The following is a guest post from AFC processing archivist Marcia Segal. The remarkable audio and video recordings in the Eleanor Dickinson collection (AFC 1970/001), recorded circa 1969-1980, capture a moment in time in the years before the Internet and other technological developments changed the way people communicate. The immediacy of religious services, (uninterrupted by …
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 …
The following is a guest post by Owen Rogers, Liaison Specialist for the Library of Congress Veterans History Project (VHP). To date, nearly 5,000 men (and one woman) have received the Congressional Medal of Honor, our nation’s highest military decoration. Within this exceptional minority, however, only one recipient was awarded with this honor while serving …
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 …
If you’re curious about modern holiday beliefs and calendar customs, you might be reading or doing research about them online. Chances are, you come across some stories that the presenters claim are ancient, and reach into the pre-Christian past. One popular story you might have seen recently involves the origin of the Easter Bunny. Essentially, …
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 …
