folklife Archives - Pennsylvania Heritage Magazine

Folk Tales of the Pennsylvania Dutch by William Woys Weaver

Posted by Mary Sellers on Jul 25, 2023 in | Comments Off Folk Tales of the Pennsylvania Dutch Stories of Witchcraft, Magic, and the Supernatural by William Woys Weaver Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center, 200 pp., hardcover $35 The Pennsylvania Dutch hold a rich tradition of oral storytelling, yet little scholarship to date focused on the supernatural tales of this community. William Woys Weaver’s latest book, the 10th volume of the...
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A Wish, a Dish & a Fish: New Year’s Rituals of the Pennsylvania Dutch

Posted by Patrick Donmoyer on Dec 15, 2022 in | Comments Off It was just before midnight on New Year’s Eve of 1945. While the Battle of the Bulge still raged in Europe, a young mother in North Heidelberg Township, Berks County, carefully placed a stoneware dish on the outer windowsill of the farmhouse in the stillness of the cold open air. On the dish were the family’s selections for the annual New Year’s ritual of the “Three Things” (Die Drei Dinger): a...
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Protection from Trotter Head

Posted by Richard Saylor on Dec 1, 2021 in | Comments Off The document pictured here bears the following inscription: “Trotter Head, I forbid thee my house and premises. I forbid thee my horse and cow-stable, I forbid thee my bedstead, that thou mayest not breathe upon me; breathe into some other house, until thou hast ascended every hill, until thou hast counted every fencepost, and until thou hast crossed every water. And thus dear day may come again...
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Searching for Mountain Mary: The Life and Legend of an Early Pennsylvania Saint

Posted by Patrick Donmoyer on Nov 30, 2021 in | Comments Off “There, underneath this mountain stone, Lies Mary Young, who lived alone, High on the lofty mountainside, Beloved and honored till she died.” —Ralph Bigony, 1846 Enshrined in works of art and immortalized in poetry, the life and deeds of Mountain Mary, or Anna Maria Jung (1744–1819), has become one of the preeminent legends of early southeastern Pennsylvania, embodying the spirit of the...
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“Drawing to Represent”: Lewis Miller of York, Chronicler of 19th-Century Life

Posted by June Lloyd on Jun 7, 2021 in | Comments Off Lewis Miller’s depictions of people and their everyday lives have been used repeatedly to illustrate 19th-century American life. Whether it is a flood of molasses flowing down the street or Simon Einstein bringing a load of cabbages to town to celebrate his election victory, Miller seemed to have seen it all, and he depicted many of these scenes during his long lifetime. Miller also recorded...
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Kutztown Folk Festival: America’s Oldest Folklife Celebration

Posted by Patrick Donmoyer on Mar 13, 2020 in | Comments Off The Kutztown Folk Festival, originally called the Pennsylvania Dutch Folk Festival, is a milestone among American community celebrations. Observing 70 years in 2019, it is the first and longest-running folklife festival in the history of the United States. Although many other popular celebrations preceded the Kutztown festival, it has had a national impact as the first festival founded and...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by Kyle Weaver on Mar 9, 2020 in | Comments Off Football, fine art, and festivals. Throughout the years, Pennsylvanians have received national acclaim in all three fields. Each has become a vital part of our shared heritage, engaging residents and representing the commonwealth’s rich and diverse culture. In this edition, you’ll find three outstanding features on prominent examples of these activities in the Keystone State. Football has been...
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Powwowing in Pennsylvania by Patrick J. Donmoyer

Posted by Joshua Brown on Jan 13, 2020 in | Comments Off Powwowing in Pennsylvania Braucherei and the Ritual of Everyday Life by Patrick J. Donmoyer Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center/Masthof Press, 343 pp., cloth $45, paper $35 In Powwowing in Pennsylvania, author Donmoyer gives a fresh and comprehensive account of traditional ritual healing practices (largely) among the Pennsylvania Dutch. The book ties together years of solid research,...
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Miniature Lord’s Prayer

Posted by Kyle Weaver on Oct 25, 2019 in | Comments Off Why would a calligrapher print the words to the Lord’s Prayer on a 1-inch-square piece of paper in letters so small that one would need a magnifying glass to read it? Even more puzzling: Why would someone fold such a small document to a quarter of its actual size? The answers may have more to do with the spiritual beliefs of some German-speaking Pennsylvanians in the 18th century rather than any...
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Editor’s Letter

Posted by Kyle Weaver on Dec 13, 2016 in | Comments Off America is experiencing a beer renaissance that began three decades ago, and Pennsylvania has been at its forefront from the start. New craft breweries have flooded the market with an amazing variety of styles, diversifying the taste buds of beer drinkers nationwide. The Brewers Association (BA) defines a craft brewer as independent, small (6 million barrels or less a year) and traditional...
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