According to Inuit myths, the narwhal was once a woman with long hair that she had twisted and plaited to resemble a tusk.

It might work like this: one man is attracted to another but isn’t sure if the feeling is mutual. To test the waters, he’ll ask, “Are you a friend of Dorothy?”

On April 18, 1977, President Jimmy Carter delivered sobering news to the nation: “The energy crisis has not yet overwhelmed us, but it will if we do not act quickly.”

Growing up in a Jewish household in New Jersey, I found the Christmas season a bit awkward.

The early years of the Folklife Festival prominently featured a series of programs showcasing “Old Ways in the New World,” which began in 1973 and continued through 1981.

In June and July 2014, more than a hundred culture bearers traveled from China to the National Mall of the United States in Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2014 Smithsonian Folklife Festival program.

Architects and architecture seem especially well suited to the cinema.

Wigilia is an event filled with folk foodways, which typically require a large Christmas wafer passed around the table to begin the meal and exactly twelve courses.

Submitting proposals for paper presentations at academic conferences can be very competitive, which is why I often try to improve my odds by selecting topics that have direct connections to the conference venue.

We at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage often say that the Smithsonian Folklife Festival never ends. Of course, in a physical sense it does end, usually on the Sunday following the Fourth of July.