Folklore

Folklore is what groups share.

It can be stories and tales. It can be jokes and poems. People also share dances and songs.

Some people make things with their hands. This can be special buildings or art.

Groups learn these things from each other. They do not learn them in school. They learn by watching and listening.

This helps people feel like they belong. It connects a family or a nation.

Folklore is the culture shared by a group of people.

It is not something you learn in a school. Instead, people pass it along informally. They learn by watching, listening, or repeating.

Folklore includes many different things. Some are verbal, like tales, jokes, and poems. Others are material, like special ways to build houses.

It also includes actions. These can be folk dances or special festivals.

In the past, people thought folklore only belonged to poor farmers. Today, we know that many groups have folklore. A group can be a whole nation. It can even be just one family. Even new groups, like computer programmers, can make new folklore.

Experts who study this are called folklorists. They study how these traditions help people feel like they belong. They also look at how traditions change over time. For example, Halloween is different now than it was long ago. Folklore helps people show who they are. It can show the difference between "us" and "them."

Folklore is the shared culture of a specific group of people.

It includes many different kinds of expression. Some are verbal, like legends, jokes, and poems. Others are material, like traditional building styles.

It also includes customary lore, which are actions like folk dances or festivals. These traditions are not usually taught in a formal school. Instead, they are passed along informally from person to person. People learn them through verbal instruction or by watching others. This way of sharing makes folklore a living part of a community.

Understanding how folklore works helps us see how groups stay connected. A group of people might share a specific identity through these traditions. Folklore can be used to show who belongs to a group. It can also show the difference between "us" and "them."

These traditions often change or morph over long periods of time. For example, the way people celebrate Halloween today is different from the Middle Ages. Some customs might start for a practical reason but gain new meaning later. A tradition stays alive if it has a deep meaning for the group. This shared meaning is at the heart of why folklore exists.

History shows how our ideas about folklore have changed over time. In 1846, an Englishman named William Thoms created the word "folklore." He used it to replace older terms like "popular antiquities."

At first, people thought folklore only belonged to poor, rural peasants. Later, thinkers like Johann Gottfried von Herder saw oral traditions as organic processes. In the 19th century, the Brothers Grimm published famous collections of stories.

These scholars looked at stories and songs as part of a nation's history. This helped people build a sense of identity for their countries.

As time went on, the study of folklore grew more diverse. In America, researchers like Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict studied Native American cultures.

They looked at all parts of a culture, including beliefs and customs. This made folklore studies part of the social sciences. In the 1950s, the term "folkloristics" became common to describe this academic study. The United States even passed the American Folklife Preservation Act in 1976.

This law helped protect the many different cultural traditions found across the country. It showed that cultural diversity is a great strength for a nation.

Today, we can see that folklore is all around us. It is not just something old or from the past. New groups, like computer programmers or surfers, can create new folklore. Even a single family can have its own unique folklore. This can include special stories or ways of acting that only that family knows. Folklore helps people escape from social pressures or teaches important values.

It also helps people understand their own rituals and institutions. By studying these traditions, we learn how humans connect with one another.

Folklore is the expressive culture shared by a specific group of people.

This culture includes many different forms of expression. These are often called folklore artifacts or traditional cultural expressions. Some artifacts are verbal, such as tales, legends, proverbs, poems, and jokes. Others are material, including traditional building styles or handmade objects. Customary lore also exists, which involves actions like folk dances, festivals, weddings, or initiation rites.

Unlike subjects taught in formal schools, folklore is passed along informally. People learn these traditions through verbal instruction, imitation, or demonstration. This process ensures that traditions move from one generation to the next.

Modern scholars define the "folk" in folklore as any social group with shared traits. This group can be as large as a nation or as small as a single family. The concept of the folk group is very flexible. It can include ethnic groups, religious communities, or even occupational groups like computer programmers.

In the past, the term applied mostly to poor, rural peasants. Today, we recognize that folklore is a function of shared identity within any community. Because it is community-based, folklore is usually anonymous and exists in multiple different versions. It serves to differentiate "us" from "them" by highlighting unique group traits.

Folklorists study these traditions to understand their continued relevance to a group.

A tradition remains alive only if it holds meaning beyond simple practicality. For example, tooth brushing is a practical hygiene habit, but it is not folklore. In contrast, a ritual might start for a practical reason but gain symbolic meaning over time. The cleansing rituals of Orthodox Judaism once served public health needs in water-scarce areas. Now, these customs often signify a person's identity as an Orthodox Jew. Similarly, modern Halloween celebrations have morphed significantly from the All Hallows' Eve of the Middle Ages.

The academic study of these traditions is called folkloristics or folklore studies. This field began to emerge as an independent discipline during European romantic nationalism. Johann Gottfried von Herder was a key figure in this movement during the 1770s. He argued that oral traditions were organic processes rooted in specific locations. After Napoleon invaded the German states, many Germans used these recorded traditions for nation building. Other nations, such as Finland, Estonia, and Hungary, also embraced this approach to seek political independence.

In the 19th century, European scholars often viewed folklore as a survival of the past. They focused on the oral traditions of rural peasants. The Brothers Grimm published the "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" in 1812, which is a famous collection of these stories.

By the 20th century, the field expanded significantly in North America. Researchers like Franz Boas and Ruth Benedict studied Native American cultures. They included the totality of customs and beliefs in their research. This approach connected folkloristics with cultural anthropology and ethnology. This created a divide between the humanities-focused study in Europe and the social science-focused study in America.

In the United States, the field reached a major milestone in 1976. Congress passed the American Folklife Preservation Act to coincide with the Bicentennial Celebration.

This law defines folklife as the traditional expressive culture shared within various American groups. This includes familial, ethnic, occupational, religious, and regional groups. The act recognizes that cultural diversity is a national strength and a resource. This diversity is celebrated at events like the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Such laws help protect the creative and symbolic forms that make up a nation's heritage.

Scholars like William Bascom have identified four specific functions of folklore. First, it allows people to escape from social repressions. Second, it validates culture by justifying rituals and institutions to the participants. Third, it acts as a pedagogic device to reinforce morals and values. Finally, it can be used to apply social pressure or exercise social control. These functions show that folklore is a necessary component of every social group. It is not just about the past; it is a living tool used by people every day.