The American Folklife Center is delighted to announce that an important new oral history collection documenting the lives and careers of home health care workers throughout the state of Oregon is now available online through the Library of Congress’s website. This fieldwork project is part of American Folklife Center’s Occupational Folklife Project and the 7th …
In my last post about the origins of Father Christmas in the 17th century, I mentioned that most English people today barely distinguish between Father Christmas and Santa Claus. This merger of the two characters is a 19th century development, and was largely complete by the turn of the 20th century. Three hundred years after …
During the holiday season, I spend a lot of time dressed in old-fashioned clothes, singing, acting, and making merry as Father Christmas. The character has been part of our AFC mummers’ play since 2010, and part of the tradition of mummers’ plays probably since its inception. Several of the earliest surviving mummers’ play texts, …
Care must be taken in telling our proud tale not to claim for the British Army an undue share what is undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war, and will, I believe, be regarded as an ever famous American victory.” – Sir Winston Churchill, addressing the House of Commons on January 18, 1945 Commemorating …
Note: Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress. Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, …
This is a guest post by Sam Meier, a former LC Junior Fellow who is currently working on a variety of reference-related projects for the Veterans History Project (VHP). December 25, 1917 found William James Bean in quarantine at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, New York. Bean had been inducted into the Army a little more …
Episode three of the Folklife Today Podcast is ready for listening! Find it at this page on the Library’s website, or on iTunes, or with your usual podcatcher. Get your podcast here! Our latest podcast presents some of our favorite Christmas songs. In this blog post, I’ll present the full versions of all the songs. …
The American Folklife Center Mummers will present their annual mummers’ play in the Great Hall of the Library of Congress at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 12. It’s open to the public, so come on in and see us perform! This year’s play is called FrankenMumming: An Arctic Monster Library Modernization Mumming. It features innovators-in-residence …
The following is a guest post by Matt McCrady, a Digital Conversion Specialist for the Library of Congress. In May 2018, the Veterans History Project (VHP) updated its collections policy. While civilian accounts are no longer within the scope of the Veterans History Project, previously accessioned civilian collections remain in the VHP collection. One such …
