Happy Thanksgiving! In this post, we’ll take a look at a set of interesting photos from the Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division. They depict a custom most people nowadays don’t know much about: Thanksgiving masking. Thanksgiving maskers, like trick-or-treaters on contemporary Halloween, used to go door to door, begging for handouts. They also …
That’s right, Episode Two 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! This blog post provides more background for the stories and the audio in the podcast. The first thing you’ll hear is …
Each year, as Thanksgiving Day rolls around, the blogosphere is bombarded with articles telling us that everything we know about Thanksgiving is wrong. In particular, these articles focus on the three-day event in autumn 1621, during which English colonists at Plymouth, Massachusetts, hosted 90 members of the Wampanoag tribe for a feast. Skeptical articles revisiting …
The following is the fourth in a series relating to the Medal of Honor. Thanksgiving, with millions of Americans on the road, is one of the busiest travel seasons of the year. If you’re doing the traveling this year, I implore you to try a new travel game: find the Medal of Honor landmarks/monuments across America, and the recipients …
These days, it’s hard to make it through December in the U.S. without encountering Krampus. Hairy, scary, hoofed, and horned, the devilish character is wildly popular from coast to coast. Across the country, hundreds of events feature Krampus, including parades, “runs,” Christmas markets, and even mall photo-ops. Books, magazines, movies, and comics highlight his history and his adventures. But American Krampus is entirely a 21st century phenomenon. As recently as 2000, the Library of Congress had not a single book about Krampus in English. So just who is Krampus, and where does he come from? We’ll take a look at the medieval origins and modern development of Krampus in this blog.
As the Veterans History Project celebrates its 25th anniversary, Director Monica Mohindra reflects on the Project’s mission to preserve and share the firsthand stories of U.S. veterans. This post introduces a 25-part blog series honoring veterans, past leaders and the collective effort that has built a national archive of more than 120,000 personal narratives.
Readers are encouraged to take a virtual road trip through AFC's digital collections in celebration of National Road Trip Day, observed on the Friday before the Memorial Day Weekend.
Are you looking to learn a new game to help celebrate National Game and Puzzle Week (November 20-26)? You’re in luck! The AFC archives include examples of games that can inspire your next family game night, including Ghost in the Graveyard, Pass the Trash, El Florón, bingo, and many others.
