt …
Note: this is the second in a series of posts about a classic item from the AFC archive, “The Dodger.” [See the first post here.] [See the second post here.][See the third post here.] Second note: we’ve also created a podcast version of these stories. Download our “Dodger” podcast here! In this post, I’ll present …
