Tag: Folklore
‘Only death can protect us’: How the folk saint La Santa...
Myriam Lamrani, Harvard University
When a life-size skeleton dressed like the Grim Reaper first appeared on a street altar...
Halloween’s celebration of mingling with the dead has roots in ancient...
Tok Thompson, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
As Halloween approaches, people get ready to celebrate the...
Mermaids aren’t real – but they’ve fascinated people around the world...
Peter Goggin, Arizona State University
Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to...
How China does Valentine’s Day
Wei Li, Frostburg State University
Americans celebrate love on Feb. 14, Valentine’s Day — a holiday named for Saint Valentine, a third-century Roman clergyman who...
Why we knock on wood
Rosemary V. Hathaway, West Virginia University
Ever said something like, “I’ve never gotten a speeding ticket” – and then quickly, for luck, rapped your knuckles...
The monster festival: A pilgrimage to small town America
Joseph P. Laycock, Texas State University
One of my hobbies is dragging my patient wife to small towns to study beliefs and practices related to...
What can we learn from the way graduates are decorating their...
Sheila Bock, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
For college students across the country, commencement formally marks the transition from student to graduate. Per tradition, most...
EXPLORING NATURE
How pecans went from ignored trees to a holiday staple –...
Shelley Mitchell, Oklahoma State University
Pecans, America’s only native major nut, have a storied history in the United States....
