The Green Man, a character from traditional folk culture, has captured the imaginations of many in the modern world. Books, articles, and websites on the Green Man abound, each of them looking at the figure from its own perspective. Those who have commented on or employed the image of the Green Man range from historians to neopagan worshippers, from festival organizers to novelists, and from folklorists to participants in Renaissance fairs. Recently, though, some scholars have been asserting that the Green Man is not really a figure from older folk culture at all, but a modern invention. This post will begin an examination of this question: what is the Green Man, and what are his traditional meanings?
This is a guest post by American Folklife Center archivist Charles Hosale. A little more than one year ago, the American Folklife Center announced the acquisition of the AIDS Memorial Quilt records . My colleagues and I continue work to preserve the records and make them accessible. This year, living under the weight of another …
This is a guest post by American Folklife Center archivist Jesse Hocking, who is part of a new cohort of archives staff across the Library who were hired to help bring collections out of the processing backlog. The American Folklife Center is excited to announce that the collection of Nancy Sweezy (1921-2010), noted folklorist, potter, …
Puppeteer Professor Horn, also known as Mark Walker, gave a talk on the history and art of Punch and Judy and puppet shows at the Library of Congress on May 2, 2018. He also talked about his art with folklorist Michelle Stefano. For professional reasons, Walker preferred not to have the puppet shows video recorded. But …
On August 30th, 1979, a group of hardy adventurers left Dewey Hart Ranch in the Larb Hills, Phillips County, Montana, in covered wagons and other horse-drawn vehicles to meet the Milk River and travel along it to Malta. The goal was to experience the wagon train as Montana pioneers once did, and to arrive in …
Come and see Professor Horn’s Punch & Judy Show on May 2! There will be two shows, a children’s show from 10:30-11:00 am (co-sponsored with the Young Readers’s Center) and a talk and show for adults from noon to 1:00. Have you ever played with dolls or action figures, making them move and talk? How about wearing a …
In 2014 I wrote a blog for Folklife Today called, “From Snowballs to Sculptures: Material Culture that Melts.” It dealt with several kinds of traditional uses of snow as a construction material and as a projectile for snowball fights. I came across one type of snow sculpture that I didn’t know very much about, so …
If you have decorated an egg, then you have participated in one of the oldest decorative arts. Archaeologists have long known of decorated ostrich shell pieces and empty eggs in Africa of great antiquity, found in tombs or archaeological digs, but they did not know how old this custom really was. In 2010 an important …
Before the industrial era, much of the work of the creation of clothing was done at home or at small shops. Spinning was a daily activity. Depending on one’s culture, the production of thread and yarn might be entirely women’s work, or work done by the whole family. In northern Europe, spinning was so closely …
