Christmas trees are common decorations in homes during the holiday season. While having a Christmas tree is in itself a custom, there are many customs that accompany Christmas trees. The debate over real or artifical is often heard. Those who favor real often believe that it isn’t Christmas unless there are needles to pick up. …
Fireworks, parades, and programs honoring the Declaration of Independence and the founders of our nation are common throughout the nation. However, many Fourth of July traditions involve being together with family. One Provo resident loved to go to Pioneer Park and listen to musicians playing from the bandstand. She developed a dream of having a …
Gardening, whether indoors or out-of-doors, was as popular a pastime in the Victorian Era as it is today. Like modern publishers, Victorian printers produced a wide array of books and periodicals for the avid gardener, from deluxe botanical illustrations to how-to manuals and hobbyists’ magazines. Many such works were profusely illustrated. Typically, illustrations were created …
With rumors swirling through the airwaves and splattered on newspapers across the nation, the Swine Flu is grabbing the public’s attention. While it appears that it will not turn into the pandemic that was originally forecast, it is interesting to look back at some of the folk cures that were adopted by people during the …
Each Easter Sunday they gather around the grave and the father reads the account of the resurrection of Christ from the scriptures.
Several years ago, I made a presentation about Christmas customs to an elementary school class. I asked how many of them received new pajamas for Christmas. Most of the hands went up. Then I asked how many got to open them on Christmas Eve. Most of the hands stayed up. We talked about why that …
Some students and researchers want to know how to use the folklore archives more effectively. One of the items that the archive includes is the focused projects. These are semester projects done by students in folklore classes on topics of their choosing. Subjects range from missionaries to courtship, customs to beliefs and many more. There …
Since 2004, the Wilson Folklore Archives has been involved with the Utah Heritage Project. Choosing different themes every year or so, we have looked at the orchards in Utah Valley, recreation and the environment in Provo Canyon and are currently working with the changing agrarian culture in Utah county. Five groups of students looked at …