Top of page
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This weekend there will be barbecues, pies, home-made strawberry soda, and other treats that have become common features of Juneteenth, a celebration of the end of slavery in the United States that has its roots in the joyful celebrations of newly-freed slaves in Texas at the end of the Civil War. It is thought to …
Posted in: Foodways, Holidays, Juneteenth
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! When I was working on the article, “Dance!” in Folklife Today last month, I had planned to include the wonderful performance of the Lao Natasinh Dance Troupe of …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, Asian American History, Holidays, Religion
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 …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, AFC Events, African Americans, Asian American History, Dance, Homegrown Concert Series, Native American History, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans
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 …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, African Americans, Narratives, Storytelling
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’s archive was founded as part of the Music Division in 1928, primarily as a repository for recordings of American folk music and songs. The …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, Foodways
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the United States we have customs that have their roots in the many cultural groups that live here. We do not always know the origins of customs that we practice, as they may spread over time and can be reshaped as they become established. Generally customs naturally spread, without any deliberate action. To intentionally …
Posted in: Cultural Heritage, Religion
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
March 20 is World Storytelling Day. Tying storytelling with the equinox in March is thought to have originated in Sweden as Alla berättares dag (all storytellers day) in 1991 or 1992. Other countries joined to celebrate storytelling on the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere and the first day of autumn in the …
Posted in: African Americans, Jewish American History, Jewish Americans, Narratives, Native American History, Storytelling
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Cultures that rely on limited local sources of food in the winter often have traditions about the restorative and curative powers of foods and herbs that become available in the spring. The American Folklife Center’s Coal River Folklife Project, headed by Mary Hufford, documented folklife in West Virginia’s Coal River Valley (1992 to 1999). The …
Posted in: Folk Medicine, Foodways
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This is a guest blog post by Fentahun Tiruneh, Area Specialist for Ethiopia and Eritrea in the African and Middle Eastern Division at the Library of Congress. On January 7, 2016, Ethiopian Christians, particularly the followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox “Tewahedo” Church in Ethiopia, the United States, and elsewhere, celebrate Christmas. In Ethiopia, it is …
Posted in: African Americans, christmas, Cultural Heritage, Holidays