Scope and Contents

This project contains Christmas traditions related to religious traditions, traditional foods, gift giving rituals, and traditional family activities. There is also a discussion on how Christmas traditions came about and how others have died out. In the collection are two Christmas photos printed on paper and 15 tradition narratives. Traditions are collected from Ohio, Idaho, Illinois, and Michigan. Collected by Caitlyn Hair, Dr. Eric Eliason's ENGL 391 class, Winter 2008.

Scope and Contents

Collection of stories of various dates and engagement activities. Includes unusual dating invitations, unusual dates, unique holiday engagements, billboard and banner engagements, engagements using animals, as well as engagements using food, special settings for "popping the question," religious settings for becoming engaged, and casual ways and settings to propose. Created for Utah State University's History 459 course in the spring, 1980.

Scope and Contents note Bird collects and analyzes unique and unusual family traditions. She suggests that the power of traditions can be stronger and more consistent than individual preferences, but that, in unique family traditions, personal preferences can shape the tradition to the particular needs and tastes of the family during a specific stage of its growth. She discusses the ways in which traditions fulfill Bascom's folklore functions, focusing especially on the power of traditions to develop identity. Bird...

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Bailey writes about spiritual experiences indicating whom people should marry. Includes couples learning to love each other as a way of knowing, missionaries falling in love, and high school romances. Project was created for Professor Eric A. Eliason's English 368 class at Brigham Young University in 2001.

Scope and Contents

Submitted by BYU student Denise Evans for her Winter 1979 English 392 class. About the unique marriage proposals that BYU students have heard about or done. Contains a cover essay, autobiographical sketch, list of informants, informant items. Items include stories such as Giving Back her Class Ring, Birthday Present, Ice in Ice Water, Card Stunt, What are we Doing in the graveyard, I have a Sunburn, and more.

Scope and Contents note

Cooley collected stories of unusual wedding receptions. Included are a fairytale wedding, a cowboy/ Wester reception, and Luau reception. The project was written for an English 391 class taught at Brigham Young University in 1997.

Scope and Contents note Brunson collects stories from the Brigham Young University police department dispatch center. She divides these stories into three categories-real emergencies, job security, and dumb people calls-and finds a high concentration of dumb people stories. She suggests that sharing stories about dumb callers establishes camaraderie between dispatchers and blurs the hierarchy between actual dispatchers and subordinate alarm monitors by finding a common joke. Telling stories about dumb callers also...

Scope and Contents

This project contains personal narratives about high school dramatic performance experiences as told by performers. This 12 item collection includes the following experiences: hiding behind the stage curtains, rubber chicken in every production, dancing mishaps, sound effect mistakes, pranks, painted armpits, Vaseline on props, unitards, backstage relationships, malfunctioning microphone, and co-ed dressing rooms. Collected by Erin Valle, Eric Eliason's ENGL 391 class, Winter 2008.

Scope and Contents note Bush collects "unsuccessful" stories from people who served proselytizing missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He believes that unsuccessful stories-stories in which a person refused baptism or the message of Christ-are unpopular in Latter-day Saint culture because the people of that culture are attached to formulaic approaches to righteousness, in which a good action must necessarily be rewarded. He finds that certain geographies are less conducive to baptisms, and...

Scope and Contents

Submitted by BYU student Sariah Pullan for her English 319 fall course for Dr. Eric Eliason. A series of interviews on scuba diving in Hawaii. Includes stories about scuba diving customs and personal experience narratives.