When we think about Valentine’s Day, we often think about romantic love. However, it is also a time for families to show their love for each other. Jillisa Cranmer shared this with Laurel Batchelor: The week before Valentine’s Day, well actually on the 1st of February, we would all pull names out of a hat. …
Folklore is sometimes viewed as a synomym for falsehood. That is not the case. One type of folklore is the personal narrative. These can be serious or fun but reflect events in a person’s life. Parents have long liked to tell stories about the scrapes their children get into as children or teens. The following …
Christmas is a magical time and Christmas customs are part of the magic. Every family has traditions that guide their observance of the season. One of the times that has customs that make it special is Christmas Eve. Our Customs Index outlines fun things that families do on that day. Many eat special foods on …
On November 10, 2011, we held the annual Founder’s Lecture for the Wilson Folklore Archives. The speaker was Dr. David Dollahite of the Department of Family Life at Brigham Young University. His lecture was “Turning Hearts to God and Family through Telling and Writing Sacred Stories. Dr. Dollahite has allowed us to post the slides …
Halloween is a great time for children. While of course the actual trick-or-treating is the highlight, there are many other activities that children enjoy. One family uses their Family Home Evening the Monday before Halloween to carve pumpkins. Another uses Family Home Evening as a time for each member of the family to tell a scary …
Losing your first tooth is a rite-of-passage longed for by young children. They wiggle their teeth looking for one even slightly loose. Joy erupts when they finally find one. A variety of folk practices accompany this important event. Some children have stubborn teeth that seem to wiggle forever or even hang on stubbornly by a thread. …
With the coming of summer, engagements and weddings abound. Naturally at BYU there are customs to mark the excitement of an engagement. The groom-to-be is automatically out several dollars as he treats his beloved’s roommates to a steak dinner. (FA14 1.1.3.1.1) The bride-to-be escapes with a lighter hit in the wallet. She needs to only …
Sinterklass is a Dutch tradition that is also popular in other areas in Europe, especially those with a Germanic background. One young mother from the Netherlands whose husband is from the United States recreates this tradition in her Santaquin, Utah home with her children. Generally on December 5, Sinterklaas and his horse and his servant …
It is true that tense situations are hotbeds for folklore. There is nothing like starting a new school year to expose insecurities. One way that these tensions are dealt with is through jokes. BYU students are no exception. Here are few lighthearted observances from BYU over the years. All are part of the Folktale/Joke collection …
Why would anyone voluntarily taste baby food? Not even babies seem that fond of it. But one 1990s baby shower game involved taste testing baby food to see if it was possible to determine what it is. In the 1990s games were popular at baby showers, and this was one that was enjoyed. One game …