Become a folklorist this Thanksgiving holiday and document your family folklore.
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| Quillworker Yvonne Walker Keshick with her grandchildren at the 2015 GLFF | . |
Family folklore could include stories, jokes, music, rituals, games, scrapbooks, videos, recipes, and material culture.
"For an individual family [however "family" may be defined], folklore is its creative expression of a common past. As raw experiences are transformed into family stories, expressions, and photos, they are codified in forms which can be easily recalled, retold, and enjoyed. Their drama and beauty are heightened, and the family’s past becomes accessible as it is reshaped according to its needs and desires," (Zeitlin 1982).
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| Lacemaking has been passed down for generations in Ron Ahren's family. |
An easy way for anyone to document family folklore is to interview a relative through the StoryCorps app.
Though the app has built-in questions to ask your interviewee, we suggest you make your own questions centering on family traditions.
"The StoryCorps app—a free mobile application—seamlessly walks users through an interview by providing all the necessary tools for a wonderful experience. You will receive help preparing questions, finding the right environment for your conversation, recording a high-quality interview on your mobile device, sharing the finished product with friends and family, and uploading your conversation to the StoryCorps.me website. This site is a home for the recordings and also provides interviewing and editing resources. In addition, all interviews uploaded to the platform during the first year of the program will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress," (https://storycorps.me/about/).
What kinds of traditions does your family have for
Thanksgiving?
Ask about Foodways…
What dishes
do you always have at Thanksgiving?
How do you
make the dishes?
Where does
the recipe come from?
Where do
the raw ingredients come from?
Who cooks
what?
What kind
of cookware is used?
Are there
special serving dishes?
When do you
eat?
Ask about Music…
What kinds
of music do you listen to during the holidays?
When do you
listen to music during the holidays?
Does anyone in your family play
music?
Where
did they learn?
Ask about Stories…
What are
the stories, tales, and myths told?
Where
do they come from?
What
kinds of stories are they? Humorous, cautionary, or romance?
Who tells
stories at a gathering?
In what
setting are stories told?
If you need some pointers for interviewing, the Smithsonian has a free online guide available here.
Work Cited
Steve Zeitlin. A Celebration of American Family Folklore. Cambridge, MA: Yellow Moon Press, 1982, p. 2
Photos by M. McBride.
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